CAIRO - More than 15 firearms, including eight automatic rifles, seven handguns and 200 bullets, were handed in to Cairo police on the first day of Egypt's two-month weapons amnesty which ends next month, an Interior Ministry official said. The national amnesty, the first since the January 25 revolution and in part prompted by fears of a growing firearms culture, began on June 1 and runs until the end of July 31. It has netted 15 weapons and 200 bullets across Cairo, Major General Marawan Moustafa, the Ministry's Media Officer, told a press conference. "I am delighted that so many firearms have been taken out of circulation?," Maj. Gen. Moustafa said, adding that the Ministry has launched a nationwide campaign called "Hand over your Gun”. “I want to give a very strong message: carrying a firearm without a legitimate reason is both dangerous and illegal. Those who carry handguns must understand that weapons can be turned on them and that guns don't make anybody safer." The amnesty, announced by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), came in the wake of a series of high-profile fatal shooting incidents as well as burglaries targeting police stations on January 28. Maj. Gen. Moustafa said the amnesty will play a great role in stopping violent crime, arguing that only tougher sentences for carrying weapons will act as a deterrent. The SCAF is now considering raising the maximum jail term for possessing unlicensed or stolen weapons to 15 years. On the back of the amnesty, the SCAF has given police the power to crack down on those carrying stolen/unlicensed firearms and to launch a nationwide education programmes to make Egyptians more aware of the dangers. "The amnesty is certainly a step in the right direction and I hope it will prove to be a catalyst in changing the culture of firearms possession," said Maj. Gen. Marawan.
