The American Coptic Union (ACU) Submits a Complaint to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

On August 17, 2010, the ACU issued a complaint on behalf of the oppressed Coptic Christians of Egypt to the OHCHR. This complaint was filed against President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt; Interior Minister Muhammed Habib AlAdley; Chairman of Committee of Policies of the NDP (ruling party) Gamal Mubarak; Speaker of Parliament Fat’hey Suror; and Speaker of Shura Council Safwat ElSherif. They are accused for their criminal policies and practice of crimes against humanity and genocide against Coptic Christians in Egypt. The crimes include:

• Ethnic cleansing against hundreds of thousands, displacing and forcing families to leave their homes, and lands. And Confiscations of private properties.

• Massacring of Egyptian Copts, terror attacks, and raids on Coptic Christian villages.

• Thousands killed in orchestrated attacks all over Egypt.

• Kidnapping, raping, more than 500,000 women, and underage girls, forcing them to convert, and marry of those who commit the crime against them.

• For millions of Coptic Christians to convert to Islam, by force, and distorting their civil records.

• Killing worshipers inside the Churches. Burning and destroying hundreds of worship places, and historical monasteries.

• Protecting terror secret organization to kill those Coptic Christians who convert back to Christianity.

• Destruction of Egyptian Coptic historical sites, such as Luxor, Akhmim, Al Giza area of the Pyramids, and religious sites.

* Severe economic strangulation. President Mubarak issued a presidential decree to kill and exterminate all Pigs owned by Egyptian Christian Copts and confiscate their Farms. As a result about 3 million lost their income, and become unemployed.

* Ten of thousands of Egyptian Copts victims illegally imprisoned with false and fabricated, or no allegation at all, and without any trial, or Court hearing.

The ACU and Coptic community are committed to bringing these criminals to justice. No more can the crimes of a cruel government against its people continue with impunity.

On behalf of American Coptic Union, and US Coptic Community, we call upon, President Barack Obama, US Congress, and Government, all leaders of New York City, and State, Democrats, and Republicans to show their vigor support to “Freedom of Religion “for Coptic Christian, in the US and Egypt as they support the freedom of religion for American Muslims to build Ground Zero’s Mosque.

Reply to Ms. Kosa, United States Department of State

Lauren S. Kosa
Egypt Desk Officer
Office of Egypt and Levant Affairs
U.S. Department of State

Dear Madam;

Thank you for your reply to our remarks and concern regarding Ms. Chapman’s statement to the Egyptian Al Masry Alyoum newspaper.

First, we apologize for our error in Ms. Nicole’s name and title. We have corrected our records.

Secondly, despite the welcome comment that US is not against ElBaradei, it unfortunately continues, by omission, to imply US support for Mubarak. Further, we wish to point out that a vague support for “reform” is seriously inadequate in addressing the outrages and human rights violations that continue under his regime against an innocent population who’s only “offense” is their Christian faith.

Silence is complicity. Mubarak understands that what you do not oppose, you accept; what you do not criticize, you approve. You owe the Egyptian people, more than your tacit approval.

Thirdly, your most recent reply ignored the crisis of Egyptian Copts. Ms. Chapman minimized the officially sanctioned attacks on them as “intimidating.” That would be an appropriate word for a threat. But the crimes against innocent people are reality. There is a physical, religious and cultural genocide underway.

In 1938, at the Evian Conference, the US walked away from the impending holocaust with the same complicit attitudes that now abandon Egyptian Copts. Recently, the US condemned atrocities 95 years ago in another middle-eastern country that are all too similar to those now underway in Egypt.

We strongly suggest that a position more worthy of the United States of America would be proactive public and private objection specific to the crimes and unequivocal in its aversion to the perpetrators. That alone will avoid the need for another too-late apology decades after the complicity.

We respectfully urge the USA to openly acknowledge the plain fact of the Mubarak regime’s anti-Christian policy and actions. We ask that your office issue a public statement condemning the genocide of Egyptian Copts. Finally, we ask that a corrective statement be made that clarifies that the US neither opposes El Baradei’s presidential candidacy nor does it support the candidacy of Mubarak.

Thank you,,
American Coptic Union

Rafique Iscandar, president

American Coptic Union Calls for Equal US Respect for Egyptian Presidential Candidates

The American Coptic Union (ACU) protests the recent statement by US Department of State Egyptian Desk Director Nicole Chapman regarding the current Egyptian political spectrum. Chapman said, “[her] country would not support Mohamed ElBaradei if he decided to run in Egyptian presidential elections slated for next year.”

This apparent washing of the hands in the name of dubious impartiality is actually an endorsement of a regime that maintains its power through intimidation, violence, and genocide. A claim of “non-interference”, when the issue is justice and human rights, should be exposed as the endorsement of repression that it really is.

Chapman also told US reporters that the US was not concerned with “specific personalities.” However, she singles out ElBaradei, but does not say the same about Mubarak.

At the same time Chapman stated that the US would not support ElBaradei, she failed to say that the US would not support Mubarak in the presidential election. This clearly demonstrates US hypocrisy and favoritism regarding Mubarak and the Coptic genocide in Egypt.

Coptic Christians, as well as Muslims, see ElBaradei as the only hope to end Mubarak’s “reign of terror” for crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide against the Copts.

The Egyptian people see the United States of America as the last great hope of the world, the symbol of freedom, liberty, and democracy. However, with the current statement, the US has narrowed its interests to fit the interests of Mubarak’s despotic regime and his family, while the needs of the Egyptian people are ignored.

We would like to offer Ms. Chapman a small thanks for acknowledging anti-Christian sentiment in Egypt. However, she then went on to say, “What happens to the Copts is intimidating.”

That is very soft language for an outrageous and violent repression of human rights. The Mubarak regime kidnapped and raped Coptic girls, raided villages, killed innocent Copts, and burned Coptic homes, businesses, and churches. Her mild criticism is not even a slap on the wrist and that actually facilitates Mubarak’s campaign of terror and genocide.

Coptic Christians wish to hear the US Department of State speak on behalf of releasing the Coptic blogger, Hany Nazeir, who has been imprisoned for more than three years and is being tortured in attempts to convert him to Islam. Mr. Nazeir’s ominous fate has never been mentioned in any official US statements. How is such repression in Egypt any different from the often protested repressions of similar individuals in China, Russia, Myanmar and other dictatorships?

The ACU is looking for Ms. Chapman and the US Department of State to correct her recent statements and to fairly readdress the election issues by affirming that the US will treat all presidential candidates equally. Furthermore, the ACU and the Coptic Community in the US, Egypt, and abroad hope that the US Department of State will demand an immediate end to genocide against the Copts and end its own policy of silence that tacitly approves continued human rights violations in Egypt.

Source(s): Al-Masry A l-Youm

Press Release for the White House

The American Coptic Union (ACU) would like to thank United States President Barack Obama for his support for Coptic Christian human rights in Egypt.

Recently, the United Nations Human Rights Council reviewed the status of human rights and freedom of religion in Egypt. No recommendations or resolutions arose from the UN  to make the Mubarak regime to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights treaties. The ACU and the Coptic community in the United States  still hope President Obama, Congress, and the United States government will help ease the genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Coptic Christians in Egypt.

Mubarak, however, continues to defy these human rights treaties. He did not delete the second amendment of the Egyptian Constitution, which rules the government through Sharia, or Islamic, law. He did not nullify the laws that do not criminalize terrorists for massacres on Coptic villages. On January 6, 2010, Islamic extremists opened fire on a Coptic church in Nag Hammadi, killing six Copts and wounding dozens more. Although the Egyptian government brought the terrorists to trial, the “justice” quickly ended. The police arrested, tortured, and killed dozens of Copts who witnessed the massacre. This is a blatant violation of civil, political, and human rights.

After the Nag Hammadi massacre, American delegates from several human rights commissions visited Egypt and met with government officials regarding the Coptic situation. Until now, however, no comprehensive report of their findings was sent to the Department of State and no necessary action was taken to curb the oppression against the Copts. The regime showed no intention to improve the situation nor amend current laws that systematically persecute Copts.

The ACU and the Coptic community in the United States requests the following from the White House:

1. President Obama speak on behalf of the voiceless victims to restore their unalienable rights and to demand the return of more than 500,000 Coptic girls kidnapped by terrorists under the cover of the regime.
2. White House address the anti-Christian movement in the Middle East. Take necessary measures to stop illegal actions against Christians in the Middle East. United States go to the UN to protect Christian rights and pressure countries to pass laws criminalizing those who commit anti-Christian crimes.
3. Adjust or change foreign policy and curb anti-Christian movements in the Middle East.

We hope the White House takes these requests into consideration to end the oppression against the Copts, the native people of Egypt. Thanks and God Bless.