CAIRO - Such events had occurred in Egypt previous to the scenes currently being witnessed, relating to the revolution of angry youth that started on January 25, and including the attacks by thugs, which led to the curfew being imposed. The violent lawlessness that distorted the peaceful image of the demonstrations is reflected in the widespread destruction, with human blood spilled on the streets and Egypt's skies filled with black smoke. The previous events included the uprising and setting fire to the heart of Cairo on January 26, 1952, in which national movements reached their peak of strength, especially after treaty of 1936 was nullified and armed struggle broke out against the British occupation. The events started with peaceful demonstrations in support of the police who had been killed by British forces in the Ismailia battle on January 25 (commemorated annually as Police Day). The demonstrators reached Giza, where recruits, whose number reached 500, were supposed to be camped, but they didn't find them and were directed to the area of Cairo University where they were met with thugs. Representatives of the protesters then went to the Cabinet's premises to meet Minister of Social Affairs Abdel-Fatah Hassan, on behalf of the Prime Minister, at that time Moustafa Nahas Pasha, who was sick. The negotiations ended in failure and the recruits went to their barracks, when the first fires were started in Cairo, extending from one place to another one, especially in the downtown area where establishments including cinema theatres, shops and clubs favoured by foreign residents were completely burnt down. What was then noted was that the process of destruction was effected throughout by the same method, reflecting that the operation had been well-planned, although its originators were unknown. The later riots that broke out on January 18 and 19 in 1977 were initiated by people reading in the local newspapers that the Government had ended the subsidies of some foodstuffs, notably bread, when people's hopes of living in prosperity, as the then President Sadat had promised, evaporated. That was the beginning stage of the so-called 'open-door' economic policy, which led to demonstrations by depressed Egyptians, including workers from factories surrounding Cairo, who wanted to reach the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament). However, the Central Security forces clashed with the demonstrators and there was a subsequent spread of anarchy in which stores were destroyed and vehicles set on fire in the streets, in addition to increased incidents of theft and looting. Late President Sadat subsequently described these events of January 18 and 19 as a 'looters' uprising'. Another uprising then began in the camps of the Central Security (Riot Police), affiliated to the Police forces, which were located on the road between Cairo and Fayoum. About eight thousand riot police began protests after hearing of reports that the Minister of Interior at that time, Ahmed Rushdi, had decided to extend their conscription period from three years to four years and make a small reduction in their salaries for the payment of debts. These riot police smashed in and stormed a hotel, and started burning everything in it, and attacked other establishments, including the Police Department's premises at the Giza Pyramids, the Mena House Hotel and some supermarkets. Within hours, they had managed to occupy the entire Pyramids area, including the access and main roads to the coastal port city of Alexandria, the Western Desert Fayoum region and Mansoura in the Delta. The cost of the damage in the Al-Haram (Pyramid) Road area was estimated at more than LE200 million, according to the then Minister of Tourism Fouad Sultan.After the Minister of Interior was convinced of the dangers of the situation, he asked for the help of the Armed Forces to control the security. A state of emergency was then declared and a curfew imposed in the area between the Al-Haram tunnel and the 4 kilometres point on the Cairo-Fayoum road. About 269 riot police from the Central Security Forces were referred to trial due to the clashes that had resulted in the deaths of four officers, with 18 other officers being injured, in addition to the devastation that had taken place.
