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Ahmed Shafiq interview reveals UAE's role in Egypt's massacres

February 5, 2014 at 10:37 am

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The failed Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmad Shafiq gave an interview with Dream TV on 8 September in which he made some stunning revelations about the UAE’s role in arming the Egyptian authorities prior to the massacres at Rabaa Al-Adawiyya and Al Nahda squares. MEMO has translated the relevant part of the 30 minute recording.


At the end of that specific part of the interview, Dream TV posted the following written summary of Shafiq’s remarks on screen:

I called Interior Minister; General Mohammad Ibrahim following his support for the June 30th revolution. I apologised to him for attacking him in a previous call. The Interior Minister had asked me to mediate military support from UAE to the security forces. I did and the UAE immediately sent arms and equipment to fight terrorism. The UAE has contracted more arms to support the Egyptian Interior Ministry.

Q: Did you call the Interior Minister, General Mohammad Ibrahim, after June 30th?
Ahmed Shafiq: Yes, I called him about business. I started by apologising to him. I said I truly appreciate your role and please forgive me; I acted because of what appeared to be happening. I thank you and I apologise for what we have witnessed on the ground. I believe he was honest with me and even considered me to be an older brother. I told him to be aware of the coming days, since it was clear that change was coming soon.

Q: Which business? Did you have any particular agreements?
Ahmed Shafiq: Yes. The great descendants of the UAE ruler, the late Sheikh Zayed, are very generous. The minute they felt that the Egyptian Interior Ministry was changing and might be in need of assistance, they called me to affirm they would make every assistance available. I have outspoken of their generosity, in a previous interview I said that despite all Saudi assistance, the UAE has done more, even more things than people know.

Q: The UAE has felt the Egyptian Interior might need their assistance to resist terrorism so they supplied them with arms and equipment?
Ahmed Shafiq: Yes, immediately. They supplied the Interior Ministry with arms and contracted further supplies for them.

Q: Were you the mediator?
Ahmed Shafiq: Not really. I am already living in UAE. I have good ties with the Emirati government. I did not ask for anything, the UAE contacted me asking “how can we support Egypt security forces?”