The Assyrian Universal Alliance, Australian Chapter, joined hundreds from the Australian Coptic community, Australian Christians from various backgrounds and political and religious leaders to support calls by the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia to condemn the Egyptian Government for the violation of basic human rights of the Christian Copts of Egypt.

Mr. Hermiz Shahen, The Deputy Secretary General of the Assyrian Universal Alliance addressed the gathering in a show of support for Copts of Egypt. He delivered the following is his speech:

To all Peace loving people who have gathered here ,
To all the organizers of this gathering, The Coptic Orthodox Dioceses of Sydney
To all our friends the Copts of Egypt,

We, representatives of the Assyrian community in Australia, are gathered here to support our brothers, the Christian Copts of Egypt. We are here to protest and show our anger against the criminal activities committed against them on daily basis in Egypt.

Greetings form the Assyrians of Australia

Egypt's Copts are an endangered minority. Exposed to continuous and systematic pressures, their numbers are dwindling. Thousands have emigrated; Thousands of those who are left behind are forced to convert to Islam every year; those who stay faithful to their religion in Egypt find themselves increasingly marginalized and alienated in their own country.

The Terror campaigns against them are aimed to force them out of their homeland, they are not provided with any protection by the Egyptian government. We have reasons to believe that the Government of Egypt is collaborating with the extremist by not doing anything to protect their Christian citizens. Coptic's are indigenous people of Egypt, they are descendants of the ancient Egyptians, their human rights and well-being has to be acknowledged and respected.

Christianity once prospered, enriching and blessing in peace all that dwelt in the Middle East. But today they are disappearing from the map of the Middle East. Several of these Christian communities date back to the first decades of Christianity, such as the Copts of Egypt, and the Assyrians, the indigenous people of Mesopotamia (Today's Iraq), Descendant of the ancient Assyrian civilization who have a history that spans over 7000 years.

Assyrians like the Copts are now dispersed throughout the world facing systematic campaign of massacre and destruction, they have been intimidated, pressured to convert to Islam, kidnapped and murdered. Our families live in constant fear, They have had their loved ones beheaded, raped, and daily threats are made against their lives, our churches have been attacked and destroyed.

Accordingly, we call upon the Australian government to stand in the international spotlight as representative for the free nations of the world and as the leading champion in the realm of democracy and human rights, defending those whose essential rights are violated and stepped on by everyone in Middle East. We ask you all to support the Christian of the Middle East. We have to help them to get their rights back while condemning these breaches of fundamental precepts of our common humanity. We fear that through complacency, the perpetrators are given free reign to destroy, terrorize and debase all that our ancestors worked to build over the past millennia. But we hope, that with a common resolve and united voice, we can remind the world there are Christian minorities in the Middle East such as the Copts of Egypt and Assyrians of Mesopotamia who are facing oppression and violence everyday. We hope to give a voice to those that have none as we cry for justice and recognition of their plight.

God bless you all, May God bless our wonderful Country Australia

Assyrian Universal Alliance
Australian Chapter