Egypt Vehemently Denies Oppression of Religious Minorities
It is déjà vu!Last spring when the US State Department released its 2006 report on Egypt's violations of the rights of religious minorities, Egypt denied that these violations had ever occurred as was published in this past blog-post.
After the release of the 2007 US State Department report on International Religious Freedom, Egypt is repeating its previous stand: that religious minorities are not discriminated against and that they have equal citizenship rights in Egypt.
Cairo: El-Badeel newspaper reported, on 16 September 2007, that the official spokesperson for Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs "clarified that the Egyptian society is built on the supremacy of the law, and its judicial system that deals with litigations, is completely independent. The standard upon which its nationals enjoy their rights in Egypt is based on their citizenship, without any regard to their religion, their breed or their type, in conformity with what the constitution has decreed."
Since this is the official position of the Egyptian government, it must be clearly emphasized that the Egyptian Baha'is, who are legal and loyal citizens of Egypt, cannot expect any treatment that would be inconsistent with this emphatic and unambiguous stance of the Egyptian government.
Accordingly, the Egyptian Baha'is must be immediately granted all their citizenship rights, including ID cards, birth certificates, military service certificates, as well as all other official documents due to them, as guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution. This must be done without any impediments or harassment.
This is the only way Egypt can prove to its own citizens, and to the world, that its denial of violating the rights of religious minorities is indeed factual.
Of course you know nothing will happen unless the international community can put some teeth behind International condemnation of their egregious violation of rights of it's Citizens who do not belong to 3 religions already recognized!... However,keep up the fight :-)
ReplyDeleteI do not think that Egypt has any choice now but to grant the Baha'is their rights. This has nothing to do with any international condemnation...it is dictated by Egypt's own words and Egypt's own constitution.
ReplyDeleteWell I hope you are right...Otherwise I see Egypt falling into a state of complete anarchy and chaos....and it could get very very bad...
ReplyDeleteReally it is not a question of whether or not I am right...it is really a question of whether or not the statement of Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is right!
ReplyDeleteThere is little left of integrity, if there ever was, that would see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or any other ministry for that matter, admit and rectify their actions. A habitual, self-serving and motivated program of suppression is not one that would yield so easily, as has been witnessed. One would expect to see a single truthful and sincere act of redemption from these entities, particularly in light of the unanimous affirmation by all outside their influence that they are violating the most basic and universally embraced principles of human rights. The accusations of "public disorder" and "interference" would more aptly be relevant to those who are its accusers.
ReplyDeleteOuch!
ReplyDeleteAsk the oppressed not the oppressor!
ReplyDeleteThe Egyptian government refutes there is any discrimination or persecution of Egyptian Baha'is. If so, the government should be prepared not to discriminate and to issue civil documents to Egyptians who are Baha'is without which their rights of citizenship are denied!
If the government persists in refusing to grant them the rights of citizenship it is the voice of the oppressed that should be heard, not that of the oppressor.
For the government to claim one thing publicly and commit the exact opposite, to persist in refuting the facts is shameful, specially during this Holy Month of Ramadan.
Whatever happened to truthfulness, trustworthiness, honesty, fairness, and justice?
The oppressed know the truth, the oppressors know what they are doing which brings shame to an entire country whose majority of population are decent and honest people, deserving of the truth rather than the oppressors' biased religious propaganda that has no foundation in basic Islamic teachings!
Nadim