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Last Update: Friday, 8 March 2013 KSA 10:41 - GMT 07:41
Police in Egypt strike, demand they be left `out of politics'
Friday, 8 March 2013
Policemen across Egypt staged a strike on Thursday and chanted the slogan,
`Leave, Brotherhood minister.' (Reuters)
AFP, Cairo -
Policemen across Egypt staged a strike on Thursday to demand the resignation of
the interior minister, saying they no longer wanted to be used as a political
tool, security officials said.
The discontent began weeks ago with isolated pockets of protest, but by
Thursday police were on strike in areas of Cairo, Alexandria, the Nile Delta,
the Suez Canal provinces, southern provinces and the Sinai peninsula.
Dozens of officers closed the Qasr al-Nil police station in Cairo, demanding
the sacking of Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who they say is working with
President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood to use the force in a political
battle.
"Leave, Brotherhood minister," the policemen chanted.
The police want a law to clearly lay down their powers and duties, and have
also demanded weapons to deal with ongoing political protests.
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, hundreds of central security force
(CSF) conscripts withdrew from the security headquarters, saying they refused
to protect the building any more, state television said.
Hundreds of central security officers are on strike in the Nile Delta province
of Daqahliya, with police shutting down several police stations.
"We just want to stay out of politics," one told a private satellite channel.
"We want to know what the ministry wants. We will not confront the people any
more. The protesters are our relatives. We are losing our people and our
brothers. My brother is a protester," the officer said.
The police, particularly the CSF, have been engaged in violent and deadly
street clashes with protesters, turning the public even more against an already
reviled institution long accused of abuses.
"We want a law to protect us. They tell us to confront the protesters, then
when we do we are put in jail," the officer said.
The interior ministry has been the main apparatus of repression in Egypt for
decades, and its heavy-handed tactics were a driving force behind the uprising
that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Activists have long called for a complete restructuring of the ministry and
police.
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