At the time when Cairo and Giza have been seeing several protests and marches by Copts and activists against the unjust and unreasonable collective penalty inflicted upon the Copts in the Giza town of Dahshur
At the time when Cairo and Giza have been seeing several protests and marches by Copts and activists against the unjust and unreasonable collective penalty inflicted upon the Copts in the Giza town of Dahshur, Egyptian rights activists have been vocally critical of the forced eviction of the Copts and the vicious attack against them, their homes and businesses which are now in ruins.
Significant among the statements by rights movements have been those issued by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Egyptians Against religious Discrimination (MARED) movement, both of which cited the details of the incident according to eyewitnesses, nailed down the ills that led to it and that have led to earlier similar incidents, and listed their demands to resolve the matter. Following is the MARED statement:
“MARED has been following with deep concerns the events that took place a few days ago in the small town of Dahshur in Badrashein, Giza. The events involved sectarian attacks, acts of violence, and the flight of Coptic families from town for fear of their lives in the wake of threats against them and all they owned. The homes and businesses of the Copts were looted, burned and ruined, and there were attempts to attack the local church. State apparatuses were dubiously absent from the scene; there was serious security shortcoming while the arena was left open to fanatic extremists to wage ruin over the destiny of Egyptian families.
“In this regard, MARED declares the following:
“According to eyewitness in Dahshur, an argument arose between a Muslim villager and a Coptic laundry owner over a shirt that was burned while being pressed in the laundry. The argument escalated into a fist fight, upon which the supporters of the shirt owner attacked the Coptic cleaner’s home, looting his belongings, and burning the building completely. This led the Copt to climb up to the roof and hurl fuel bottles (Molotov cocktails) at the crowd in an attempt to disperse them. A Muslim chance passer-by was hit and suffered serious burns. He was moved to hospital where, five days later on Tuesday 31 July, he died. The town subsequently saw two days of bloody terror egged on by disgraceful religious hatred. The local Mar-Girgis church was attacked, the priest’s home was damaged and robbed, the homes and shops of Christians were vandalised and looted; three Coptic-owned houses were burned to the ground. Despite the heavy police presence, they were not able to stop the violence or protect the Copts; instead they asked the Copts to leave town for fear of the Muslims’ threats and the obvious foul intentions by the dead man’s family who vowed vendetta.
“MARED strongly denounces and condemns all the acts of violence that led to the loss of a life in Dahshur, and to a repeat of the by-now familiar imposition of collective penalty against Christian families, and their forced, terrorised eviction from town.
“MARED places the matter before the president of the republic, and reminds him of his historic responsibility. It calls to mind the president’s pledge to bring about security and safety to all Egyptians. It also stresses that the police should not be taking a passive stand in the face of the chaos which engulfs the land, but should take all necessary measures to defend places of worship, and the lives and property of Egyptians.
“MARED places the responsibility for what happened in Dahshur squarely on the shoulders of the security apparatus, especially given that rights groups had warned that the violence may resume once the victim’s burial was over.
“MARED stresses that security solutions and ‘conciliation sessions’ offer no answer to sectarian violence, given the escalation of the culture of hatred and climate of fanaticism over some four decades.
“In view of the above, we demand of the president of the republic:
To directly issue a declaration denouncing all the acts of violence committed against the Copts in Dahshur.
To take to account the culprits who should be urgently taken to court. The law must be strictly applied to one and all.
Those who incurred losses must be compensated, as should the family of the man who lost his life.
The families who were obliged to leave town must be allowed to return under full protection by the police.
A fact-finding commission should be formed to investigate the sectarian violence which threatens the stability of the homeland. The findings should be made public within a short period of time.
Long live Egypt a civil, constitutional State; and long live her people unified and resistant to divisions.”
WATANI International
5 August 2012