Conspiracy theories have flourished as a result of the breakdown in security that has taken place across Egypt since last year's revolution, writes Jailan Halawi Armed robberies by the dozen, kidnappings in broad daylight, hostage-taking in return for ransom demands, a football game that ends in a massacre, and an Interior Ministry striving to prove its innocence and safeguard itself amid speculation about who is responsible for the state of chaos Egypt is in. Such is the situation one year after the revolution that ousted a 30-year-old tyrannical regime, with the revolutionaries adamant that they will not rest until the country is free of corruption and freedom and justice prevail. However, it seems that freedom and justice come at a price, and it is one that many citizens seem unwilling to pay. Throughout the past year, there has been conflict between the authorities and citizens about the best way to handle the security situation in Egypt. Since the downfall of the regime of ousted former president Hosni Mubarak and its iron-fisted Ministry of Interior, the new security authorities have failed to impose themselves. The reasons for this remain unclear, despite the theories and justifications given by the police, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the revolutionaries, political analysts and the man in the street. One thing that is certain is that the Ministry of Interior has gone through a lot of changes since last year's revolution, including the restructuring of the State Security Investigation Bureau (SSI), now called the Homeland Security Department, and a major reshuffle in its ranks at all levels, including three ministers in one year. However, for many people these changes remain cosmetic. And as the revolution continues, so does the security breakdown in the face of ongoing events. Last week, the security question again came to the fore when a spate of crimes ranging from armed robberies, kidnappings, and hostage taking ended with the clashes at the football match between the Al-Ahli and Al-Masri teams in Port Said. According to official reports, 74 people were crushed to death, suffocated or fatally stabbed after a pitch invasion by fans of the home team, Al-Masri, which had beaten the Cairo club Al-Ahli. These events have given rise to intense questioning by analysts and by the public at large. While it is not unusual for violence to erupt at football matches, the aggression and chaos that took place at this one were bewildering. Were the clashes instigated by the fans, or were they part of a conspiracy by the remnants of the ousted regime, who had paid thugs to carry out the job on their behalf? Were the police and the ruling SCAF accomplices, or were they simply unable to deal with the situation and handle the angry crowds? According to Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, leader of the SCAF, the events were part of an attempt to destabilise the country. While promising to bring the perpetrators to justice, he urged fellow citizens to confront such elements, a statement interpreted by some analysts as an invitation for Egyptians to act against each other. For his part, the Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim said it was the responsibility of the Port Said security chief in cooperation with the area's governor to provide security at football marches. Ibrahim said that the ministry only acts upon the recommendation of the security chief concerned, who in this case did not ask for back-up troops. Yet, the problem was not only about reinforcements. There was also the perceived passivity with which the existing security forces handled the situation inside the football stadium. Not a single policeman moved a limb to rescue the scores of Al-Ahli fans, or Ultras, who were beaten to death. Eyewitnesses also questioned how the thugs responsible had managed to enter the stadium armed with knives and batons, if the security forces had not at least turned a blind eye to them. Some analysts and activists have opined that the SCAF and police deliberately orchestrated the attack, the intention being to alarm the public and underline the necessity of maintaining the present emergency laws. Others believe that remnants of the former regime are to blame, these possibly even acting in concert with foreign parties. There have been theories that former first lady Suzanne Mubarak wanted to deal the newly appointed minister of the interior a blow, after he had refused to allow her to visit her sons, who are detained in prison. Such theories rely on Mrs Mubarak's reputation of being the "power behind the throne" in the former regime's final 10 years in power. Did the SCAF deliberately sabotage the police in an attempt to present itself as the saviour of Egypt's security? According to some experts, for years the police State Security Investigation Bureau has been the highest authority in charge of security in Egypt, with powers surpassing those of the General Intelligence sector, previously responsible for neutralising opponents of the ousted regime. For decades, SSI officers had more power than their counterparts in the army, and the police was the way by which Gamal Mubarak, son of ousted president Mubarak, had planned to stage his bid for power. The army could now be trying to take revenge on the police by deliberately sabotaging security. Such a theory was backed by a recent interview with Abdel-Latif El-Manawi, formerly head of news at state television, who told the Al-Arabiya satellite channel that the army had excluded the police from its first statement to the public following Mubarak's stepping down last year. According to El-Manawi, the statement had first read, "the army and the police will work hand in hand to maintain security," but this was later changed to exclude the police. Meanwhile, Al-Ahli supporters say that the behaviour of the police in Port Said was a way of taking revenge on them for having supported the revolution and was in line with a history of reciprocal aggression between the police and football fans. Thousands of fans protested against the deaths in Port Said near the downtown headquarters of the Ministry of Interior in Cairo last week, leaving 300 protesters and 271 policemen injured and 12 people dead. The protesters say the police fired birdshot pellets at them, and they accuse the security forces of having used excessive force against a peaceful demonstration. Speaking to parliament on Tuesday, Minister of Interior Ibrahim denied that his forces had used pellets, saying that they had only used tear gas to disperse the protesters when they were 15 metres from the ministry building and were threatening to ransack it. While some reports claim that thugs among the protesters attacked the police with rudimentary bombs, stones and knives, others deny this, saying that the protesters only acted to defend themselves. Ibrahim said that nine of his men had been injured by bullets and one police general had lost an eye. According to a security expert speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity, there may have been thugs among the rebels and among the police. "It is not unlikely that the forces in the field took decisions on their own authority depending on the situation, and by the same token not all those in the streets were peaceful unarmed demonstrators," he said. The security forces "have suddenly felt their own power after years of being sidelined by state security officers who treated them as 'ignorant muscle' to help them fulfill their plans. Now they are at the forefront of the situation, and hence they have realised their power and are acting like horses without riders or direction." Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee report on Tuesday recommended that Ibrahim be held responsible for the deaths of the protesters during the latest clashes. It said that he should be removed from office and that corrupt officials should be cleaned out of the Interior Ministry. There should be an end to the use of violence against peaceful protesters, the report said, while calling on the revolutionaries to stay in Tahrir Square and not to attack public buildings. Habib El-Adli, minister of the interior under the ousted Mubarak regime, is currently on trial for ordering the killing of protesters during last year's revolution, as are a handful of his aides. El-Adli's defence denies the charges, arguing that internal and foreign elements were involved in a conspiracy to discredit the ministry and the minister. This conspiracy had involved men who were not police wearing police uniforms and acting in such a way as to give the impression that protesters were being assaulted by the security services, El-Adli's defence said.
