Egypt’s President called upon to protect abused Christians

6/12/2009

By Christian Telegraph

An organization representing Egypt’s Coptic Christians, the oldest known group of Christian believers in the region, has written an open letter to President Hosni Mubarak appealing for his help in their protection, reports Michael Ireland, chief correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

Calling on all International Human Rights Organizations to publicize the issues addressed in the Open Letter, The Canadian Coptic Association (www.copticnews.ca ) appeals to Mubarak “to urgently intervene to salvage Egyptian Copts in general and in particular the inhabitants of Farshout (فرشوط ) from the wrath of mobs who are mobilized with one resolve; attacking, vandalizing, looting and destroying Copts’ properties, concurrently agitating a wave of hatred to the Copts which would eventually seal their fate with a communal massacre as what had happened in Al Zawia el Hamra, El Kosheh,” and other places.
The Association says that, “A dedicated politician of your caliber would never miss the opportunity of recognizing the subversive activities of sowing discord and fermenting divisions among the Egyptians while it is the time to enjoy the peace and tranquility you bestowed on Egypt by your firm refusal to involve Egypt into the recent Middle Eastern turmoil.

“We plead with you to arrest the perpetrators who incited the mobs to attack the peaceful Copts; and embark on a national educative program managed by psychologists and psychiatrists to cement the bond between the Copts and Muslims of Egypt before it is irreversibly worn down.”

In the letter, the signatories to this appeal say they are “expecting President Mubarak to take the necessary measures to hold members of the ruling party, governor of Kena and State Security Officers accountable, together with those who fire up the mobs to loot, burn and sabotage properties of the Copts in Farshout (فرشوط ).”

The letter goes on to say: “We strongly condemn the mass media who went into vomiting their burning emotions for the news of the rough handling of the Egyptians by other nationals, the Algerians while did not bother to delve into the genesis of this shameful national disaster. We also abhor the State Security’s deliberate absentia, the forced Deportation and the evacuation of the Copts of Farshout (فرشوط ) from their homes and villages which constitutes a blatant assault that is violating all provisions of the Egyptian Constitution. The constitution stipulates in Article 50 and 51 that it may not prohibit any citizen from staying in a specific destination, or coerced to reside in a particular place except in the cases outlined by the Law, ‘and not’ to banish a citizen of the country or prevent his/ her return to it. ”

The authors of the letter state: “We strongly condemn these Nazi barbarisms while stressing the right of each affected Copt to full compensation for material, psychological and moral damage as these Nazi acts will leave an inerasable print of the ghoulish and monstrous portrayals of the other side which are ideally our nationals of Egypt. This sensational fear generously implanted by the instigators of these Nazi acts into the psyche of Coptic children will deprive them of the comfort of attending either public or private locations for fear of going through a similar experience.

“In accordance with the provisions of the Law, please allow the courts to hold the preacher of hatred, accountable for the Nazi blunders against the Copts and to be punished proportionally and specifically for their derogatory and insulting actions to the symbols of Christianity. We call on the State to bring all involved in crimes of public defaming Christianity to justice so as not to allow the current national fission to a permanent cleavage of our ONE nation, Egypt.”

The letter concludes by explaining: “This would necessitate abolishing the comic and irrelevant ‘Bedouin tribunals’ where on purpose as predetermined by the majority to deny the Copts their rights without chances of appeal to a civil court. Alas, as the civil courts are also infected with anti-Coptic sentiments, please do not blame us for seeking justice elsewhere.”

The letter is signed by members of the Canadian Coptic Association and the Middle East Christian Association.

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