President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said Friday during a televised interview that 90% of the young people in prison are involved in crime-related cases while the state is looking into the cases of the other 10%.
Al-Sisi’s interview, which aired on the privately-owned CBC, marked two years since he took office as president.
The president also discussed corruption, saying that the public should not question the role of security forces, which will counter this phenomenon, and that fighting corruption will not take place overnight. He explained that the efforts of monitoring bodies, “which are working freely”, were obvious.
Al-Sisi also said that for him the 30 June Revolution, which toppled former president Mohamed Morsi, aimed to keep the Egyptian state from going under. He said that he and the army stepped up to protect the state, and that he ran for the presidency for the same cause.
He also talked about “evil powers”, whom he didn’t specify, but explained that Egypt survived a plot that targeted the institution of the state, including the police, the army, and the judiciary.
When asked to clarify them, he said that the “evil powers are known by the Egyptian people.” He added that conspiracies are harmless and useless as long as people are aware of the dangers surrounding their country.
He also talked about the new mega national projects, saying that the “Egyptian people are the ones who built and who are currently running them”, while the Armed Forces Engineering Corps only supervises the projects to ensure their implementation.
When asked about Sinai, he said that the fight against terrorism there is taking place on 3% of the total area of the peninsula.
He also talked about education and health sector, while pointing out challenges to the development of both. “We need around 13 years to reform and develop the education system,” he explained.
Also talking about the youth and the state’s effort to approach them, he called upon the football Ultras fan group to set an example in Egyptian stadiums to help return fans to the games.
As for the Red Sea islands dispute, Al-Sisi said that the agreement is being studied by parliament, where committees will be formed to agree or refuse it.
