By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: Human rights experts said the Cabinet’s decision to issue a unified law for building houses of worship will do little to defuse sectarian tension in Egypt, agreeing that implementing those laws is what counts.
In a statement issued Monday evening, the Cabinet said that a new article would be added to the law against discrimination, enforcing tougher penalties on those who violate it.
These penalties include prison sentences and a fine between LE 30,000 to LE 50,000; harsher still if the perpetrator is a government official, where the fine is between LE 50,000 to LE 100,000 with a maximum prison sentence of three months.
“We no longer trust the statements or decisions declared by the military council or the Cabinet,” Naguib Gobrael, head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization (EURHO), told Daily News Egypt.
Gobrael filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General against Information Minister Osama Heikal on Tuesday, accusing him of inciting the killing of Copts in the Maspero clashes, which left 25 people dead and over 300 injured.
Deadly clashes broke out between army forces and protesters on Sunday night when a march to Maspero — demanding Coptic rights and condemning an earlier attack against a church in Aswan — was itself met with violence.
More than laws
Gobrael said that after the Imbaba clashes last May left 15 people dead, the Cabinet vowed to issue the unified houses of worship law within three weeks — yet has failed to do so.
“We already have many laws preventing sectarian strife including a law against insulting religions, but none of them are implemented,” he added.
Ishaq Asaad, lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), echoed Gobrael’s sentiment, saying that implementing the law and prosecuting those responsible for violations against churches and Copts was key to easing sectarian tension.
“Not holding those who burn down churches responsible encourages them to continue their violations,” Asaad told DNE.
“People need to feel that the state is neutral towards all citizens, and does not favor one group over the other,” he added.
Asaad also pointed out that it is very difficult to prove a crime of discrimination.
The Cabinet’s statement said, “Anyone who commits an act or abstains from committing an act which leads to discrimination between people or against a sect based on sex, origin, language, religion or doctrine (resulting in) a violation of equal opportunities, social justice or disturbing public peace,” will be in violation of the anti-discrimination law.
Following the Imbaba clashes, the Cabinet issued a proposal for the unified houses of worship law, which was condemned by most Coptic experts, according to Asaad. The law was then put aside without being amended or discussed.
Role of media
Asaad and Gobrael lashed out at state TV’s coverage of the Maspero clashes. Rights groups have also come out in full force condemning the coverage, and accusing state TV of inciting sectarianism.
When the Maspero march and demonstrators were attacked on Sunday, state TV called on Egyptians to defend the military from an attack by Coptic protesters.
It was also quick to announce the death of three military officers during the clashes, while ignoring to mention the number of protesters killed — mainly Egyptian Copts — until later that night. It is still unclear how many, if any, army personnel were killed.
Gobrael demanded that the military announce the names of the officers allegedly killed, adding that he found no record of them in hospitals.
“What Egyptian TV broadcast incited sectarian strife, [violence] against Copts and disrupted social peace,” read the complaint.
He added that state TV described military police who reportedly died during the clashes as “martyrs,” while describing the Copts who passed away as “the dead,” which violates the constitution.
On a more positive note, Asaad said the law may help limit discrimination by government officials and allow the official establishment of unauthorized churches to prevent further clashes.
The Cabinet said that it would present a draft law recognizing unauthorized houses of worship to its legislative committee.
Coptic protests erupted after part of a church in the southern city of Marinab, near Edfu, was burned down late last month.
Governor of Aswan Mostafa Al-Sayed claimed in media statements shortly after that it was a service center, accusing the town’s Coptic community of building the church illegally.
Post-Mubarak
Many believe the recent clashes are a result of ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s policies, which nurtured sectarian strife.
Egypt’s Coptic community makes up around 10 percent of the population and has long complained of discrimination and demanded equal rights. While many are quick to point out the marginalization of Egypt’s Copts, less are inclined to label the country as a sectarian state.
Mubarak’s regime was repeatedly accused of manipulating these underlying issues in a bid to cling to power. The latest crackdown has brought these issues back in the spotlight.
On Monday, many Muslims attended the funerals of Copts who lost their lives during the Maspero clashes in a show of solidarity and national unity.
Inside the Abbasiya Cathedral, thousands of mourners chanted against the ruling military council, and against its head, Filed Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy.
Several incidents of sectarian tension have occurred following the January 25 Revolution, with many blaming the security vacuum for the escalation of these incidents into fatal clashes. Sunday’s events were the bloodiest since Mubarak stepped down.
“The armed forces dealt with extreme violence against the Copts while it left those who blocked railway roads in Qena governorate [last April] demanding to sack their Coptic governor unpunished,” Ramy Kamel, spokesperson for the Coptic Youth Union of Maspero, said.
Gobrael and Asaad agreed that the solution lied in holding swift investigations regarding the recent clashes that took place and prosecuting those responsible, in addition to implementing the laws.
Both experts also called for outlining a long-term plan that includes improving education and changing the culture embedded in the people.
The Cabinet formed a fact-finding committee to swiftly investigate and announce its findings regarding the Maspero clashes.
However, Kamel said it wasn’t enough, calling for an international probe into the clashes, “because we are holding investigations against the ruler of our country,” he said. –Additional reporting by Essam Fadl
Angry Egyptian Christians protest outside St. Mark’s Cathedral against the military ruling council, in Cairo on October 10. (AFP Photo/Mahmud Hams)
