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[Pages H607-H608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING EGYPTIAN COPTIC CHRISTIANS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Hill) for 5 minutes.
Mr. HILL of Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on National Religious
Freedom Day to announce that I am reintroducing my resolution in the
House in support of the Coptic Christians in Egypt.
I sponsored a nearly identical resolution last Congress, and I truly
appreciate the support I received from more than 50 of my House
colleagues who cosponsored that resolution.
[[Page H608]]
Egypt and the United States are important partners in the fight
against terrorism in the region. Egypt's role at Camp David has led to
some of the closest ties between the United States, Egypt, and Israel
in their history.
I am reintroducing this resolution because the Egyptian Government
can do more to protect its Christian citizens.
I have great respect for President el-Sisi, someone I have had the
opportunity to meet with on two occasions, and I applaud the changes
and message that el-Sisi has made in the areas of religious tolerance
and plurality.
He continues to say and do the right things at the top level of
government: having a good relationship with the Coptic Pope, attending
mass on multiple occasions, getting some churches reconstructed while
constructing the largest Christian cathedral in the Middle East in the
new administrative center outside Cairo, and holding terrorists
accountable for their atrocities.
But, Mr. Speaker, there is more to do. I stress to the Egyptian
foreign affairs officials when I meet with them that this is not an
attack on President el-Sisi. To the contrary, I acknowledge the support
and partnership and friendship that we have with Egypt. But there is
more that can be done in the area of protecting religious freedom and
human rights, especially in the rural parts of the country.
The State Department's 2018 religious freedom report on Egypt names
Minya province as a particular area for concern. The Egyptians
routinely claim that they have no minorities in Egypt. ``We are all
Egyptians, and we all take our water from the Nile,'' is something that
is frequently said.
But from my studies and in my view, there is a population in Egypt
that does not have the same protections of rule of law as others. The
country must do better in places like Minya province.
Following Secretary Pompeo's recent visit to Egypt, Hamza Hendawi of
the Associated Press wrote: ``El-Sisi's widely publicized policy to
staunch sectarianism, however, has done little to protect Christians in
rural Egypt, where Muslim extremists frequently attack their homes and
businesses or force them to leave their homes after violent disputes.
``Critics and activists say discrimination against Christians there
is often tolerated by local authorities and branches of the security
agencies.''
Mr. Speaker, my resolution calls on the Egyptian Government to end
this culture of impunity for attacks on Christians and to undertake the
arrest, prosecution, and conviction of individuals who carry out
attacks on Copts and other Christians in Egypt. It calls on the
government to hold accountable these local government officials who
fail to enforce the law.
I stand with Secretary of State Pompeo and support his message that:
``More work certainly needs to be done to maximize the potential of the
Egyptian nation and its people. I'm glad that America will be a partner
in those efforts.''
However, as the second highest recipient of American military aid in
the world, the United States Government must use the tools that it has
to hold our allies to a higher standard, if they are to continue to
receive our aid.
I encourage Egypt to live up to the legacy of Camp David at home,
working to achieve what former President Anwar Sadat called ``permanent
peace based on justice.''
Today in America, we commemorate Virginia's 1786 adoption of Thomas
Jefferson's Statute for Religious Freedom. In his proclamation today,
President Trump urged all Americans to help ``secure this blessing both
at home and around the world.''
All people around the world, regardless of their religious
affiliation, deserve the same freedom to practice their chosen religion
like we have enjoyed here in the United States of America for more than
200 years.
Permanent peace based on justice for the Coptic Christians of Egypt,
that is my goal with this resolution.
As President Reagan said: ``Respect for human rights is not social
work; it is not merely an act of compassion. It is the first obligation
of government and the source of its legitimacy.''
Mr. Speaker, the respect for human rights and religious freedom is
fundamental to the American position, and I will continue to promote
this issue for Coptic Christians and all Egyptians who take their water
from the Nile.
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