CAIRO - Since his being appointed Minister of the Interior, Mohamed Ibrahim's approach has differed from that of his predecessors, appointed during and following the January 25 Revolution. Minister Ibrahim is well aware that his first priority should be to restore security to society after long months of anarchy caused by the long absence of security men from the streets. Not satisfied with holding big meetings with senior police officers and issuing instructions to juniors ones, he has personally participated in many security campaigns on the nation's highways and in the arresting of certain criminals. The public have been watching the man's efforts to restore order to the country, hoping to see an end to the long months of insecurity that has affected their lives. However, the public were surprised when Ibrahim said that policemen have the right to shoot thugs who assault them. Actually, this doesn't come as something new, as the former minister, Mansour el-Eissawi, issued a law granting security men the right to shoot armed criminals if they intend to murder policemen. However, the problem lies in the word ‘thug' that the authorities are now using in reference to the protesters. Besides, shooting should only be a last resort. The role of the police should be to arrest suspects and refer them to prosecution and courts, rather than executing someone they suspect of being a criminal or a thug. If the Minister really is serious about ending the problem of thuggery, he should consider introducing tougher penalties for anyone carrying unlicensed guns, especially as armed criminals are more often a threat to unarmed civilians than policemen.
