WATANI International
13 November 2011
Where the Maspero massacre of the Copts, and its aftermath, are concerned, there’s…
The Maspero massacre of 9 October, which left 27 dead and more than 300 injured, did not end at that point. Its repercussions on both national and international levels have come at a time when Egypt is preparing itself for national elections.
Unable to provide security
Emad Gad, expert at Al-Ahram Centre for Strategic and Political Studies, says Egypt is undergoing a very critical phase with rising extremism and official complacency in dealing with it. This, he warns, could lead to Egypt becoming a pariah State, with international sanctions imposed against it.
“A major question,’ according to Mr Gad, “is the notorious security lapse and the chaos which continues to dominate Egypt.” People are rightfully asking how could the government provide security for the nationwide balloting process, when it could not secure a licensed, peaceful demonstration. “The coming elections will see many bloody incidents,” he predicts.
Journalist Ashraf Radi criticises the lack of political will to tackle the Maspero crisis. He notes that the reaction of political parties and national movements to the massacre remains particularly weak; they merely issued not-so-strong criticised declarations to condemn the attack; they did not even bother to demand a civil trial for the 28 suspects who were detained and are being referred to a military tribunal.
On the Egyptian table
With condemnation of the Maspero massacre and the discrimination against Copts flowing in from several places in the world, Mounir Megahed of Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination stresses the importance of ending all sort of religious discrimination against Copts. Yet many other movements on the Egyptian political spectrum adopt the official line that international condemnation amounts to “intervention in Egypt’s domestic affairs; and that Coptic grievances can only be resolved on the Egyptian table”.
For his part, Mr Gad notes that the issue of human rights is not exclusively the business of the State; it has now become a global concern.
“The State cannot say ‘we reject interference in our domestic affairs’, while it is committing crimes against its citizens,” Mr Gad says. “And human rights crimes cannot be dropped; they do not become obsolete even on grounds of subsequent conciliation between victim and offender. They remain suspended till justice is attained.”
EU stance
The European Parliament strongly condemned the killing of peaceful protestors in Egypt and stressed the importance of an independent and transparent investigation. In a resolution passed on 27 October, it called on Egyptian authorities to protect Christian communities, and demanded that the authorities should ensure that Copts “do not fall victim to violent attacks and can live in peace and freely express their beliefs throughout the country.” It called for the protection of churches, and an end to their destruction; and for a halt to aggression by Islamic extremists. The EU, it said, should take measures if serious human rights violations occur in Egypt.
Predictably, the Coptic Church said that Coptic grievances should be resolved inside Egypt. When Pope Shenouda III was asked for his opinion about the European resolution, he said it was none of the Church’s business. But when he was pressured by journalists to declare his opinion, he said, “These matters should be resolved inside Egypt.”
Activists applaud
Coptic activists, however, welcome the European Parliament’s stance. Ihab Ramzi, head of the Coptic Union, says the Maspero massacre represents proof that Christians lack protection, and that the Egyptian government disregards the rights of minorities.
Ramzi rejects allegations that the move by the European Parliament is an interference in Egypt’s domestic affairs, since, he says, it is a condemnation not a binding resolution. “It is a warning to Egypt of the necessity of commitment to the international norms.” In full agreement was Rights and Coptic activist Mamdouh Nakhla of al-Kalima (The Word) Human Rights Centre.
According to Medhat Qelada, head of the Union of Coptic Organisations in Europe (UCOE), the Church is a spiritual, not a civil, entity. It expresses its opinion based on faith, but it is up to rights groups, Mr Qelada believes, to resort to the shield of international legitimacy to secure Coptic civil rights.
Part and parcel
From Canada, Coptic activist Sherif Mansour says that Coptic Canadians have asked their Parliament and government to take a stance regarding the injustice against Copts in Egypt. MP Jim Karygiannis introduced a motion to “condemn the vicious attacks on Egyptian Coptic Christians and their institutions; to call on the Egyptian government to ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks be brought to justice and bear the full weight of the law; and, to ask the United Nations Human Rights Commission to conduct an open and transparent investigation into the plight of Egyptian Coptic Christians and issue a public report on its findings.” A unanimous vote was taken by the Canadian Parliament to ask the Egyptian government and the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate the human rights violations against Copts in Egypt. Helene Moussa from Toronto told Watani: “We have held demonstrations, of course, but what counts is serious action by the governing party. Not surprisingly, our young people really spearheaded the action.”
Shafiq Awad, professor of international law in Geneva and a UCOE consultant, who has filed a complaint at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights against the Egyptian Minister of Justice and the government, calling for the formation of an impartial fact-finding committee to investigate the Maspero clashes, says Egypt should stop rejecting international resolutions because these are part and parcel of membership of the international community.