One year on from the 25 January Revolution, an activist and a police officer explain their hopes and fears to Dena Rashed The activist Ahmed Naguib, 33, pro-democracy activist and spokesperson for the Council of Trustees of the Revolution "Optimistic," Ahmed Naguib says. "Optimistic," he repeats again and again, explaining that he remains hopeful, one year after the January Revolution, that Egypt is heading in the direction of restored greatness. "Egypt will survive. Anyone who tries to bring it down will fail," he adds. Naguib has been a supporter of the Egyptian revolution and of the wider Arab Spring ever since he watched the fall of former Tunisian president Zein Al-Abidine bin Ali on television. "On that day, I knew in my heart that Mubarak's days were numbered. We owe this to Tunisia. On 25 January, I knew we had overcome our fear when I saw the central security forces running away from Tahrir Square." Naguib recalls those days with pride, especially "when on 28 January five of us moved from Nasr City to Tahrir Square, attracting around 30,000 people as we did so. I felt then that my life was changing. My wife couldn't understand why I felt so confident, but I knew then that this was the day I had been waiting for all my life." There is a scene in the Egyptian film Goodbye Bonaparte, he says, where the crowd chants, "Egypt will always be dear to me." "Tears have always come to my eyes when I see that scene. On 28 January, those words were all I could say, and the people replied." Naguib has been taking part in all the major protests since 25 January, even though he knows that it is not always safe to do so. "I have participated in so many protests that at some point fear strikes. Once, I just held my kids and told them that their father was risking his life to bring them a better tomorrow." He will be celebrating the anniversary of the revolution on 25 January by going to Tahrir Square to demand that the unfulfilled hopes of the revolution are met. Only when corruption has been ended will the revolution have been successful, he says. "When there is an ex-president, and not just an ousted one; when we have an independent judiciary; when we have genuinely democratic institutions, then I will be satisfied with the progress of the revolution." For Naguib, 28 January 2011 was the day that manhood returned to Egypt, the day when "we broke with fear and succeeded by ourselves." The 18 days of the revolution were days on which he felt love for all Egyptians. It was a time when they regained their full humanity, he says. However, the future is if anything even more promising than the past, and the idea that the younger generation is now ready to demand its human rights is a fascinating one for him. Though some have criticised the pro-revolutionary activists for using protests as a way of realising their demands, neglecting the rights of others as they do so, Naguib argues that protests are an essential part of any democratic change. "It is not important that protest has become the number one method for people to voice their demands. Protest is a democratic practice and a legitimate right," he says. He brings up the protesters' relationship with the police. "The police are supposed to protect us, not suppress us. You can't blame the protesters for what they do until the state realises the value of human beings and the principles of human rights. We want a state based on the rule of law and not a state in which the police break the law." Naguib was injured in the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes, and he has a clear opinion of what took place, believing that the incidents were instigated on purpose in order to frustrate the elections. However, he says, without proper judicial support and the supervision of the security forces it will be very difficult to charge individual police officers for their actions. "Aggressive" is the word he uses to describe the police actions he saw during the incidents in Mohamed Mahmoud. "When I see a police officer working in tough conditions, I salute him. But no good police officer would kill civilian protesters just because he had received orders to do so." However, Naguib's criticisms are not restricted to the police. "In the original demonstrations in Tahrir, there was a great deal of unity, but today the revolutionary forces have been scattered." Only a minority are pressuring the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to hand over power on the anniversary of the revolution, something which he describes as an unrealistic demand. "What we really need is a decree from the SCAF on the transition of power." Although he believes that the SCAF will eventually step down, Naguib would like to see the process properly regulated and documented. The young revolutionaries that brought about last year's revolution have matured, he says, and he has harsh words for the Muslim Brotherhood for not embracing the young revolutionaries. "The Brotherhood acted with ingratitude towards the youngsters who sparked the revolution. They now say they will give young people seats on the specialised councils sitting in different institutions." What should the young revolutionaries do today? "A political party is not a viable option, because the young revolutionaries belong to different schools of thought. However, civil society groups and NGOs are outlets for us now." Naguib has started a NGO concerned with employment and political awareness. While funding is an issue, he believes the NGO will succeed with time. While many have worried that the anniversary of the 25 January Revolution could be violent or bloody, Naguib remains optimistic, saying that things cannot be worse than they have been at times over the past year. "I see Egypt as a room that has been closed for decades, and now people are beginning to clean it, while keeping the door closed. I just want them to open the door to freedom." The police officer 25 January for this police officer, in his 30s and who preferred to remain anonymous, is still Police Day. "All police officers still see 25 January as Police Day," he says, adding that he has been present at all the protests that have taken place since the revolution and that 25 January 2011 was a day on which the police did their best to respect the demonstrators. "We were told by the former minister of interior, Habib El-Adli, that the demonstration would be peaceful and that it would be led by educated young people seeking democracy. He said the world would be watching us, and we left our guns and helmets at home on that day." However, he feels betrayed by what happened on the day itself. "While we were in Tahrir, some people started throwing stones at the protesters and the police. Some soldiers were injured, and as a result we used water to disperse the crowds, as things were getting out of control." The two following days were quiet, and then a strange atmosphere descended on 28 January. "On 25 January, people were making certain demands, but two days later different people started to show up. It felt as if it had been organised, with microbuses filling up with fuel to use later on and people gathering in surrounding buildings." "The police officers acted according to the threats they faced. It is the job of the forensic department to ascertain how the people that lost their lives were killed. But some people still cannot accept the fact that those who attacked the police stations were not peaceful demonstrators." Asked for his thoughts about the anger of the demonstrators towards the police, he says that "I am not saying that we are all good people, as you will find good and bad people in every job. However, many people are too willing to cite bad examples of police behaviour, forgetting the good ones." There have been cases of human rights violations by the police, and the media has highlighted various cases over recent years. But when dealing with criminals, this police officer argues, the police are faced with men who are sometimes drug-addicts and may feel that they have nothing to lose. "How are we supposed to deal with people like that? We need to change people's mentality, and this is something that has got to start at home." The police officer took part in the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes, and he has a view of what happened that differs from that of Ahmed Naguib. "We had information that people wanted to attack the Ministry of Interior, so we were obliged to set up guard posts on Mohamed Mahmoud Street and encourage people to retreat." Although there are two other streets that lead to the ministry, this was the one that leads back to the square. Everyone will have his or her theory of what happened, but from the police's point of view the aim was to secure the ministry buildings. After the release of pictures of a police officer caught on tape shooting protesters and another police officer congratulating him for shooting a protester in the eye, many activists were furious with the police and denounced their behaviour in the national and international media. However, this police officer doesn't see the incident in the same way. "The video itself is proof for his acquittal, since the range of the gun he was using is 20 to 50 metres, and the people were standing further away than that." Why were so many people killed or wounded in the Mohamed Mahmoud incidents? The police officer sticks to his story that the police did not use live ammunition. Besides, he says, "there were also many injured police officers, who were shot with shotguns. These were not mentioned in the media." Police training instructs police officers on how to deal with potentially violent protests, and if one tactic does not work they will move on to the next. First there are verbal warnings, and if these don't work, then tear gas and blank rounds can be used, then shotguns. Live ammunition can only be used as a last resort, and only if there is a real danger to the state. In January, the Ministry of Interior announced that it would be using indelible dye against violent protesters. He believes that the police have been denied access to the media. The ministry only broadcasts its views on state television, which no one watches, and on its official Facebook page. When asked about the protesters' demands that the police should "guard" protests and not attack them, the police officer replies that he has "no problem with anyone holding a banner, even if they insult the police. But if someone is holding a weapon, that is a different story." How does he feel about the criticisms levelled at the police over the past year and since the revolution? "People will say whatever they want when they don't know what is really happening," he replies. "All people want is to see the traffic police and patrol cars in the streets. Yet, police work is much more than that. People don't know about the raids the police are obliged to carry out at night against thieves and thugs in the interests of public security. However, the new minister has understood the psychology of the Egyptian people, and he has made people feel more secure by seeing more policemen on the streets." He sees the anniversary of the revolution on 25 January as being almost like a "birthday party", with the police standing by as good neighbours. "I hope they celebrate their party and leave the neighbours out of it," he adds. Although he had thoughts of quitting the police before the revolution, now he says that this is not going to happen. "I am not going to run away now, what with the conditions we are facing. I know I am serving my country by serving in the police."
