Egyptian soldiers
attacked for the second time the Monastery of Saint Bishoy Alexandria in
Wady el-Rayan, Fayoum, 110 km from Cairo.
Two monks and six Coptic
labourers were wounded. Four people were arrested, three monks and a
Coptic lawyer who was visiting the monastery to investigate a similar
incident the day before.
Monk Aksios Ava Bishoy told Nader Shoukry, of Free Copts,
that the army stormed the monastery using five tanks, armoured vehicles
and a bulldozer to demolish the fence built by the monastery last month
to protect the building and its residents from the lawlessness that has
prevailed in Egypt since the 25 January uprising.
In fact, the
monastery since that day has been attacked by common criminals who
escaped from prisons.
“We contacted state security and they said there was
no police available for protection,” Fr Bemwa said. “We were put in
touch with the military personnel who told us to protect ourselves until
they reach us.”
In order to protect themselves, the monks built a low
fence on the borders of the one side of the monastery that is vulnerable
to attacks, on land that belongs to the monastery.
Both monks and
monastery labourers have kept watch over it 24 hours a day.
Last Monday, the army issued an ultimatum to the
monastery, demanding the wall be torn down within 48 hours; otherwise,
it would act.
The monastery did not heed the order.
After the attack, the military issued a statement on their Facebook
page denying that it had attacked the monastery.
Instead, it claimed
that soldiers simply tore down a fence built on state land.
According to monastery officials, the fence was built
on land that belongs to the monastery.
For this reason, monks from Saint
Bishoy have organised a sit-in in front of the convent to protest
against the use of arms by the military.
The army also attacked the Monastery of St Makarios of
Alexandria in Wady el-Rayan, Fayoum, 100 km from Cairo, for the same
reason. One monk was shot and more than ten were beaten.
About 7,000 Copts staged a peaceful rally in front of
the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo.
From there, they marched towards Tahrir
Square to protest against attacks by the military on Coptic monasteries.