The head of the World Council of Churches has said recent events in Egypt were an example of how change can be achieved without violence, saying it was a “miracle and an encouraging sign” when justice and freedom are established through peaceful means.
Referring to events in Egypt, the WCC’s General Secretary, Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, said earlier this week that “the last weeks have seen the people of Egypt moving together towards justice and democracy.”
“It is a miracle and an encouraging sign for all of us that justice and freedom can be established through peaceful and non-violent actions.”
Presenting his first report to the WCC’s central committee in Geneva, Rev Dr Tveit also praised the head of the Coptic Christian church in Egypt, Pope Shenouda III, for his response to the killing of 23 Christians and wounding of dozens more at a church in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve.
“He called for justice at the same time he called the worshippers of Christ to be those who follow the Christmas message of love and peace for everyone, and not to follow the logic of revenge and hatred,” he said.
“This will stand as an outstanding example of the prophetic message of the church for just peace, inviting all peoples of faith to overcome violence. I was also told about the positive effect it had on Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt.”
The comments come following the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak last weekend. His resignation followed several weeks of protests centred on Tahrir Square in Cairo.
The country now remains under military rule but the generals have reportedly said they intend holding an election with power expected to be handed to a new president and parliament by August.
Following the Egyptian protests and earlier, those in Tunisia, protests have broken out in many countries in the Middle East and northern Africa. Protests in both Libya and Bahrain have turned violent with reports of more than 80 deaths in Libya – where security forces fired on demonstrators – and at least four dead and hundreds more injured in Bahrain after government forces there also took action.
In Egypt ,meanwhile, official figures show 365 people were killed and thousands injured during the events of the past few weeks.
UNICEF says reports show the dead include 13 children and have called for all the deaths and injuries – especially those of children – to be thoroughly investigated.
The organisation has also launched a psycho-social support program for children affected by violence. They say the most seriously affected are the tens of thousands of children who live and work on the streets of Cairo.
“Testimony from children living in the streets indicates that they were exposed to severe violence, witnessing people killed and badly injured,” the organisation says.
The future remains uncertain for Coptic Christians, who have suffered persecution in Egypt, although leaders are reportedly optimistic things will change for the better.
