EGYPT: Egyptians say there is secular harmony in Egypt today and that violence that killed 25 people when the army dispersed a protest by Coptic Christians on Sunday is the result of outside agitators

Record ID: 353585

  • Title: EGYPT: Egyptians say there is secular harmony in Egypt today and that violence that killed 25 people when the army dispersed a protest by Coptic Christians on Sunday is the result of outside agitators
  • Date: 12th October 2011
  • Summary: CLOSE ON NEWSPAPER HEADLINE
  • Embargoed: 27th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt, Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Conflict,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA4K28BZP7IWSW955EFLWRV62YM
  • Story Text: A day after mass funerals were held for dozens of Coptic Christian protesters who died in clashes with the Egyptian army, some in Cairo blamed outside agitators for the violence and said the country had a history of sectarian harmony.
    At least 25 people were killed on Sunday (October 9) night when troops broke up a protest over an attack on a church in southern Egypt. The majority of those killed were protesters, but the army has said that three soldiers also died in the violence.
    Television stations broadcast images of armed personnel carriers careening through groups of demonstrators, as well as protesters throwing stones and bars at soldiers and police.
    Sunday night's violence is the worst since the fall of long-time President Hosni Mubarak, and many in the Coptic community have expressed rage at the military council that now rules Egypt and its head, Field Marshall Mohamed Tantawi.
    But in Cairo on Tuesday (October 11), many people said that Muslims and Christians had lived together peacefully for generations and that outsiders were trying to destabilize Egypt.
    "We have always been friends as Muslims and Christians, we eat and drink together. My friends are Christian, my dearest friends, even more than some Muslims. And we have always been, when we were growing up, as children, my mother would leave us at our Coptic friends and neighbours houses. What happened is something that was plotted because of the elections, and because of foreign agendas… but we have never differentiated between Christian and Muslim," said Nawal Fathi Saleh.
    Abdul Mohsen said that the clashes, which took place outside the Egyptian state television building, called Maspiro, were an anomaly in Egypt's recent history.
    "I swear that what happened at Maspiro has nothing to do with Egypt at all. All of our lives we have been together, Muslims and Christians, and there is no discrimination at all. Millions have problems have happened before and they were solved within a few hours. What happened is totally foreign to us, and God help us to find out where this came from," he said.
    The military has told the interim government to investigate the clashes urgently and said it would take necessary measures to maintain security, according to Egyptian state television.
    One man said today that the military should be given time to investigate what went wrong, and pointed out that governing the country and acting as a police force was not its purpose.
    "There is no alternative, but the situation requires a little bit of patience. The army is studying what happened. The army is not sure what to do. Right now we have drafted the army into service and put it in an unenviable position, where they have to guard everything. Is the army supposed to be supervising the entire Egyptian people? What happened to their original purpose, which is to defend us?" said Nasser Fawzi Mahran.
    Sunday's clashes have overshadowed Egypt's first parliamentary poll since Mubarak fell, with voting scheduled to begin on Nov. 28.
    Christians make up 10 percent of Egypt's roughly 80 million people and some complain of endemic discrimination.
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