IN any democratic country that respects the freedom of expression, the police secure and protect peaceful demonstrations especially if the bodies that organised it were civil and considerate enough to announce their planned activity in advance. However, in Egypt the Minister of the Interior, Mohamed Ibrahim, announced that the security men wouldn't show up to any locations that would witness the demonstrations of June 30. Nevertheless he turned to affirm his ministry's commitment to secure state institutions. Minister Ibrahim's statement could be seen as a procedure for preventing a repeat of the January 2011 confrontations between the demonstrators and the policemen that ended with full withdrawal of the police from the streets. As these demonstrations call for early presidential elections and an end to the MB rule, the Minister's statement might be intended to convey an unwillingness to protect the regime. However, it could also be seen as an open invitation to different powers supporting the MB rule to violently confront the demonstrations being organised by the Tamarad (Rebel!) campaign and supported by the different civil opposition powers. On their part, the Muslim Brotherhood, according to its spokesman Yasser Mehrez, called for questioning the Minister of the Interior for his statement, noting that if June 30 witnessed violent clashes between the citizens, the Ministry would be blamed. He also noted that some citizens, who do not belong to the Muslim Brotherhood, may confront the demonstrators if they perceive that the Tamarad movement is meant to breach the legitimacy of the President. There are some indications referring to the possible eruption of violence on that day because of the ongoing calls to protect the MB rule. Assaults on the Ministry of Culture's strike by some Islamists and MB members is an example of what condition could be like on June 30. Apparently, Minister Ibrahim sensed tremendous pressure because of the hidden anger of the police agency related to assaults against its members the last of which caused the death of a young police officer in Arish. However, it is unacceptable to prevent fulfilling the ministry's main mission of preserving the life of the citizens, whether from the opposition or supporters. What the minister can do is to assure the ministry's commitment to protecting demonstrators while issuing warnings to any party planning to instigate violence on that day.
