Tuesday
Jul042006
Back to "serving the people"
Hossam el-Hamalawy
I don’t know when, but it was likely sometime during the 1990s Dirty War that the Egyptian Interior Ministry decided to change its motto, usually printed on dusty signs that top police stations’ entrances, from “The Police is in Service of the People,� to “The People and the Police are in Service of the Nation.�
Whenever I came across those signs while driving or walking by a police station, or during a demo where I’m getting my share of beatings on the hands of the CSF, I always wondered what “nation� exactly was the Interior Ministry’s motto referring to, that we, the people, together with our brave police officers should protect? Mubarak’s posters were usually present somewhere near the signs, and that always gave me a quick answer to my naïve question.
Well, it seems an Egyptian lawyer by the name Nabih el-Wahsh has been a bit upset with the Interior’s motto too, so he filed a lawsuit against it, demanding the return to the old motto. I had no clue about the case, till I came across this Wafd report. The lawyer has won the case (don’t know when?), and scored another triumph yesterday with the Higher Administrative Court rejecting the Interior’s appeal, and ordering the ministry to lift off the new motto from police stations and security directorates in all provinces, as it was deemed “unconstitutional.�
Thus, now our Interior Ministry is to return to be “in service of the people." So fellow Egyptians, cheer up... you will be served... yes, served awi awi..
Whenever I came across those signs while driving or walking by a police station, or during a demo where I’m getting my share of beatings on the hands of the CSF, I always wondered what “nation� exactly was the Interior Ministry’s motto referring to, that we, the people, together with our brave police officers should protect? Mubarak’s posters were usually present somewhere near the signs, and that always gave me a quick answer to my naïve question.
Well, it seems an Egyptian lawyer by the name Nabih el-Wahsh has been a bit upset with the Interior’s motto too, so he filed a lawsuit against it, demanding the return to the old motto. I had no clue about the case, till I came across this Wafd report. The lawyer has won the case (don’t know when?), and scored another triumph yesterday with the Higher Administrative Court rejecting the Interior’s appeal, and ordering the ministry to lift off the new motto from police stations and security directorates in all provinces, as it was deemed “unconstitutional.�
Thus, now our Interior Ministry is to return to be “in service of the people." So fellow Egyptians, cheer up... you will be served... yes, served awi awi..
Reader Comments (5)
This is very interesting news. What I find most interesting is the way the ministry of interior and the government percieve us, the people. Well its about time to make them realise that the nation is us.
Good post... this al-Wahsh lawyer is on a rampage, I keep reading about him all the time.
"I don’t know when, but it was likely sometime during the 1990s Dirty War that the Egyptian Interior Ministry decided to change its motto" It was when Alfy was under heavy fire from al Sha3b newspaper but was holding tite to his post (be edeih we senanoh), shortly before he was "resigned". Yalla 3o2bal elly fe baly
Ahmed Diaa
Thanks Diaa for sharing this info. If I'm not mistaken, Alfy "resigned" following the Nov 97 Luxor massacre, right? This means then the Interior had enacted this stupid slogan sometime in 1997. Would be nice if we can find out exactly when, or locate a news report on it.
[...] Police banned a solidarity demo with the Palestinians that had been scheduled today noon in front of the Arab League HQ. Central Security Forces trucks were all over Tahrir Sq since early morning, and in Ramsis St close to the lawyers’ and journalists’ syndicates. More troops were also stationed behind the Mugama3 near the US embassy. While CSF conscripts mostly remained inside their trucks, Tahrir was swarmed with uniformed and plainclothes police officers, State Security agents, and the paramilitary brigades of criminal thugs whom the police are increasingly depending on to keep “law and order� in the street. There was also a battalion of thugs stationed around the corner of the Egyptian Museum on the side of 3abdel Mon3eim Riyad Sq (I’m sure Western tourists on their way into the museum felt safer and secure with such a lovely sight.) A handful of activists who showed up early (11:40am) in front of the Arab League HQ were soon surrounded by thugs, plainclothes State Security officers, who ordered them to leave. The activists had formed a delegation that was to get into the Arab League HQ to present a message to its secretariat, denouncing the League’s (as always) weak response to the Israeli attacks. Mohamed Waked, one of the activists present in the scene, told me the SS officers intimidated and pushed nine activists inside the HQ, saying they could either get into the League’s building swiftly to meet the assistant secretary general, or get into the prisoners’ trucks. The police was very nervous, and did not want a crowd that can draw more attention of the people in the square. Waked, who was not part of the delegation, said he was pushed by the officers inside against his will. Others included, Kamal Abu 3eita, Mohamed 3abdel Quddos and Ahmad Rami, MB activist at the pharmacists’ syndicate. The activists were met by Ahmad Bin Hilla, 3amr Moussa’s assistant. They protested their treatment by the police, but Bin Hilla said this was an “Egyptian internal affair� that the League did not want to intervene in. The activists presented him with a statement, denouncing the League’s weak stand and lack of support for the Palestinians. Bin Hilla replied, giving them the expected we-are-doing-our-best diplomatic crap. Meanwhile, small scattered groups of activists were trying to assemble in Tahrir, but were intimidated by the police, who threatened them with arrest, and were pushing them across the streets to disperse. The activists, mainly socialists and Nasserists from the Karama faction, were exponentially outnumbered by the police, who kept on shoving them all the way from Tahrir Sq to Tal3at Harb sq. The scene was bizarre, and reminded me of the Labor Day demo, where security intimidation against an exponentially outnumbered activists meant run for-your-life kinda situation. After being cornered in Tal3at Harb, around 20 activists decided to head to the Press Syndicate. They were marching in the street, and sometimes running, followed by at least 300 plainclothes security. Whenever any activist stopped walking, even to light a cigarette, battalions of security agents would start pushing him or her to move. The security also kidnapped Wael 3abass in Qasr el-Nil St, and kept him in custody for few minutes, before the rest of the activists assembled and started screaming and shouting till he was released. The same situation happened few minutes later with another activist from the Karama faction who raised Nasser’s poster while walking. The activists decided then if they can’t demonstrate or chant, the least they could do is to raise their hands up with V signs to attract attention of the public, as they ran for refuge at the press syndicate. It was around 1:15pm that the CSF conscripts were moved to surround the syndicate, but did not bar those who wanted to get in. Under Cairo’s burning July sun, 30 or 40 at best, activists stood with banners denouncing the US, Israel and Mubarak, waiving Palestinian flags, and chanting. They were joined by Kamal Abu 3eita and Mohamed 3abdel Quddos after they were “released� from the Arab League HQ. [...]