LONDON
Protesters have gathered in London to commemorate the Rabaa massacre, a year since it took place in Egypt.
Around 150 protesters came together outside the Egyptian Embassy and Downing Street on Saturday to condemn the massacre that resulted in hundreds killed and thousands injured on August 14 when Egyptian security forces dispersed two sit-ins in capital Cairo that were protesting against the July 3 military coup.
The demonstrators shouted, "From the river to the sea, Egypt must be free," and "We don't want an army state," as they also accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of "killing democracy."
Some protesters carried banners asking for the Rafah crossing to be opened, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Ibrahim Mattar, 25, told The Anadolu Agency that the actions of the Egyptian security forces were intended to "enforce an illegitimate military coup."
"These were peaceful protesters fighting for their right to have their elected president, President Morsi stay in power.
"We're here to mark the tragedy, and to say that London has not forgotten what happened in Rabaa," Mattar said.
He said that Egypt received a lot of support from Palestinians as they had "witnessed first-hand" how Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who deposed democratically elected ex-president Mohamed Morsi a year ago, has closed the Rafah crossing, a most important channel of connection with the outside world for Palestinians.
"The international community needs to stop being hypocrites, they have one line for certain countries and another for others … they are only looking after their own interests," Mattar added.
Human rights activist Walaa Ramadan suggested that el-Sisi and Egyptian security officers should be tried in the International Criminal Court for the Rabaa massacre.
"We're here to demand that the British government condemn what happened and call it a coup," she told the AA.
"We're also here to condemn Egypt’s part in the Gaza war … Egypt has a part to play in it, they are closing the Rafah borders and are friends of Israel," lamented Ramadan.
She added: "We're here to say enough is enough, and the souls of the people that died in Rabaa, that we will never forget and never forgive and we will continue to fight for our freedom until our very last breath."
This week the Human Rights Watch released a report that said Rabaa killings were "likely crimes against humanity."
www.aa.com.tr/en
