CAIRO--While some Egyptian Christians, angry over deadly sectarian clashes in a working-class area near Cairo, called for international protection for Copts, others slammed such a call as being alien to patriotism. The Copts from both sides, however, yesterday continued to protest outside the State TV near Cairo's Nile after 12 people were killed in clashes outside a church in Imbaba, on Saturday night. "The protesters hurled stones at the glassy facade of the first storey of the circular building in a bid to storm into it, clashing with passers-by," an Egyptian Mail eyewitness said. He added that the stoning started after one of the workers inside the building threw an empty bottle at the protesters. "They thought this was a sign that the TV employees would attack them. However, this did not happen," the witness said. Most protesters were demanding those who started the Imbaba clashes be put on trial and asked for some Muslim hardline clerics to be arrested in addition to rebuilding the churches damaged during the clashes. Some such demands had already been met after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces referred 190 rioters to a military tribunal, and the Giza Governorate allocated LE6 million ($1 million) to rebuild the churches. However, one of the demands made by the Coptic protesters was promptly rejected by some of them on the site and in the coastal city of Alexandria. This demand was the call for international protection for Egypt's Christians. "Since the Egyptian authorities cannot protect Copts from attacks by Egyptians from other sects, it's our right to call for international protection," said one Coptic protester, who raised a banner reading: "We need international protection". This demand, which was not publicly raised under the 30-year rule of toppled president Hosni Mubarak, was supported by a protest on Sunday outside the US Embassy, where Copts requested the US to intervene to protect them. However, asking for international intervention to protect the nation's Christian minority was rebuffed by many Copts approached by the Egyptian Mail in Cairo. "Whatever happens among Egyptians, either Muslims or Christians, they are partners in this great country. It's illogical to ask for foreign support in this critical issue," said Aziz Seidhom, a 23-year-old Coptic accountant. "Thinking this way gives the Muslim-Christian issue a new dangerous turn. This was rejected by the Church in the past, Seidhom added. Seidhom's argument was that of many Christians and Muslims from different political leanings, who protested against suggested international protection in the coastal city of Alexandria. "Your brethren Muslims are for a civil state, where your rights are fully preserved," shouted the protesters in Alexandria, led by members of the opposition Al-Wafd Party on Sunday. In addition to the 190 suspected rioters standing military trial for the Imbaba clashes, a security official declared yesterday that 23 other suspects were arrested including a Muslim husband of a Christian convert woman. "Yassin Thabet, a 31-year-old Muslim driver, married to a Coptic woman who converted to Islam, and a Coptic café owner who reportedly started the rioting, were detained," said the official. The deadly rioting in Imbaba, which killed six Muslims, four Copts and two unidentified persons and injured 242, drew responses from several countries with the US urging a thorough investigation and Germany calling for tolerance promotion. "The US strongly condemns the senseless sectarian violence. A full and transparent investigation should be conducted and violations of the law should be prosecuted appropriately according to international standards," read a statement by the US Embassy in Cairo. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said the Egyptian Government should “do all within its might to create a climate of tolerance,” ensuring the safety of religious minorities, especially Coptic Christians. "This is a prerequisite to live together in peace, and the new Egypt in particular, which feels committed to greater freedom and a stronger democracy, should make this demand of itself." EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton urged Egyptian authorities to send a powerful signal to Muslims and Christians after the Imbaba clashes raising fears of deepening religious strife."I commend the prompt measures taken by the interim leadership to restoring order, and I urge the authorities to bring those responsible for the violence to justice, before civilian courts," Ashton said in a statement.
