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Religious leaders in Egypt welcome regime change

The head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II is expressing his support to the army's decision to remove President Mohammad Morsi from office. It follows days of nationwide anti-government rallies and the Rebel campaign which had collected over 20 million signatures calling on Mr Morsi to step down. Protesters accused Egypt's first democratically elected president and the Muslim Brotherhood of pursuing an Islamist agenda and of failing to tackle Egypt's economic problems. Pope Tawadros II tweeted his support on Tuesday for the millions of people gathering in Cairo in protest.

He said:

"How wonderful are the Egyptian people recovering their stolen revolution in a civilized manner with the idea of "rebellion" and its great youth's sacrifice. I pray for all the people of Egypt."

Christian Egyptians say they have seen a rise in attacks against their community since the overthrow of long time ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011, and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power. On Tuesday, the chief of the armed forces, General Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi, announced that he had suspended the constitution and would nominate the head of the constitutional court, Adli Mansour, as interim president.

A statement on Mr Morsi's Twitter and Facebook accounts labelled the military move a "full coup", after he was officially deposed from office at 7pm yesterday and is now under arrest. Reacting to the development, Prime Minister David Cameon stopped short of supporting the military action, but has agreed to work with the interim administration.

He said:

"We never support in countries the intervention by the military, but what needs to happen now in Egypt is for democracy to flourish and for a genuine democratic transition to take place. All parties need to be involved in that, and that's what Britain and our allies will be saying very clearly to the Egyptians." 

Reacting to the plan Pope Tawadros II supports it and said it offered a political vision and would ensure security for all Egyptians, about 10% of whom are Christian. Egypt's second largest Islamist group, the Nour party, said in a statement that it agreed to the army roadmap in order to avoid further conflict. Speaking from Cairo, the Episcopal Bishop of Egypt, N. Africa and Horn of Africa, the Rt Revd Dr Mouneer Anis, tells Premier why he believes the decision to remove Mr Morsi was right for all Egyptians:

Mr Morsi came under huge pressure in the run-up to Sunday's anniversary of his maiden year in office, with his opponents accusing him of failing the 2011 revolution by concentrating power in Islamist hands. The Rebel campaign, organised by Tamarod, one of the main forces behind the 2011 revoloution focused on collecting 20 million signatures for a petition that listed the issues it had with the government:

  • Security has not been restored since the 2011 revolution
  • The poor "have no place" in society
  • The government has had to "beg" the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $4.8bn (£3.15bn) loan to help shore up the public finances
  • There has been "no justice" for people killed by security forces during the uprising and at anti-government protests since then -"No dignity is left" for Egyptians or their country
  • The economy has "collapsed", with growth poor and inflation high
  • Egypt is "following in the footsteps" of the US

In his last few hours in office, the embattled 62-year-old proposed a "consensus government" as a way out of the crisis, but his offering came too late and the army moved in. The Foreign Secretary, William Hague's calling for his release from custody ahead of new elections. Anti-persecution charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide has continued to work inside Egypt since the first reveloution since 2011. CSW's Mervyn Thomas and Stuart Windsor told Premier's Dave Rose there's been broad support for the military's decision from various factions of society:

And you can hear that interview in full on Premier's Voice for the Voiceless this Saturday at 11.30am.

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