AJC Condemns Brutal Attacks on Coptic Protesters in Cairo

NEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC condemns the deadly assaults by Egyptian military forces on Christian Copts, who gathered in Cairo to protest attacks against their community. The melee last night left at least 24 people dead, most of them Coptic protesters. It was the worst violence since the uprising that brought down Hosni Mubarak in February.

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"The profoundly troubling attacks against Coptic churches and worshippers in Egypt in recent months have now given way to another tragic loss of lives," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The Egyptian military administration must act promptly to ensure the security of the country's Christian churches and their worshippers."

Several Coptic churches have been burned since Mubarak's ouster. Recently, in the city of Answar, angry Muslim crowds demanded the shutdown of a local Coptic church, even after its leaders agreed to remove a cross and bells from the building.

In response, Coptic protesters took to the streets of Cairo to call on the Egyptian authorities to take assertive steps to protect their houses of worship. Some Muslims joined with the Copts in the call to protect the country's minorities. Copts comprise about 10 percent of Egypt's population.

While a full investigation of the events last night will be necessary to determine what provoked the melee, it does appear that the military overreacted to what is widely seen as opposition to the current transitional government.

"Egypt's treatment of its Coptic minority is a harbinger of the course the country is going to take," Harris said. "If Egypt is to see the democratic changes and dignity that many of the protesters who overthrew Mubarak have demanded, this violence and oppression of the Copts must end."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee