QENA - Thousands of Egyptians Tuesday protested for the sixth day in a row against the appointment of a Christian police general as governor of the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena, as he was last night expected to quit. Minister of Interior Mansour el-Essawi and Minister of Administrative Development Mohssen el-Nomani failed to persuade protesters to end the strike, in which they cut off main roads and the rail tracks. "No to any settlement before appointing another governor," said Sheikh Mohamed Khalil, a protest leader. Protests first erupted on Friday after Emad Mikhail, a police general who had served in Giza, was appointed governor of Qena, which has a large Coptic Christian population and a history of sectarian strife. El-Essawi, who made an important visit to the southern province late on Sunday, failed to resolve the crisis, which saw protesters camp out outside the Governor's office, a security official said. He added that Essawi pledged to take the protesters' demands to the ruling military council, which took power when Mubarak was overthrown by a popular uprising on February 11. Mikhail, meanwhile, said he was discussing his resignation with Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. "I'm ready to do it. I cannot stay a governor against the will of Qena people," Mikhail added. Muslim residents and Salafi Islamist groups were joined by Coptic Christian residents in denouncing the appointment of Mikhail, a senior police official under the Mubarak regime. Residents also say that previous Coptic governors have failed to resolve sectarian tensions in the province. In 2010, six Copts were gunned down as they came out of a Christmas mass in the southern city of Naga Hammadi, which belongs to the Qena province, in an attack that also left one Muslim policeman dead. Residents at the time slammed Mikhail's predecessor, Magdi Ayoub – also a Copt –, for failing to pursue justice after the attack for fear of further compromising the already fragile status of Coptic officials. Egypt's Christians, who make up 10 per cent of the 80-million population, have been the target of several attacks and have repeatedly accused the authorities of systematic discrimination.
