Copts blame Sisi for deadly attacks

In the wake of Friday’s deadly attack that claimed the lives of 23 Copts and wounded more than 50 others in the Upper Egypt city of Al-Minya, Egypt’s Christians have blamed President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi for not making enough effort to protect them, Rassd.com reported on Sunday.

A number of factions and public figures issued a statement on Saturday accusing the Sisi regime of not taking pre-emptive measures to protect the Coptic community. “The ruling regime is a partner in the massacre of the Monastery of Saint Samuel,” they alleged. The signatories accepted that terrorism is a global phenomenon unacceptable to everyone, but noted that other countries take pre-emptive steps to try to prevent such attacks, whereas Egypt does not.

The laws imposed “to fight terror” including the state of emergency have not made an “active” contribution to stopping the bloodshed, they warned. The group called for the immediate sacking of the interior minister, accusing him and his government of failing to protect Christians from terror, modify school books, sack extremist teachers and lay down an anti-discrimination and racism law that punishes those who use religion to incite against others.

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Meanwhile, the Director of the Egyptian Union Organisation for Human Rights, Najib Gabriel, blamed the governor of Al-Minya for the attack and called for Sisi to intervene immediately to stop such attacks against the Copts. “The killing of more than 100 Copts in less than five months is unbearable,” he insisted.

Christian rights activist Fawzi Hermina expressed his anger at the official Egyptian condolences given to the Copts following each attack. He launched a hashtag in Arabic which means, “I withdraw my recognition of the Egyptian regime and call for the UN to protect me.” He also called for ousting the whole government. “The Copts were among the people who authorised Sisi to fight terror, but he has proven his failure,” he claimed. The regime, he added, is not serious about fighting terror.

A Facebook page called “I am Coptic” attacked Sisi and his security services. Commenting on the headline, “Al-Sisi follows up Al-Minya attack” it asked:

What are you following up? You are letting the Salafists and the Azharists call for the killing of Christians without punishing them.

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