CAIRO: A number of human rights groups and Coptic movements are organizing a march on Tuesday calling for the resignation of the Aswan governor following the clashes between Muslims and Copts that occurred in the southern Egyptian town of Edfu over the weekend, over the construction of a church. “Our demands are legitimately looking at the recent events in Edfu and how the governor ignored the early signs of the crisis which helped fuel the situation even further,” said Safwat Gerges, chief of the Egyptian Center for Human Rights told Bikyamasr.com. “It became obvious that the shaky government that rules Egypt now only hears loud voices and responds to strikes and protests, therefore we are are going ahead and organizing this march,” Gerges added. The planned march will start in Shubra, a Coptic-dominated neighborhood, and will head towards Maspiro, the National TV and Radio building, then end in Tahrir Square. Whether the march will turn into a sit-in or not is still being discussed among the groups participating. Scores of Coptic activists protested late on Friday, condemning the violence and calling for tougher security measures to stop the clashes. The events began soon after the noon prayer on Friday in the small town of Edfu where tens of Muslim men, spearheaded by an Islamic clerk from a local mosque, marched toward a Coptic guest house after rumors spread that it was to be turned into a church. The men surrounded the building and soon after violence erupted and part of the building was set on fire. The violence moved to nearby Coptic residential houses and shops, where two building were set ablaze. Aswan's governor Mostafa el-Said is at the center of Coptic anger after he told national TV channel 1 that it was the fault of the Coptic community in the town as they “unlawfully tried to add more floors” to the building which “provoked the Muslims,” he said. He added that they ought to apologize and denied the clashes were violent, a notion that angered many Egyptian Copts around the country. Following the clashes, the Egyptian cabinet sent an investigative team to look into the situation and report back. BM
