Thousands march a year after Egypt Copt killings

Thousands of Egyptian protesters marched Tuesday to mark one year since nearly 30 people were killed in a Coptic Christian demonstration that was violently crushed by security forces. Demonstrators carrying posters of those who died during the violence walked solemnly down a main Cairo thoroughfare in the working class district of Shubra towards Maspero, in the city centre. Some waved flags, others held posters of officials they want to see put on trial. Groups of them chanted against Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the military ruler who took charge of the country following the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and whose forces are accused of killing the protesters. "Either we get justice, or we die like them," they sang. The march was organised by the Maspero Youth Union, a group of Coptic activists formed in the wake of last year's deadly protest that left Egypt's Christian community deeply scarred. "The only political demand on this day is to seek justice for the martyrs and for the criminals implicated in the massacre be tried," the group said on Facebook. Tuesday's procession followed the route taken a year ago by the Coptic protesters. On October 9, 2011, thousands of demonstrators marched from Shubra to Maspero to denounce the torching of a church in the southern province of Aswan. The protest was attacked and violence flared when the army and riot police charged at the protesters, leaving 26 Coptic Christians, one Muslim man and one policeman dead, says Amnesty International. Graphic videos that were subsequently posted on the Internet showed army vehicles ramming into protesters at high speed. In a report published last week, Amnesty said "armed and security forces used excessive, including lethal, force against those not posing a threat to them or others." "The Egyptian authorities have failed to conduct a full impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of the violence and to bring those responsible to account," the rights watchdog said. Christians, who make up six to 10 percent of Egypt's population of 83 million, have regularly complained of discrimination and marginalisation. They have also been the target of numerous sectarian attacks.