PRESS RELEASE
For immediate use
10 December 2013
Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media and Communications Office
Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)
Media and Communications Office
His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General
Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom testified at a
Congressional Hearing on ‘Human Rights Abuses in Egypt’ in Washington DC on
Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013.
Highlighting a
number of incidents occurring in recent months and years, he spoke of the increased
incitement that led to the burning, demolition, and attacks on scores of churches,
the kidnapping of Christian girls, restrictions on the choice or expression of
faith, and the increasing violent attacks resulting in loss of life, and the
displacement and destruction of property over decades.
Speaking on
behalf of all minorities Bishop Angaelos said:
“I
do not only speak as a Christian, because that would be very un-Christian of
me. We speak as Christians for everyone, and our view of human rights is for a
human rights perspective that covers every person.”
Saying the
following regarding the political situation in Egypt:
“What
we need to address at the moment are issues of illiteracy and poverty that make
constituents vulnerable when they vote and are manipulated, either financially,
or in terms of ideology, and of course religion becomes a part of that. What we
also need is foreign investment and tourism to bolster the economy and enable
people to sustain their families and communities.”
In conclusion,
Bishop Angaelos spoke of Christians in Egypt as those who remain loyal to, and
take pride in, their indigenous homeland despite the various challenges faced,
saying:
“We
speak as Christians with hope, and we have faced persecution far greater than
this. We are still there as the largest Christian denomination in the Middle
East and as the last actual bastion of Christian presence in the region.”
Shortly after
the hearing, and in commenting further on the state of minorities in Egypt,
Bishop Angaelos said:
“While
we do not seek to place blame on the current leadership, it is evident that over
the past decades there has been little done to ensure that these violent acts
do not reoccur. Since the uprising, and due to a decrease in law and order
resulting from the turbulent period under the rule of Mr Mohammed Morsi, there
have been increasing challenges facing Christian and minority groups in Egypt.
Having said that, and in looking to the future, we continue to support the current
process of rebuilding Egypt with a new constitution and ethos, and support the
whole community as it calls for change.
We
pray, that with the good intention of all to move past these challenging times
in Egypt’s history, the implementation of equality before the law will ensure
that Egypt becomes a better place for all citizens on the basis that they are
Egyptian before anything else, whether they are the numeric majority or
minority, man or woman, young or old, secular or religious, Bahá’i, Christian
or Muslim.”
Testifying alongside
Bishop Angaelos, Mr Samuel
Tadros, Research Fellow at Hudson
Institute’s Centre for Religious Freedom said:
“In
order to prevent recurring attacks there must be a process put in place to
identify the most vulnerable villages in Egypt that are likely to experience attacks.
The Egyptian government should be urged to implement this and the United States
may be able to provide resources to help with that process. The Egyptian police
also need a security protocol to deal with mob violence and should establish a
crisis office within the Egyptian presidency to deal specifically with that
issue, as well as the development of a rapid response unit. We also need reform
in the legal system, and localised reward and punishment system.”
Other witnesses included:
Zuhdi Jasser, M.D.
Vice Chair, U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom
Morad Abou-Sabe,
Ph.D., Professor
Emeritus, Rutgers University
Mr. Tad Stahnke, Director of Policy and Programs, Human Rights First
Mr. Tad Stahnke, Director of Policy and Programs, Human Rights First
*Ends*
Resources:
·
Transcript and Copy of Testimony submitted to
Congress available upon request.
·
Statement
by Bishop Angaelos, highlighting the increasing incitement and violence
threatening and claiming the lives of Christians in Egypt. http://bit.ly/1cn7eBf
