CAIRO: Around 5,000 Copts are planning to go on strike today in protest against the mistreatment of Copts in Egypt. Protestors agreed to strike by staying home on Friday or dressing in black should they need to go out. The strike was called for through a Facebook group titled "Copts for Egypt, as well as through text messages and phone calls. The group is demanding a law that equates regulations to build houses of worship as well as fair trials, Ramy Kamil, member of the online group, said. "We are not going to yield to the [mistreatment] and we will use our right to express our opinion, he said. While the number of participants on Facebook reached 1,700 in one month, some remain skeptical of the strike's effectiveness. Moreover, Sept. 11 falls on a Friday, which is already a day off in Egypt. "I m suggesting starting the strike on Friday evening and continuing it to Saturday evening to resonate in the country, lawyer Mamdouh Nakhla, one of the strike's advocates and head of Al-Kalema human rights organization, told Daily News Egypt. Fady Fathy, another member of the online group is not optimistic about the strike, saying the number of those participating is small. He also said there was not enough publicity. However, according to Nakhla, the protestors still insist on seeing their strike through. Copts will still strike under any conditions, because it will raise a flag with the government and parliament. The group chose Friday Sept. 11 to strike because it coincides with the Coptic New Year.
