Egypt arms rank and file police
By Borzou Daragahi and Amro Hassan
The Egyptian government has caved in to police demands and agreed to distribute 100,000 hand guns to low-ranking officers, ending a series of sit-ins but raising concerns about the risk of abuses by a security force long accused of brutality.
After thousands of policemen staged week-long protests across the country, the interior ministry announced late on Saturday that it would distribute the 9mm semi-automatic hand guns to low-ranking officers, including those in charge of protecting buildings.
Ministry officials say the police are confronted daily by well-armed criminals who have filled the security vacuum that opened up following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. The move appears to have persuaded police to end their protests and to drop demands for better housing, medical care and pensions. The sit-ins had threatened to sour further relations between the powerful security forces trained during the Mubarak era and the Islamist government of President Mohamed Morsi.
Interior ministry spokesman Brig Gen Ayman Helmy said in a telephone interview that it was necessary to ensure that police were able at least to match the weapons carried by criminals.
Police brutality helped spark the revolution against the Mubarak regime and continues to be a source of widespread anger. Human rights activists said the move showed Mr Morsi had no intention to heed advice to change a police culture characterised by violence and corruption.
“It confirms once and for all that they don’t see that police reform is a necessity,” said Heba Morayef, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Over the last few weeks, clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators have left dozens of civilians and at least three police dead. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a Cairo-based organisation, alleges that 12 deaths were caused by the improper use of police firearms during the first four months of Morsi’s rule.
“Police are already heavily armed,” said Magda Boutros, a lawyer for the organisation. “The police are using their firearms frequently and illegally and this is leading to deaths.”
The group is demanding that police tighten rules on the use of firearms. “Our laws allow way too much discretion to use live ammunition,” said Ms Boutros. “Police continue to work with very broad guidelines and they continue to be promised impunity. This can only lead to even more violence and an exacerbation of the problem.”
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