CAIRO: Dozens of citizens gathered on Monday outside the Cassation Court in downtown Cairo to commemorate Police Day, a national day that officially takes place on Jan. 25.
The citizens — accompanied by police officers from various ranks — held the Egyptian flag while chanting pro-police and pro-Egypt slogans.
“People are celebrating Police Day with us because they appreciate the fact that they feel safe in Egypt,” one police officer told Daily News Egypt on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to talk to the media.
“Look around and you will realize how secure Egypt is compared to other countries in the region,” the officer added.
The demonstration was organized by the Egyptian Organization for Defending the Police and Citizens.
Many who were gathered chanted, “You Egyptian people have conquered the terrorists!”
A truck was parked on Ramsis Street from which a DJ played patriotic songs during the gathering.
“I was accidentally passing by the neighborhood,” Fawzia Mahmoud, a private hospital secretary, told Daily News Egypt while waving the Egyptian flag. “I decided to take part in the gathering to hail the policemen for the effort they exert in protecting us.”
Nasser El-Shamshirgy, a public company manager, said, “Everybody owes the policemen for the state of security Egyptians have been living in for years.”
Other citizens were not as pleased with the gathering. “These people [at the gathering] don’t represent Egypt,” Hassan Mahmoud, a bus driver from Qaliubiya governorate, told Daily News Egypt. “They are just dancers coming with their DJs.”
The pro-police gathering was held the day before planned nationwide protests organized by opposition forces and groups against poverty, corruption and police brutality.
Several cases of police brutality have been reported in the past few months, including several civilian deaths that allegedly resulted from police torture.
“Our [main] problem is not with the police, but with the ruling National Democratic Party that rigged the results of elections and could not employ our youths,” Mahmoud stated.
“The revolution will come to Egypt — not through weak political parties or opposition movements that have disagreements with one another, but through workers and peasants who represent the real Egypt and who endure suffering every single day of their lives,” Mahmoud added. –Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan
A truck was parked on Ramsis Street from which a DJ (right) played patriotic songs during the gathering.
