This day marks the fifth day of consecutive rioting by the Egyptian public against the 30 year Mubarak regime. The people who comprise a variety of folk and who hail from a number of cities across Egypt have united in their thousands to stand defiant against the National
Democratic Party headed by President Mubarak.
Currently, the successor to Hosni Mubarak, his son Gamal, has apparently fled to Britain along with his wife and daughter, which means that Mubarak’s successor, should he remain as president, hangs precariously in the balance. Mubarak however, is determined to maintain his position, in spite of 35 reportedly dead, hundreds injured and up to a thousand arrested. In a bold move, he has sacked his current government and will be forming a new government within the next 24 hours. As of yet, he has named Egyptian Intelligence Chief, Omar Suleiman as vice president.
Nevertheless, Egyptians, in particular the youth are not satisfied and have called for Mubarak’s personal resignation. In fact, many protesters alluded to further riots despite the army present and monitoring the streets. Such a show of force by the military has not been seen since former president, Anwar Al Sadat’s assassination more than 30 years ago. However, in such a time, governmental buildings, police stations, banks and other such buildings were not scorched by the public. Drastic times do indeed call for drastic measures.
It is this point which concerns the Australian Coptic Movement. There are three main opposition groups to the NDP, and they each have their own agendas. We as ACM hope that whoever eventually forms government (or even a majority government), ends all persecution against Copts and enforces Egypt’s duties as a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so that all citizens are granted equal and basic human rights. Moreover, this violent revolution has sparked interest all around the world and remains the top news item globally. It has even warranted a personal statement from US President Barack Obama. It is unfortunate however, that the largely peaceful protests the Copts in Egypt and abroad held over the Alexandria bombings did not generate such interest. It is unfortunate that the negotiations ACM has had with parliamentarians for over a year, and the talks Coptic activists have had with world leaders in the face of ongoing persecution have not yielded palpable results.
It is this ignorance by world leaders which has led ACM to support this current revolution, as its origins no doubt stemmed in part from the Coptic protests over Alexandria and the current calls for equality and basic human rights and freedom – even if it is not directly aimed at Copts. We feel as though this is an opportune time to revise the Egyptian constitution so that the second article which states that “Islam is the religion of the nation and that Islamic Sharia law is the source of legislation”, should be repealed. This article clearly underscores the lack of equality and justice within the nation, as up to 15% of Egypt’s population are Indigenous, Coptic Christians who do not wish to live under such laws which they believe discriminates and results in their persecution.
We support all Egyptian citizens, both Copts and Muslims alike in their human rights endeavours and we pray for peace and tranquillity in Egypt, the cradle of civilisation. Our prayers are with the Egyptian people during this difficult time.
Peter Tadros
Chairman
Australian Coptic Movement
Phone: +61449 979 234 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting +61449 979 234 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Email: aucopticmovement@gmail.com
Website: www.auscma.com
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