CAIRO: Thousands of Coptic Christians decided to organize a strike outside Maspiro, the Egyptian television and radio headquarters, on Tuesday. Security forces interfered to dissolve the strike and open the way to the traffic. The Copts organized a number of demonstrations in Cairo and other governorates to express their protest against the sectarian tensions in Aswan recently. The demonstrations extended to other Egyptian governorates including Cairo, Alexandria, Minya, and Asyut. The demonstrators raised slogans demanding the arrest of those who work to destabilize the country and fuel tensions among its people. They also demanded that Egypt's ruling military council activate the rule of law. The security forces managed to dissolve the strike late on Tuesday through shooting in the air to disperse the demonstrators. They opened the road in front of Maspiro after dissolving the strike. Police and Armed Forces imposed a security cordon around the area after evacuating the demonstrators. Priest Mathias Nasr criticized the security forces' way of dealing with the demonstrators, who came to express their protest against actions that could spark tensions or destabilize the country. In related news, Edfu prosecution began investigations into the complaint submitted by Aswan's governor accusing a number of employees of manipulating the papers of the license issued to build the church. It is important to mention that a number of Coptic movements participated in the strike such as the Union of Maspiro Youth, Free Copts, Copts for Egypt, and the Coptic Union. Coptic Christians comprise about 10 percent of Egypt's poulation.
