Former Coptic leader to Echourouk: Extremists are to blame for the recent violence in Egypt
The former head of the Middle East Churches Council Johan kelta was dismissive to the allegations that the Coptic Christians have demanded a quota in the upcoming elections and vehemently denied the fact that this community requested a foreign intervention to protect them in Egypt.
- He has also accused the Salafite groups of being responsible of the latest events that broke out in Maspero.
- Echourouk: How can the last events affect the Egyptian revolution?
- Kelta: The world is changing radically, the Middle East era is over and peoples are entering in a new age; what happened recently will not affect Egypt and the brotherly relationships between Muslim and Coptic communities.
- Echourouk: Some have accused foreign parties and others the remnants of the ancient regime who, do you think, is responsible for the events?
- Kelta: After the outbreak of the revolution, thousands of extremist Islamic groups have been released from prisons and drew benefit from the void left by the fall of the regime in Egypt to impose their own religious dogma on the Muslims and Copts alike, thy have put it clear that the Copts should leave Egypt… Is it reasonable to expatriate 10 million Copts, how can we fight for the Palestinian cause and the return of the refugees and expel the Copts at the sale time… the Egyptian media have reported that the protesters were infiltrated by other parties.
- Echourouk: Do you mean salafits?
- Kelta: Most probably from the Salfit groups, rogues and extremist.
- Echourouk: Don’t you think that the latest events have affected the good relationships between the military institution and the peaceful protesters in Egypt?
- Kelta: Not a all, the military institution is still esteemed and respected by the Egyptians because they were the grantors of the revolution, but the army was lenient with the extremists.
- Echourouk: Some talk about a project masterminded by Israel to divide Egypt into three provinces and an international protection for the Christians there?
- Kelta: As Christians, we believe that Egypt is historically, geographically and socially undividable; the Copts have no other country than Egypt and Muslims cannot live without them… This project is an illusion and baseless; we are against any foreign interference in our internal affairs there isn’t any difference between us and the Muslims in Egypt.