January 16^th  2000

The Rt. Hon Robin Cook, MP

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
King Charles Street 
London    SW1A  2AH 

Dear Mr. Cook, MP

              The United Kingdom Association is appalled by the mass killings of Copts (Christian Egyptians) and the destruction of their property at a number of villages in the Governorete of Sohag in Upper Egypt during the period 31.12.99 to 04.01.2000.

Reports of the media and statements issued by the Egyptian interior ministry simply attributed the instigating causes of the rampage, which continued for 4 days, to a dispute between a Coptic merchant and a Muslim street vendor.

Reports from different sources, however, whether it is the local Church leadership or the international media, all confirmed that the attacks were launched by thousands of Muslims against Christians in their homes or places of work, while security forces were standing by.

U.K. Coptic Association has been in contact with Bishop Wissa, the head of the local Church.  We were told that the present toll of what is considered to be the most destructive religious strife since the 1981 massacre of Christians at the Cairo suburb of Al-Zawiyah Al-Hamraa was the following:

·        At least 20 Copts killed by gunshots or burns and 10 are missing.

·        At least 70 houses, shops and warehouses owned by Christians have been looted or burned down.

·        The church of St.George in the village of Awlad Toq was looted and destroyed by the Muslim mob.

·        At least 50 Copts were wounded, some in serious condition.

It is important to note that in August 1998,  over 1,000 Copts of Al-Kosheh village were rounded up and tortured by the Egyptian police during an investigation into a murder of two Copts.  In its field report dated Sept.12 of that year, the Cairo-based Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights believed that the police attempted to charge a Coptic suspect because they feared a religious violence if the murderer was found to be a Muslim.  Eventually the police charged Mr. Shaiboob William ARSAL, a Christian, who is now awaiting trial end of Feb 2000.  Despite all evidence of police brutality, all police officers involved were acquitted.

Some observers question whether the 1998 police brutality in Al-Kosheh and the acquittal of the involved police personnel, on one side, and the insistence of the villagers and the Church leadership to have their rights redressed, on the other side, were contributory factors to the present flare of violence.               

In fact, the same top security officers involved in the 1998  Al-Kosheh incident, General Saed Abu Al-Ma’ali and Mahmoud Zakar, are still in their posts.  Local witnesses claim that members of the security forces fired the first shotguns that injured three Christians passers-by.

The U.K. Coptic Association must note, however, that massacres against members of the Coptic community had previously taken place in various cities and villages over the last three decades.  Among these areas we only cite as examples: Al-Khanka (1972), Al-Zawiyah Al-Hamraa (1981), Imbaba (1991), Demiana (1995), Kafr Demian (1996), Ain-Shams (1990,1996), Alexandria (1991,1994 & 1995), Al-Fayioum (1996), Dayrout (1992,1993), Al-Qusiyah (1994), Abu Qurqas (1990), Samallout (1991), Mallawi (1995), Al-Meniyah (1989,1994 & 1996), Manshiat Nasser (1992), Assiut (1992,1995 & 1996), Tema (1992 ,1996), Tahta (1996) and Qena (1993,1995).

In the light of these facts its hard to deny that the Copts of Egypt, the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, have been subjected to a cruel, though subtle, campaign of persecution for the last thirty years.  Tens of thousands of Coptic villagers have been forced to flee from their homes and land due to such attacks, organized money-extortion and abject poverty.  In addition more than one million Copts have migrated from the country. 

Such grave violations of the rights of Copts are committed by Muslim extremists who are manipulated  by sectors of the police apparatus and the Egyptian government through its discriminatory policies and inaction.

The status quo have contributed to worsening the situation of the Copts and endangering their mere physical existence.

As the recurrence of such atrocities and the practice of discriminatory policies of the Egyptian regime against the Copts are die-hard, it now becomes the responsibility of the international community to bear its moral and legal responsibility under international law.

The U.K. Coptic Association urges you to raise the desperate situation of the Copts with President Mubarak to ensure that the murderers of the Christians are brought to justice, the police officers and any other local officials responsible for allowing the massacre to happen are punished and that Shaiboob William Arsal is released from prison.  We urge you as well to discuss with the United Nations Secretary General the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the Coptic Minority Issue in its totality to study it in light of both the International Bill of Human Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

The situation, as you can see, is really serious and volatile.  The international community must not remain indifferent until genocide has been completed in silence.                     

I earnestly look forward to hearing from you soon.

Respectfully Yours

Dr Helmy M Guirguis

President of the U.K. Coptic Association