Voice of the Copts News Conference – National Press Club

Voice of the Copts News Conference – National Press Club

By | 2009-08-20T08:13:00-04:00 August 20th, 2009|Events|0 Comments

Statement by Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah, President Washington, DC – 17 August 2009

On behalf of Coptic Christians in Egypt, Coptic Christians in America and around the world, and as President of Voice of the Copts, a human rights advocacy group for more than 15 million Coptic Christians, I welcome you to our news conference.

Our objective is to expose the unprovoked criminal acts and escalating human rights violations by Egyptian head of state Hosni Mubarak and his dictatorial regime against law-abiding Coptic Christians and others in Mubarak’s Egypt. For 28 years, Mubarak has encouraged and enabled such violence against Coptic Christians by Mubarak’s refusal to take action. At this News Conference and at our peaceful Rally tomorrow, the Copts are finally verbally attacking Mubarak.

If U.S. President Barack Obama is truly committed to democracy, freedom, the rule of law, and basic human rights, we urge Obama to demand that Mubarak now take effective action to ensure human rights for Coptic Christians and all others in Egypt.

We will first provide a brief history of Coptic Christians in Egypt. We will then present a Bill of Indictment against Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak as a silent partner to murder, rape, torture, and other human rights crimes against the Copts by supporters of the Mubarak regime in Egypt. Finally, we will state our demands for effective action by Mubarak. Of course, we will also answer your questions.

St. Mark, author of the Gospel of Mark introduced Christianity to Egypt in 54 A.D. All Egyptians were then known as Copts. After the Arab Muslim invasion in 642 A.D., Coptic Christians who become Muslims began to call themselves Egyptians.

Arab Muslim regimes in Egypt favored Muslim conversions by higher taxes on Coptic Christians and on Coptic economic & other activities. Copts had to choose amongst higher taxes, Muslim conversion, moving to another nation, or death.

International human laws and the Constitution of the republic of Egypt now require basic human rights for all Egyptians. Virtual dictator Hosni Mubarak has aided and abetted his supporters in religious discrimination, economic discrimination, torture, kidnapping, rape, and murder of Coptic Christians and others in Egypt, which Mubarak has ruled as a de facto dictator for more than 28 years.

Therefore, on behalf of 15 million Coptic Christians of Egypt, and as President of the Voice of the Copts, I hereby charge Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak with aiding and abetting murder, rape, kidnapping, torture, and other human rights crimes. We ask that Mubarak be brought to justice in Egypt or in an international criminal court.

In the alternative, we demand that Mubarak take effective action to stop the murder, rape, kidnapping, torture, and other human rights crimes by his supporters against Coptic Christians and others in Egypt – or that Egyptians unite to remove Mubarak from office during or before the next election. Mubarak is an embarrassment to all Muslim, Christian, and all other peoples of Egypt. Mubarak should stop such crimes and embarrassments against all Egyptians; or Mubarak should resign immediately.

A significant Mubarak supporter called to ask that I cancel this Voice of the Copts News Conference and not say that Mubarak is a criminal. In exchange, he offered a meaningless promise.

Until Mubarak begins to take effective action to stop all Muslim extremist violence against Coptic Christians, we refuse to make any concessions. We will not negotiate with terrorists – or with terrorist enablers.

Fifteen million Egyptian Coptic Christians, the Voice of the Copts, and I demand the following from de facto Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak:

1. That Mubarak take effective action to stop Muslim extremist torture, rape, and murder of Coptic Christian women, men & children;

2. That Mubarak take action to stop Muslim abductions of Coptic Christians and that Mubarak effect the return of all abducted Coptics to their families;

3. That Mubarak take action to stop all Muslim extremist human rights violations & forced Muslim conversions against Coptic women, men & children;

4. That President Mubarak and the Egyptian parliament immediately take action to remove all remnants of Muslim law, also known as Sharia Law, from the Egyptian constitution — or outlaw the applicability of Sharia Law against Coptic Christians and other non-Muslims in Egypt;

5. That Mubarak and the Egyptian parliament take action to implement human and civil rights for Coptic Christians and other non-Muslims in Egypt equal to the rights of Muslims in Egypt — which rights are now guaranteed in Egypt’s constitution but are effectively denied by the Mubarak regime;

6. That Mubarak immediately take action to guarantee life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic, religious & other happiness in Egypt by Coptic Christians and other non-Muslims – in a manner that is equal to Muslims in Egypt; and

7. That Hosni Mubarak – before he leaves Washington – pardon & release Coptic Christian priest Father Mattaos Wahba from a 5-year sentence of hard-labor imprisonment for performing a Christian marriage ceremony for a Christian man and a Christian woman, whom Mattaos did not know had converted to Christianity after being a Muslim – which may almost be a crime in Egypt.

If Mubarak is unwilling or unable to release Father Mattaos, then Egypt’s 15 million Coptic Christians and I ask that President Obama or former President Bill Clinton fly to Egypt to persuade Mubarak – or others who are able – to release Father Mattaos from prison for the ‘crime’ of performing a Christian marriage ceremony. If Clinton can do this with North Korean’s Kim Jong Il, then Clinton may be able to do this with Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. After all, miracles do happen."

If Obama can discuss human rights for Arab Muslims in Israel and peace and prosperity for all Mid-East peoples, as Obama said when first meeting Mubarak in Egypt, maybe Obama and Mubarak can now discuss human rights for Coptic Christians in Egypt and peace and prosperity for all peoples in Egypt. After all, miracles do happen.

Voice of the Copts – along with the National American Coptic Assembly and the American Coptic Union – has scheduled a peaceful rally at the White House during Hosni Mubarak’s visit to Washington DC to meet with President Barak H. Obama on Tuesday August 18th. The rally will begin Tuesday at 9:00am at Pennsylvania Avenue & 17th Street NW and will then move to the White House. We have included the schedule and route of our demonstration and rally in your press packets.

At the rally and demonstration, Voice of the Copts, National American Coptic Assembly, American Coptic Union, other human rights groups, and human rights activists from American and other nations will join together to demand that Mubarak take action to stop Muslim extremist violence against Coptic Christians and others in Egypt — and that President Obama demand that Mubarak do so immediately.