The Maspero Youth Union, set up for the protection of Copts, has announced the establishment of two branches in Suez and Alexandria, and pledged to establish other branches across Egypt.
The goal is to bolster Coptic participation in parliamentary elections.
The union was first formed in March after a group of Coptic youth staged a sit-in in front of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union building, known as Maspero, to protest the burning of a church in Qalyubiya Governorate, north of Cairo.
At a forum held two days ago at a church in Suez, member Ramy Kamel said Saeed Aziz, a Coptic activist, was selected to act as a coordinator for the Suez branch. The movement is seeking to raise political awareness in Egypt, he added.
He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the idea of setting up nation-wide branches is to prepare Coptic youth for greater political participation and to enable them to organize themselves before elections.
Ramy added that Copts have paid dearly for the latest developments in Egypt, and this pushed them to form the union to help provide the community with decent lives.
Bishoy Temyi, another member, said that the Coptic community’s priority is the establishment of a secular state, the only guarantor of Coptic rights.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
