Agreement falters

Arbitration between the monks of Abu Fana Monastery and surrounding villagers has hit the rocks, reports Reem Leila

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Arab tribes living adjacent to Abu Fana Monastery, in Mallawi, refused to sign a reconciliation agreement on Saturday because, they said, it would imply an admission that they were responsible for the violent clashes that took place on 31 May.

A Minya judge ruled on 6 September that 15 people involved in last May's clashes be detained for an extra 45 days, ignoring the People's Assembly Defence and National Security Committee's request to postpone the ruling until the final settlement was due to be signed.

Eid Labib, a member of the Arbitration Committee, says that "the Mallawi archbishop's refusal to pay compensation to the family of Mohamed Mustafa Khalil, the 42-year-old farmer who was killed in the clashes between the Abu Fana monks and Bedouins and the insistence of Abdel-Qader Abdel-Rehim, head of the Arab tribes, that the Abu Fana monks must change their testimony during the investigation in which they accused the Bedouins of assaulting them, are impeding the agreement process".

Labib added that he was determined to abide by Pope Shenouda III's decision that all criminal aspects of the case be left to the courts. "We will refuse any settlement of the criminal case which must be decided within the judicial system," he said.

Minya MP Alaa Hassanein, head of the Arbitration Committee, is optimistic that a final settlement can be signed by the end of this week.

"The reconciliation agreement between the monks at Abu Fana Monastery and the Bedouins will be amended in a way that meets the demands of both sides and thus end the crisis amicably. For this to happen both parties must deny the accusations they made against each other immediately following the clashes of 31 May which left one Muslim dead and seven monks injured. There is no security or political solution to this problem. It must be dealt with through a mutual understanding of shared citizenship."

Under the initial agreement, arbitrated on 13 August between Abu Fana Monastery and the Arab tribes that surround it, the monastery waived claims on 25 feddans of agricultural, and 70 feddans of non-agricultural, land, bringing the monastery's holdings to 505 feddans instead of the original 600. In return, Arab tribes agreed to allow the monastery to build a wall around its land and accepted that those involved in the clashes be referred to trial. Both parties signed the agreement in the presence of Minya Governor Ahmed Diaaeddin.

Pope Shenouda approved the settlement from the US, where he had been receiving medical treatment. Keen to avoid any sectarian rifts and to prevent anyone taking advantage of the situation in order to defame Egypt's image, the pope had left the reconciliation settlement in Mallawi to Anba Demetrius of Abu Fana Monastery, says Anba Morcos, the bishop of Shubra Al-Kheima and the Coptic Church's media spokesman.

"We will waive our rights to the land but we will not change our testimonies. I am optimistic but I must stress this is more than a land dispute. The monks confirmed during the investigation that they were attacked by masked men. The media has underestimated the seriousness and the implications of the conflict," says Anba Morcos. He added that though the local police station is only 2km away from the monastery the monks received no protection and were left at the mercy of the Bedouin Arab tribesmen. He pointed to similar incidents three years ago when the police also failed to respond to calls.

Clashes between some 60 Bedouins living in the Qasr Hur village adjacent to the monastery and the monks flared on 31 May. The attack was sparked by a wall being built around the monastery. Although the monastery claimed to have received official approval to build the wall, Arab residents claimed it would damage the crops. They also claimed ownership of the land surrounding the monastery.