Obama's promises are not the only solution to Egypt’s problems
Cairo (AsiaNews) - "The financial support promised by Obama is concrete, but it can not be the only solution to the problems in Egypt”, Fr Henry Boulad, Jesuit priest and director of the Daher Holy Family College (Cairo) speaks to AsiaNews, in the aftermath of the speech of U.S. President Barack Obama on the Middle East. In it, he promised aid and investment to the region's countries that embrace democracy.
According to the Fr. Boulad, the country has fallen into a terrible economic crisis after the fall of Mubarak. "Hundreds of factories have closed - he says - hotels and residences are empty due to the lack of tourists and in a few months the state will no longer have money to pay salaries". Yesterday, Obama promised 2 billion U.S. dollars in debt relief and loan guarantees. But the economic aid, including the US plan, are not the only solution.
For the priest, the most serious problem is the inter-religious conflict between Muslims and Coptic Christians. Yesterday at Ain Shams (a district in the south east of Cairo), hundreds of Islamic extremists attacked a Coptic church recently reopened by the military Supreme Council. Today, the Coptic community has organized a new demonstration in front of the headquarters of the Egyptian TV, to demand greater security and respect for their rights.
"These attacks are not spontaneous - says Fr Boulad - but are fuelled by men of the Mubarak regime, who are trying to create tension in order to discredit the jasmine revolution”.
According to the Jesuit, the West must support a new culture of human rights among the population and develop an aid plan that analyzes the situation from a macro-economic point of view, taking into account all the social and cultural components of the country. (Sc)
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