Egypt's State Security will be restructured and its functions changed, according to new Interior Minister Mansour al-Essawy. Thousands of protesters have over the past days broken into state security buildings and called for abolishing the State Security apparatus. In a meeting with a group of independent judges and a delegation from the 25 January youth revolution, al-Essawy pledged to ensure that State Security would serve the nation and not the regime. All officers who committed crimes against the people will be suspended upon indictment, he added. The new police apparatus works for the revolution and protects the legitimacy bestowed by the revolution, according to al-Essawy. Life will soon return to normal and Egypt will "transform from a police state to one that upholds the law," he said. The function of the Interior Ministry will be to preserve security. It will have nothing to do with politics, parties, syndicates or elections, al-Essawy assured. The new minister further promised to uphold the right to peaceful protests without requiring prior permission. Demonstrations will be protected for as long as they last, he said. Protesters will however be asked to notify the relevant police department "in order to secure the protests--not to obtain permission." Meanwhile, Zakaria Abdel Aziz, former head of the Judges Club, has suggested that law graduates be allowed to enroll for a course at the Police Academy and on completion be eligible to join the police. The 25 January delegation has called for reshaping the values of the police, and proposed that their salaries and working hours be reviewed.
