Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to strongly associate myself with this motion and commend the member for Hughes and all the others who have spoken on this issue, particularly the member for Grayndler, who has such a long association with the Coptic community in Sydney. This situation has worsened, not just in recent days but also over the Christmas season, when Coptic Christians in Egypt faced attack. When 23 people were murdered, we knew the situation had gotten a lot worse. Egyptian society is in turmoil at the moment because of the country's move towards democracy, but that is no excuse, as I am sure the Coptic community will agree, for the Egyptian military and the current Egyptian government to ignore the rights of such an important minority in Egypt. The security and religious freedom of Coptic Christians must be respected, and we call on the Egyptian government to respect those rights and to guarantee those rights.

Let us remember where the events of the last few days began. It is not, as portrayed by some in the media, a fight between militant Christians and Islamic fundamentalists. This began with the burning down of a Coptic church, which led to people making peaceful demonstrations that were then attacked by the Egyptian army. I regret to say I have read reports that, in provincial areas of Egypt, parts of the Egyptian provincial government and even parts of the Egyptian military have participated in these attacks on Coptic churches. It is outrageous. I remember the words of his Holiness the Pope, who expressed his solidarity with the Christian people of Egypt by calling on world leaders to speak out against attacks on Christians in the Middle East. This is the sharpest point of those tensions, and it is not an excuse to say, 'Society is out of control; we're in transition,' and that the Egyptian military cannot guarantee the safety of people practising an ancient religion in their own country. The world is looking at how the Egyptian government behaves. As various members have said, the Egyptian economy, Egyptian tourism, all of those things, are at risk. It is in Egypt's interest to protect its own citizens, its Coptic citizens.

I commend the member for Hughes for moving the motion. I am particularly pleased as a member of the government to have worked with ministers like the member for Grayndler and the member for Batman, who had a large delegation of which I was part that met Bishop Suriel in January, along with some of the Coptic fathers, in Melbourne at the federal government offices. We will continue to concentrate on this issue, and the Coptic community in Australia should know that the Egyptian government will hear the united voice of this parliament, showing the Christian people of the Middle East that we are fully behind them.

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