Friday 14 October 2011

Petition in Support of Egypts Coptic Community

I've been sent a petition about a No Way Out Campaign in support of Egypts Coptic Christian community, now under seemingly more open persecution than they were under Hosni Mubarak. The petition will be sent to UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, US Secretary of State,Hilary Clinton and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Ashton.

'We, the undersigned, ask you to use your good offices to urge the Egyptian authorities to provide extra security to protect Christians in Egypt in the aftermath of sectarian attacks in 2010 including the Nag Hammadi shootings in January 2010 and the Alexandria church bombing on New Year’s Eve. In light of continuing violence against Egyptian Christians, we urge the government of Egypt to take proactive measures to address the root causes of sectarian violence, and to prevent acts of religiously-motivated hatred. It is vital that the rights of all Egyptian citizens are upheld as set out in article 40 of the Egyptian Constitution, and that Christians enjoy “equal public rights and duties without discrimination due to race, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed.” Furthermore, we ask you to encourage a review and restructuring of the legal measures employed after sectarian attacks, and to call for an end to informal reconciliation meetings which do not recompense victims or serve justice. The rule of law must be upheld in Egypt in order to break the cycle of religious violence.'

You can also download a paper petition on the same website to be signed by others of good will, parishioners, friends etc.

No comments:

The Pope Who Won't Be Buried

It has been a long time since I have put finger to keyboard to write about our holy Catholic Faith, something I regret, but which I put larg...