Bearded policemen THE CONTROVERSY over the right of policemen to grow their beards intensified after a coalition of officers rejected the interior minister's recent argument that growing a beard was illegal. During a tour of Upper Egypt, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said a beard was a non-binding religious tradition, and that the Interior Ministry will be firm with officers who violate police regulations. Ibrahim added that the law regulating Egyptian police sets certain requirements for appearance and dress. "Police laws oblige all policemen to dress neatly and to shave their face and cut their hair," Ibrahim said, noting that the regulations are stated in all documents policemen sign after being admitted to the Police Academy. However, Ibrahim's statements did not satisfy officers wanting to grow beards. "The minister of interior is not a legislator and his words are not binding," said Walid Hosni who is supporting the right of policemen to grow beards. On 20 February, the Sharqiya Security Directorate suspended Captain Mohamed El-Sayed after he began growing a beard. Sayed said he grew his beard in the belief that it was his "constitutional and legitimate right", and added that police regulations do not prevent officers from growing beards. Hosni said the minister's decision to suspend an officer for growing a beard will only cause more to grow them, noting that about 300 officers currently maintain beards. During the visit, Ibrahim also rejected calls to dismiss senior officers who served with former interior minister Habib El-Adli, currently in jail facing charges of killing protesters at the start of Egypt's revolution early last year. "The ministry does not recognise the word 'dismiss,'" Ibrahim said. Tribal clashes renewed ARMED clashes erupted again on 16 and 17 February following a day of calm between members of two major tribes in Upper Egypt's governorate of Qena. "The tribes, Al-Ashraaf and Al-Hamidat, resumed firing gunshots in the air," said Ahmed Kamal, a member of the Karama Party and a Qena resident. Many residents fled the district in search of safety. According to eyewitnesses, the neighbourhood turned into a "ghost city" at the beginning of last week when the clashes first erupted. Witnesses said members of the two tribes were armed with guns and heavy artillery, which they used against each other. They were deployed in the main streets which only members of their own tribe were allowed to pass through. At least four shops were burnt to the ground during the clashes. Residents said security forces avoided areas where the clashes took place and did little to stop them. "One of the shops that was set on fire was right in front of the Military Hospital and the Police Club yet security forces did not move to save the shop or stop the clashes," stated Abdel-Baset Karim, secretary-general of the Adl Party in Qena. "Police forces were sitting sipping tea while the city was paralysed and residents were terrorised," he added. Karim and Kamal alleged security forces had plotted the stand-off with the heads of the two tribes to keep the clashes going and cause chaos as part of a counter-revolution. "The heads of the two tribes were both leading members of the now disbanded National Democratic Party and they're more than happy to see the violence continue," said Kamal. Clashes first started on 12 February when two microbus drivers belonging to the two tribes got into a fight. Thirteen were injured in the clashes and 10 members belonging to the tribes were arrested, some for possessing and using unlicensed guns, while others were held for burning down shops. The situation calmed down on 13 February after Qena Governor Adel Labib and security officials held talks with the two tribes to help reach a settlement. However, Al-Ashraaf tribe refused any kind of settlement pending the fate of an injured member who was transferred to hospital in Cairo in critical condition. "If this man dies, it will be war and Al-Ashraaf will seek revenge, according to tribal traditions," said Kamal. The clashes erupted again on 16 February following a fight between two drivers, again from the two tribes.
