Over 18 days Egyptians staged a perfectly orchestrated revolution, ousting a tyrannical regime that had ruled for more than three decades. Now it is passing through a bottleneck that will decide the country's future for years to come, writes Jailan Halawi One -- perhaps the main - aim of the revolution was to rid Egypt of authoritarian figures, embodied by the police apparatus under whose iron fist the public had suffered for decades. When the security apparatus collapsed few at the time lamented its passing. Yet Egyptians continue to pay the price of that collapse, both in terms of personal security and in dealing with the state of chaos into which the country has been plunged. Complaints are on everyone's lips, about escalating crime rates, blocked roads, sectarian strife, armed robbery, the destruction of public utilities, including police stations, and even the proliferation of street vendors who everywhere cause congestion on roads and pavements. For months people have been asking when the police will begin to maintain order. Still reeling from the revolution, it was a question to which the security apparatus appeared to have no answer. Intellectuals, sources close to security and political analysts interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly differed in their analysis of the current dilemma yet they all agreed that unless handled wisely and swiftly Egypt could face an extended period of chaos. To best understand the phenomenon, says academic Hazem Kandil, you must first realize that for a majority of Egyptians anyone who belonged to the old regime's security apparatus is by default seen as endorsing practices that included the systematic abuse of human rights and the greedy accruing of personal privileges on the part of security officers. "Those who chose to join the security forces took a political risk. Should the regime have continues they would have remained masters of the land. Once the regime collapsed then it is inevitable that -- sooner or later -- they will loose their powers." The problem, says Kandil, is that until now the Ministry of Interior has failed to pay any price for its decades of criminality. "What has happened is that a handful of senior officers are facing trial. Any restructuring of the apparatus has been at best superficial. Yet as long as the institution which orchestrated the actions of security personnel remains unchanged the public will remain distrustful, and anger that the police have got away with decades of abusing their power will grow. After all the torture, pain and violation of basic freedoms and rights "Egyptians won't accept verbal apologies as a token of good intentions", says Kandil. For many people interviewed by the Al-Ahram Weekly trust in the Ministry of Interior must be earned: to do that the Ministry must first engineer a genuine restructuring of its ideologies, policies, practices and, most important of all, its employees. "People who enrolled in the now defunct NDP and the Police Academy effectively endorsed the practices of the ousted regime. For this they must pay a price, even if it is exacted in purely political terms. This is what the people demand," says Kandil. But where is the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) in all this? Many analysts believe that however genuine the army's intention to carry out real reforms in the ministry of interior might have been, it has been overwhelmed by the explosion of instability following 30 years of injustice and repression. "A Pandora's Box has been opened and everyone is struggling to adjust after years of repression. The army was overwhelmed. They did not have the capacity to deal with sectarian strife, university sit-ins, people blocking roads, attacking churches. They lacked the policing capabilities to deal with a situation that perhaps shocked them. Their response was to decide that the security apparatus must remain to repress the public until an elected government emerges that must then assume responsibility for security, and for the Interior Ministry, be that in the next five, 10 or even 20 years," argues Kandil. But if the army and police are hoping that the people will back down until a civilian government is elected to solve all problems their hopes are misplaced, says Kandil: in the end it will be easier for the SCAF to accept that a revolution has happened than for the revolutionaries to abandon a struggle that has already cost them dear, not least in terms of lost lives. A security expert, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, counters by arguing that "we must all learn to respect our duties as much as we strive for our rights". While it is unacceptable to see old practices revived, he says, "the public needs to trust the SCAF and believe that it is working hard so that the rule of law prevails". The SCAF, the source continued, has taken steps towards reform "slowly but surely". They dissolved the State Security Bureau and replaced it with the Homeland Security Department, and have overseen a number of reshuffles of Interior Ministry personnel. "The SCAF also responded to demands for the public trial of symbols of the old regime," he noted. The public should realise that the Minister of Interior is working under difficult conditions, with "an almost collapsed ministry and officers with no self-esteem". "We need to give the ministry time to get its act together." The army had no choice but to support the security apparatus in doing its job. "The country is going through turmoil. It cannot be left to thugs and outlaws. We need to instill discipline and that requires certain powers which is what the SCAF is trying to give the police," said the source. Moves to restore emergency provisions were, he argued, an attempt by the SCAF to provide the Ministry of Interior with the means to impose order. "The people need to trust in their own revolution and have faith that what it achieved cannot be taken away. I don't think anyone can back to their old, oppressive practices. The rebels should cool down for a bit to allow for change to take place." "We need to acknowledge the difference between chaos and revolution. The people have revolted. Now it is time to rebuild our country." But the revolution, says activist Hani Kamal, is far from over. "Its goals have yet to be accomplished. We rebelled to bring about the downfall of the regime and for those who abused their powers to be brought to justice. Until this happens we will remain in the streets and defy all attempts to undermine our aims and principles." Kamal believes that the SCAF and police must both make concessions, and that the Ministry of Interior must undergo a radical overhaul in line with the plan that "is currently stuck in the prime minister's office". Kamal holds the army and the police responsible for the chaos in the streets. "Disorder is being spread by thugs. They are hired criminals and it is the duty of the army and the police to find out who is paying them to spread a state of fear." The army and the police, Kamal noted, need to stop provoking the people. He cites the wall built to protect the Israeli embassy at a time when Egyptians were furious about the murder of Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces as an example of gross insensitivity to public concerns. The SCAF and the police need to understand that "the way to contain a revolutionary society is not by suppressing public anger but to constructively address the public's demands".
