Held on Thursday, October 21, 2011
The conference communique:
With deep sorrow yet great pride we announce the departure of our honorable Maspero martyrs who sacrificed their lives for this country [Egypt]. Our martyrs were treacherously gunned down joining myriads of martyrs and heroes who have paid their lives—a dear price for justice, truth and freedom.
Egypt’s Copts took to the streets to demand legitimate, inalienable rights they were deprived of because of iniquitous policies implemented by the ousted president’s regime and still pursued by the interim government. Copts steadfastly oppose the deliberate sluggishness tantamount to complicity in dealing with all crimes committed against them starting from the New Year’s Eve bombing of the Alexandria Church, the incident at St. Bishoy Monastery, the crimes in Badreman, Omrania, Manshia, Atfeeh, Basrawy, Imbaba St. Mary’s Church, and finally the incident of the Marinab Church. We have held peaceful protests and sit-ins, and the world, the moderates and other political powers witnessed that we never advocated violence or rioting as some lying perjurers falsely claimed.
We protested peacefully together with honorable Muslims who participated to show solidarity with us in demanding our legitimate rights that were consigned to the grave of callousness and apathy—a grave dug by the policies set by those presently in charge of the country who pretend to be patriotic and to support the revolution while they designate crisis management to the very people who instigate sectarian hatred and strife.
We asked for nothing but justice, truth, freedom and the rule of law, but we were faced by the Egyptian army’s full ammunition, weaponry, and armored vehicles. We refused to submit to this injustice and humiliation. We shouted in assertion that we are “Peaceful…Peaceful” but the Egyptian army responded with bullets piercing through the hearts of our martyrs, armored vehicles trampling the bodies of our heroes, and batons striking ruthlessly our faces. A flow of peaceful Copts’ blood was shed merely because they dared ask for their rights. Those peaceful Copts have never threatened and are not known to use violence, unlike others who have threatened publicly to call for Jihad, insurrection and violence.
Hence, leaders of the Supreme Military Council have committed a crime against Copts. They have breached the law and violated the principles of the peaceful [January] revolution. Therefore, they are required to deliver an official apology. We also demand the following:
1) All those involved in the incident of the Marinab Church should be brought to justice, including Aswan Governor, all instigators, initiators and perpetrators.
2) A thorough and transparent investigation into the crime of killing the Copts in Maspero: All government officials, members of the Military Council, people of the Media, and those in charge of the Egyptian national television presumed guilty of involvement in the crime should stand trial irrespective of their position and away from Martial courts, as we cannot allow the Military to be the adversary and the judge at the same time.
3) We demand the immediate release of all Copts unjustly arrested based on forged and spurious accusations and allegations.
4) We demand new fact-finding commissions, comprised of both Muslim and Coptic public figures well-known for their impartiality, honesty and integrity, to investigate all the crimes committed against Copts before and after January 25 Revolution. Based on the final findings of these commissions, all perpetrators of those crimes should be brought to justice.
5) Legitimizing all present churches and enacting new laws to legislate building churches.
At the end, we express our condemnation of the Supreme Military Council’s approach, and that of the leaderships of the Military Police, who have deviously endeavored, in the wake of all these incidents, to implicate Coptic leaderships and blame them for the bloody events of Maspero. These absurd allegations are nothing but outrageous and an utter assassination of the truth.
We hereby solemnly avow that all Egyptians, Muslims and Christians, shall continue our peaceful struggle to achieve the rule of law, and to hold high the banner of truth, justice and freedom, using all our well-established peaceful means of struggle.
The blood of our martyrs was not shed in vain.
The voice of truth shall never be silenced.
The arrows of justice shall dissipate darkness.
The beacon of freedom shall bring light to the nation.
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Translated by Coptic Solidarity from the Arabic original and related video:
http://www.copts-united.com/Arabic2011/Article.php?I=962&A=45726
The “Maspero Youth Union” is an organization of Coptic youth which has organized several peaceful demonstrations and sit-ins.
