egypt copt clashes
Inside Story

Is the promise of democracy fading in Egypt?

The country’s ruling military council is facing criticism after a violent crackdown on Coptic Christian protesters.

In one of the bloodiest nights since Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, was ousted, dozens of people were killed in Cairo when thousands of Coptic Christians protesting against the partial destruction of a church in Aswan were attacked by security forces.

The ruling military council has warned of a foreign conspiracy, but it now faces questions from Muslims and Christians alike about why a peaceful demonstration was so violently crushed.

Is anger growing towards the ruling generals? What does the latest violence mean for the promise of democracy in post-revolution Egypt?

Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses with Amr Abdelmoniem, a political activist and member of the Roxy coalition, a political party and movement in Egypt; Michael Meunier, a Coptic political activist and lobbyist who is the founder of Egypt’s Alhayat political party; and Nabila Ramdani, a Middle East analyst.

“Christian Copts are extremely concerned about their status in Egyptian society and indeed the level of discrimination against them by both radical Muslims and indeed the government …. Their freedom of worship is not respected and their protection is not guaranteed …. The recent event also highlighted the lack of will and the means of the army to deal with highly sensitive issues like this one. And I think there is a concern among the Egyptians as a whole as to the ability of the army to protect its citizens.”
Nabila Ramdani