White House condemns violence in Egypt, calls for restraint

2011-10-11 07:07:50 GMT+7 (ICT)

WASHINGTON (BNO NEWS) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday expressed his concern about renewed violence in Egypt which has claimed the lives of at least 26 people, the White House said.

"The President is deeply concerned about the violence in Egypt that has led to a tragic loss of life among demonstrators and security forces," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. "The United States expresses our condolences to the families and loved ones of all who were killed or injured, and stands with the Egyptian people in this painful and difficult time."

Clashes erupted on Sunday between Egyptian security forces and Coptic Christian demonstrators when an estimated 10,000 Copts were marching in Cairo against religious persecution. Eyewitness accounts claimed people being shot by the armed security forces and attacked by plain-clothed thugs, while some vehicles were set alight.

More than 140 people were injured during the clashes and transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment. The protest, which was organized by the Maspero Youth Union, was against an attack on a Coptic church on September 30 in the southern Egyptian province of Aswan.

The White House also called for restraint on all sides and said that the 'tragic events' should not interrupt the continued transition to democracy. "As the Egyptian people shape their future, the United States continues to believe that the rights of minorities - including Copts - must be respected, and that all people have the universal rights of peaceful protest and religious freedom," Carney added.

Sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christian Copts have increased in the past year. There are around 8 million Christian Copts in Egypt, which represent about 10 percent of the population, and Sunday's clashes were the worst since the revolution earlier this year.


-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-10-11

Another argument to cut back on the billion $$ + aid package to Egypt.

Another argument to cut back on the billion $$ + aid package to Egypt.

There's about as much chance of that as there is of the Arab spring democracy narrative being dropped - Denial is a river in Egypt. Predictably armed mobs of fanatics attacked the Copts, sadly but less predictably the army joined in by driving their tanks at the Copts.

http://www.debka.com/article/21373/

Sunday night, Oct. 9, a Coptic demonstration outside the state TV station to protest the authorities' failure to protect their churches from radical Islamic attacks ended with 24 dead of whom 17 were Copts and more than 200 injured. The Copts, who make up more than one-tenth of Egypt's 85 million inhabitants, were then attacked by hoodlums wielding clubs, stones and machetes. But the security forces turned their guns on the Copts and drove tanks against them – not the rowdies shouting Islam, Islami!

Here's John Bolton telling it as it is, 100,000 Copts have already left Egypt.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/10/bolton-obama-calls-for-restraint-from-egyptian-christians-as-theyre-being-killed.html

Bolton: "This will come as news to the Coptic Christians that they're supposed to exercise restraint. They're being attacked, they're the ones being victimized both by mobs of fellow Egyptian citizens who are Muslims and by the government."

Some restraint! But will be completely ignored by the western media as it doesn't fit their narrative.

http://www.aina.org/news/20111011191856.htm

In Cairo, thousands of Copts marched to attend the funeral of the victims of what they termed the "October 9 Military Massacre." They congregated in front of the Coptic hospital where most of the dead and injured were transported, and which was attacked the night before by Muslims, who hurled bricks and Molotov Cocktails at the victims' families.

Some restraint! But will be completely ignored by the western media as it doesn't fit their narrative.

http://www.aina.org/...11011191856.htm

In Cairo, thousands of Copts marched to attend the funeral of the victims of what they termed the "October 9 Military Massacre." They congregated in front of the Coptic hospital where most of the dead and injured were transported, and which was attacked the night before by Muslims, who hurled bricks and Molotov Cocktails at the victims' families.

Of the 40 countries I have visited in my life, none has been worse than Egypt. These people have 0 respect for anything not Egyptian Muslim, simple as that. The average man on the street is unstable and prone to violence. Consider that I have been to places like Zimbabwe, where the average man on the street is polite and tolerant... the same can be said for so many other places too. Egypt is not going to be a democracy in my lifetime, this I am sure of.