CAIRO: Several thousand low-ranking policemen gathered in front of the Ministry of Interior Tuesday morning on the second day of an open-ended strike against corruption.
The nationwide protest demanded better work conditions and the removal of the current Interior Minister Mansour El-Essawy and his aides who, protesters say, worked with ex-minister Habib El-Adly, now on trial on charges of inciting the killing of protesters during the January uprising.
“Thank you minister, your credit has run out,” chanted thousands of policemen.
The policemen said that 17 of them were negotiating with ministry officials for hours, but have yet to reach a final resolution.
“Each of them is serving himself. Yesterday a member of the coalition discussed our demands but received better financial compensation for himself and forgot about us,” said policeman Mohamed Aly.
Lower ranking officers complained that Essawy’s aides do not inform him about problems in the ministry.
“He is just there to sign documents. They are hiding all the mismanagement in the ministry and blocking reform. That’s why we demand their immediate dismissal,” Aly added.
Egypt’s police force is notorious for its systematic corruption. Even low-ranking policemen were known to take bribes, especially from traffic violators.
“If anyone sees something like this again, they could report us, but it is totally unfair to generalize that we are all corrupt,” said a protester who refused to reveal his name.
The protesters are also demanding more benefits, including medical treatment at police hospitals instead of the poorly-equipped health insurance facilities affiliated with the health ministry.
“Our job is unsafe and sometimes we get injured while saving others, yet we cannot be treated at police hospitals. Meanwhile, officers, their families and servants are given the best treatment at these hospitals. Is this fair?” asked Mohamed Aboul Moneim, who has served in the ministry for 22 years.
Protesters also complained that they receive comparatively low incentives.
“If I get LE 100, an officer gets LE 1000,” said Mohamed Abdul Moety, who has served for 12 years.
He added that they are not only demanding financial parity, but more importantly they are demanding their basic human rights.
“They want to give us money, but we also want change and an end to corruption in the ministry,” said Abdul Moety.
Policemen, who serve in cities away from their cities of residence, complain that the ministry does not provide them with any transportation or transport allowance.
“I serve in Suez but live in Sharkeya but I am neither provided with proper compensation to cover living expenses, nor transportation allowance. I would not mind if they deduct LE 3 daily but provide transportation,” said Nasser Sayed Hassan.
Protesters said that they will continue camping outside the ministry until their demands are taken seriously.
They were particularly scrutinizing reporters covering their protests, denying access to representatives of state-run media and press.
“What is this that you journalists write?” one of the protesters said, referring to an article that ran in the state-run Gomhuriya daily.
“This says that we get LE 120,000 end of service bonuses, when we only receive LE 12,000,” shouted three others.
Besides the low-ranking policemen, a dozen civilian ministry employees were also protesting at the ministry building.
“We are treated even worse than the policemen,” said Amr Foaud, spokesman of the Coalition of Civilian Workers at the Ministry of Interior, who said that their protests will soon become nationwide.
They are also seeking social justice and equality.
In a flyer the employees distributed, they demanded a 100 percent bonus increase, prospects for promotion as well as nine other demands including the recruitment of their sons and daughters in the ministry.
