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 The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE [10.32 a.m.]: I also support this motion. I thank Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile and all speakers for their contributions. In particular I thank the Hon. Marie Ficarra for her excellent speech, which she delivered in a balanced and warm manner. I condemn the senseless violence that killed 26 and injured over 300 innocent protesters at the Black Sunday protest. I condemn that act and all acts of violence committed against the Coptic people of Egypt over the last 60 years and longer. Some protesters died of bullet wounds, others were crushed by military vehicles ramming through the peaceful protests. No matter what excuse the military gives, witnesses accounts, videos and autopsies confirm that many of the two dozen killed were crushed to death by military vehicles. One excuse of the military, which is a remnant of the Mubarak regime, was that the 300 soldiers feared for their lives as they faced the 6,000 protesters, a few of whom were apparently carrying knives, sticks and stones. The other reason was that the Coptic priests had allegedly threatened top military officer Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.

As I watched the news coverage I was dismayed by the level of brutality and violence executed against peaceful protesters. It is disturbing and shameful. Such extremist behaviour has no place in modern Egypt or anywhere else in the world. All people of faith must be able to practise and worship in peace and security. The arms of any State should not be stained by the blood of its own citizens. It was said that some sections of the Egyptian media egged people on by telling their readers that the protesters were attacking the army and that people should go and help the soldiers. If such reports of incitement to violence are true those media outlets must be investigated and condemned. The entire incident must be investigated and the perpetrators must appear before a court of law to be brought to account and pay the penalty.

The revolution had progressed quite peacefully. It brought about hope for change and for greater civil rights. It gave life back to the people of Egypt. I hope that those who come to power will transform Egypt into a democratic state that represents the rule of law and that respects the people, the institutions and the rights of workers, women and all minorities. I hope that the constitution that is soon to be drafted will respect the rights of minorities and will make the country a more secular society. I hope that the new political parties will not be infiltrated by people of influence and hidden agenda, be it in self-interest or in the interests of powerful players abroad pulling the strings to divide and conquer. I hope for a bright future for Egypt as I do for Yemen, Morocco, Syria, Bahrain, Iraq and the entire Middle East. I also hope that the people of Palestine are given what is rightfully theirs. Israel must stop oppressing the Palestinian people and it must give them the land they deserve. I wish the same for the Kurds, Armenians, Australian Aborigines and all people who have been unjustly treated over the past centuries to the present.

I wish to inject a measure of calm into this debate. I fear Egypt sliding into the hands of fundamentalist extremists. I fear for all Egyptians—Christians and Muslims—who want to live in peace and security and to feed their families, educate their children and live a life of respect. Ten to 12 per cent of the Egyptian population today is made up of Coptic Christians. Like most minorities in the Middle East and elsewhere, survival is their main concern. The Copts are discriminated against in all sorts of small and subtle ways. They are virtually powerless and most of their energy is consumed in trying to survive.

Having said this, I wish that the Coptic people of Egypt heed the words and follow the practices of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, for whom I have great love and respect. I had the honour of welcoming him to Rockdale when he last visited Sydney. I take this opportunity to welcome my friends from the Coptic community in the public gallery.
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His Holiness has gone through thick and thin. He has been a beacon of hope for the Coptic people of Egypt. He has trodden very carefully. To me he is the Gandhi of the Arab world—a man of peace, a man of brotherhood, always calling for harmony and interfaith. He is always calling for Egyptians to be one people first before being Muslims and Christians. He is reasoned and he is always wary of those politicians and hotheads who want to inflame matters and sink the people of Egypt into a cycle of violence.

We have to be wary of people who want to play on emotions, otherwise the cycle of violence will deepen. I call on all Egyptians to tread warily and carefully and calmly and responsibly. The people of Egypt are now at a critical juncture and the Coptic community must be wise to lead their people into a better and freer Egypt. Coptics will for centuries continue to live with their brothers and sisters of all different religions and in the interests of the Coptic community tempers must be contained and violence done away with. We must be careful not to allow extremists to highjack the debate and make out it is a war or a conflict between Muslims and Christians. It is not. Muslims around the world condemn the brutality as all people of good faith condemn such brutality and extremism. Once again I congratulate Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile for bringing forward this motion.

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