03 March 2011
Minya: Copts protest after governor decides to tear down Church building
Some 10,000 Copts march against the decision taken by he governor of Minya, southern Egypt, to demolish a five-storey building used a centre for the disabled. Shouting “Go, go after your master, [Mubarak],” they
call for his resignation.
(AsiaNews/Agencies) – More than 10,000 Copts in Minya Governorate, 250
kilometres south of Cairo, took to the streets to demand the resignation of the
local governor, Ahmed Dia-el-Din, after he ordered the demolition of Church-run
welfare centre for the disabled in the village of Deir Barsha.
Demonstrators from Deir Barsha and Deir Heness marched through the
streets shouting slogans against the governor: “Go, go after your master
[Mubarak]" and "We stopped giving bribes, so now you want to demolish the
centre."
At the end of the demonstration, more than 200 Copts refused to leave
the centre for the disabled, staging a non-stop sit-in until the demolition
order is revoked.
The five-storey building belongs to the Coptic diocese of Mallawi and
provides services to the elderly and children from 75 villages in Minya
Governorate.
The governor wanted to demolish the building in January 2011, but was
prevented by Coptic anger and demonstrations all over Egypt after the massacre
of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve.
The building slated for demolition “was inaugurated by the governor
himself four years ago and all licenses and papers are fully correct. Suddenly
he wants to demolish it,” one of the demonstrators said.
19:34 Posted in Egypt | Permalink | Comments (0) | 
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