The Interior Ministry is drafting a set of laws to regulate how police will deal with protests in front of the Interior Ministry and other government security institutions, the deputy interior minister for public security said in a parliamentary hearing Monday. The legislation will be proposed to the People's Assembly for approval at an unidentified date. The minister, Major General Ahmed Gamal Eddin, did not explain the content of any potential law for dealing with protests. Last year, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a law banning “protests” and subjecting protesters to fines reaching up to LE500,000. He said that security policy during the remainder of the transitional period will depend on extending the reach of security companies to secure public and private institutions, according to a report in the privately owned Al-Shorouk newspaper. “This is the main stipulation in the law that will be reviewed by Parliament,” Gamal Eddin said in a hearing of the People's Assembly's Defense and National Security Committee. “If approved, these companies will work on securing institutions like banks and post offices, so the ministry's efforts can be dedicated to combating crime.” Gamal Eddin discussed the new ways in which the ministry will seek to end insecurity in Egypt. “Crime and the security vacuum cannot be blamed on the revolution, but on those who took advantage of the circumstances to commit crime,” he said. “The [Interior] Ministry is dealing with the security failure with all available resources. Around 516 security groups were deployed yesterday to target criminal groups.” Gamal Eddin added that some police stations and security directorates are in crisis because officers are no longer interested in being detectives. However, some members of the parliamentary committee demanded punishment for police detectives, saying that “some of them coordinate with thugs and inform them before security campaigns targeting criminal groups begin.” Regarding the recent unrest in Suez following clashes in the main football stadium in Port Said last month that left at least 74 dead and hundreds injured, Gamal Eddin said the ministry cannot send more Central Security Forces to the province due to its bad association with the police since the 18-day uprising against former President Hosni Mubarak took place there early last year. When asked about those killed and injured in Suez, Gamal Eddin told the MPs that everyone is looking for a “third party,” and that he can answer their questions on the issue once investigations are completed.
