President Mubarak denounces the New Year's Eve attack on Copts and calls it a "national security" concern, reports Dina Ezzat It has been a bad year for Egypt's Copts. Less than 12 months after the slaying of six Christians on Coptic Christmas Eve in the Upper Egyptian town of Naga Hammadi 20 Copts were killed in Alexandria on New Year's Eve. Hours after the attack President Hosni Mubarak addressed the nation, promising a prompt response and underlining the call for national unity at a time of considerable sectarian tension. The presidential statement, broadcast repeatedly on all state-run TV channels, was unprecedented in both its content and tone. Mubarak called the victims of the church massacre "martyrs", a word that is usually reserved in official discourse for Muslims and police victims of any confrontation between security forces and Islamist militant groups. It was a notable departure from earlier responses to the targeting of Copts, in Naga Hammadi and in Omraniya, where three Copts were killed in clashes with security forces over the unlicensed construction of a church early in December 2010, and in the earlier Al-Kosheh incident in which 20 Copts were killed as part of the 1990s sectarian strife in Upper Egypt. "I talk to you hours after Egypt was the target of an evil terror attack," Mubarak said. In a brief but concise speech Mubarak emphasised that the massacre targeted not just Copts but the entire nation. "The terror attack was directed against the entire nation, Copts and Muslims. It shocked and disturbed the nation and broke the hearts of all Egyptians, Muslims and Copts." Mubarak qualified the New Year's Eve attack not as an act of sectarian violence but as an act of terror similar to those directed against Egyptian Muslims and tourists in the 1990s. The president, who received a series of calls from Western leaders urging greater protection of Copts and their churches, insisted that the war on terror was ongoing and would ultimately eliminate every terrorist. Mubarak, who had spoken candidly with Pope Shenouda over Coptic grievances only days before the Alexandria attack, offered condolences and assurances to the families who lost loved ones as well as to Egypt's Copts in general. He also referenced a remark made by Pope Shenouda about the commitment to bring the killers of the Omraniya demonstrators to justice, affirming that justice will reign, and promptly. Against a backdrop of angry demonstrations and widespread Coptic dismay at the level of security afforded to churches, Mubarak made it clear that he would personally follow up on the investigations and that the file would not be left exclusively in the hands of security officers. The president, who advanced "a foreign planning" scenario for the blood bath, insisted that the Alexandria massacre rang an alarm bell over national security, promising that no compromises would be tolerated either in the investigation or prosecution of the case or in the enforcement of security measures to prevent another attack. The attack, he said, is "yet another attempt to stir sedition between Copts and Muslims", adding that all Egyptians remain united in their war against terror and their rejection of sectarian sedition. Mubarak's speech on Friday was well received by the Patriarch of the Coptic Church. In a televised interview on Monday evening Pope Shenouda welcomed the top-level commitment to bring the perpetrators of the Alexandria attack to justice. Anger over the targeted killing of Copts, he added, would not prevent the celebration of Christmas mass. The ruling National Democratic Party, which is chaired by the president, issued a statement welcoming the "typical wisdom" of Pope Shenouda. Following President Mubarak's speech several state and religious figures reiterated the sense of dismay over the massacre and reaffirmed the call for national unity. Gamal Mubarak, whose presence at Christmas mass in the Coptic cathedral in recent years has been welcomed by the Coptic Church, issued a statement affirming national unity. Ali Gomaa, the grand mufti of Egypt, made an exceptional call for Muslims and Copts to pursue joint development ventures in order to give popular credibility to the many statements of national unity that have been voiced since New Year's Eve.
