The Connecticut chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations is organizing a rally today to condemn the use of deadly force against pro-democracy demonstrators in Egypt and the burning of churches, said Mongi Dhaouadi, executive director of CAIR-CT, in a press release.
Egyptian-Americans, joined by several Muslim and community members, will hold a press conference at noon at the New Haven Register, 40 Sargent Drive, in New Haven. After, the group will join other protesters at a 3 p.m. rally in front of the Old State House building in Hartford.
More than 500 people have died in Egypt since Wednesday in clashes between the interim government and President Mohammed Morsi’s supporters, the Associated Press reports.
In a statement Wednesday, CAIR said:
“CAIR joins all those who value freedom in strongly condemning today’s massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt and calls for lifting the newly-imposed state of emergency and its inevitable denial of basic human rights. Those responsible for these horrific attacks on peaceful sit-ins must be held accountable and brought to justice.
“As we condemn the killing of peaceful protesters, we also condemn the reported attacks on Christian properties in Egypt and call for calm and national unity in the face of concerted campaigns to divide Egyptian society along religious and political lines.
“We welcome our own government’s condemnation of the violent suppression of democratic rights, and we urge President Obama to move beyond condemnations to take concrete steps to help restore democracy and the rule of law in Egypt through dialogue. The first steps in creating an atmosphere conducive to dialogue would include the release of all political prisoners and respecting the right to peaceful protest.
“President Obama should follow existing law by ending the flow of American taxpayer funds to Egypt’s military, which is using brute force to impose its will without regard to the results of the first free elections in that nation’s history.”
CAIR noted that Mohamed ElBaradei, one of the coup leaders, has resigned as vice president because of the attacks on the protesters.