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| Port Said: Egypt's secret police return to the streets | Port Said: Egypt's secret police return to the streets |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The green giant balloon figure was wilting and the yellow one had collapsed completely. A hundred or so others wobbled on the shorefront of Port Said like drunken sentries as a breeze from the Suez canal clawed at the messages pasted to their bulbous chests. | |
| "Revolution, not a coup," read one of these slogans. | "Revolution, not a coup," read one of these slogans. |
| Almost a week after the toppling of Mohamed Morsi as president, the fight for control of Egypt's future is laid bare. Much of what is visible in this strategically significant city by the canal represents the old guard, what the Muslim Brotherhood likes to call the country's "deep state". Grey military vessels ride at anchor while battered green barges shuttle cars across the narrow waterway to Port Fouad and back. Paperboys tout headlines that speak of calm control in the face of rampant Islamist terror. | |
| The Islamists in Port Said, who until the events of 3 July had a significant stake in what happens here, have retreated to their mosques and homes. Few dare to protest, stunned by the killing of more than 50 of their number in Cairo on Monday. | |
| "What has happened there is just the beginning for us," said one man in a mosque near the city centre. "They will come for us wherever we are and they will find any pretext to do it." | "What has happened there is just the beginning for us," said one man in a mosque near the city centre. "They will come for us wherever we are and they will find any pretext to do it." |
| Sitting cross-legged at the front of the mosque, Sheikh Sharif Abdul Berri urged the 200 men in front of him to remain calm. "Be patient," he said. "Muslims have been persecuted before and will be again. God tells us not to respond to this persecution. In your hearts, you must follow the righteous path." | Sitting cross-legged at the front of the mosque, Sheikh Sharif Abdul Berri urged the 200 men in front of him to remain calm. "Be patient," he said. "Muslims have been persecuted before and will be again. God tells us not to respond to this persecution. In your hearts, you must follow the righteous path." |
| Later, in an ante-room that doubles as the sheikh's office, he continued: "Now we are facing a political crisis without principles. [The military] are calling for calm and democracy, but they are doing nothing to achieve that. | Later, in an ante-room that doubles as the sheikh's office, he continued: "Now we are facing a political crisis without principles. [The military] are calling for calm and democracy, but they are doing nothing to achieve that. |
| "We entered this democratic process even though we had reservations about democracy. We went to the ballot box and we need to stand by it. Everything has been undone by the military." | "We entered this democratic process even though we had reservations about democracy. We went to the ballot box and we need to stand by it. Everything has been undone by the military." |
| Moves toward new parliamentary and presidential elections should be ignored by the marginalised Brotherhood movement, he said. "If we join them, we will give them legitimacy. It is clear for anyone to see that Mubarak's state is still in control of Egypt. They never really left." | Moves toward new parliamentary and presidential elections should be ignored by the marginalised Brotherhood movement, he said. "If we join them, we will give them legitimacy. It is clear for anyone to see that Mubarak's state is still in control of Egypt. They never really left." |
| The resurgent old guard is increasingly evident outside Cairo. In Port Said, a trading city that feeds from the 100-mile canal that runs past its northern edge, there is a sense of relief both that the elected term of Morsi was truncated and that the old ways have returned. As was the case in Alexandria to the west, plainclothes policemen from various security arms are in plain sight. | |
| "They're everywhere now," said another senior figure in the mosque, Mohamed Atef. "They are far more visible and comfortable in recent days than they have been for the past year." | "They're everywhere now," said another senior figure in the mosque, Mohamed Atef. "They are far more visible and comfortable in recent days than they have been for the past year." |
| The secret police have not had a comfortable time in Port Said since the 2011 revolution. More than 20 of them were executed this year after a court found they had played a role in the deaths of football fans in the city's main stadium during a post-match clash in January 2012. Several police officers were also convicted but not executed. | |
| The violence was a defining moment in the military rule that preceded Morsi's election last June. Most of those killed belonged to Cairo's al-Ahly football club, whose members had been prominent in the ultras movement, which in turn had regularly battled police during months of unrest in Cairo. The bloody night in Port Said had been seen as payback for the events in the capital. The visible return of the secret police to the streets of the city suggests the cycle has come full circle. | |
| At a coffee shop in the market area, the TV was turned up loud as Egypt's army spokesman appeared to offer an explanation for the mass killing of Muslim Brotherhood members earlier on Monday. | At a coffee shop in the market area, the TV was turned up loud as Egypt's army spokesman appeared to offer an explanation for the mass killing of Muslim Brotherhood members earlier on Monday. |
| "Do you think they attacked the Republican Guards?" one of the waiters asked. "Where are these people all coming from? Are they even Egyptians?" | "Do you think they attacked the Republican Guards?" one of the waiters asked. "Where are these people all coming from? Are they even Egyptians?" |
| Across the road, an armoured personnel carrier was sandbagged-in under an archway and bored-looking soldiers milled alongside. Next to them, a man in plainclothes leaned on the boot of his car, his arms crossed as he stared towards the strangers in the coffee shop. | Across the road, an armoured personnel carrier was sandbagged-in under an archway and bored-looking soldiers milled alongside. Next to them, a man in plainclothes leaned on the boot of his car, his arms crossed as he stared towards the strangers in the coffee shop. |
| Business is slow here. Most shops seem empty and, even just before Ramadan, grocery stalls are doing a slow trade. But despite the hardships, life seems strangely ordered. What was old is again clearly new. | |
| Additional reporting by Marwa Awad | Additional reporting by Marwa Awad |
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