Presidential Address 10 - 11

Jan. 20, 2002

Address by President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak on the Celebration Marking the Police Day

Brothers and Sons,
Police Officers Personnel,

Today, we celebrate your day marking the 50th anniversary of this historic sublime event that the Egyptian people chose as a symbol of your sacrifices. This event confirmed the policemen’s commitment throughout all stages of Egypt’s national history to their people’s aspirations. They proved responsive to their national hopes and wishes that crystallized at that time in putting an end to foreign occupation through courageous resistance to which all categories of the people contributed. Naturally, the will of this time-honoured people was bound eventually to triumph and imperialism to be wiped out of every spot of Egypt’s soil. This had once again proved the inalienable historical axiom that occupation, regardless of any instruments of power and suppression u, was eventually doomed to be defeated and eliminated, being an encroachment upon right, legitimacy, humanity and history.

Naturally, the police would take side with the people, protecting its security and safety, defending its national aspirations and contributing with relentless determination to each national endeavour. The policemen are the offspring of this people and an integral part of its national texture. They are motivated by their genuine belonging to the homeland and their belief that its stability is the cornerstone of their national mission. Hence was their constant support of the people’s interests.

They have always safeguarded public and private property alike, enforcing the rule of law without discrimination and waging a ceaseless battle against evil forces, outlaws that take crime as a means of livelihood, profiteer from causing harm to others and play havoc with the nation’s security and stability in return for rapid individual gains or in implementation of wicked schemes plotted by the nation’s enemy at home or abroad.

The police have managed to make Egypt a safe place where everybody; foreigner and national alike, feels safe for his life, efforts and property. Thus, stability has become a basic feature of life in Egypt and a substantial advantage that allows the people to be dedicated to development. Stability has also become a power of attracting foreign investments which in return contribute to boosting our national economy and achieving prosperity and well being of the genuine people of Egypt.

Naturally also, the people of Egypt would support honest efforts by the Egyptian police in all fields to guarantee Egypt’s security which is part and parcel of citizen’s personal safety. As security is indivisable, it is that umbrella that protects the safety of the Egyptian citizen; the shield that safeguards the march of democracy and political reform, the hedge that sustains development efforts and helps spread out reconstruction and prosperity. Security is also the institution that enforces the rule of law on all and the deterrent that protects the national unity against evils and sins of dissention.

In the course of their day-to-day battles against forces of evil and crime, the police every day lose some dutiful martyrs. Those represent noble examples of commitment and devotion to duty on the part of the police, regardless of gross sacrifices. In so doing, they are guided by elevated principles and sublime values that they believe in and triumph for. This all comes within the framework of a state of institutions. Under these conditions, the rule of law is entrenched, democracy upheld, and human rights respected. Here also, judicial verdicts are taken as the final say and representative institutions are guaranteed their full rights to monitor actions of the executive authorities and to share in realizing national achievements.

Brothers and Sons,

Over long years, the police have fought a tough battle against terrorist groups. Eventually, they managed to undermine their organizations, arrest most of their leaders, drain up the greater part of their sources of finance and uncover their lines of communications with outside organizations.

Throughout this extended battle, Egypt has never ceased to caution everybody against dangers of terrorism, sparing no effort to persuade the world community of the need to intensify efforts to combat this grave phenomena before it would have aggravated. Furthermore, the Egyptian police have spared no effort in cautioning countries that gave shelter and full rein to some outlawed terrorists at large against the grave consequences of this policy. They even made it clear that, sooner or later, this attitude would threaten their own security and undermine world security and as a whole .

Our deep-rooted belief in the importance of international anti-terrorist efforts has been further entrenched as Egypt and other countries of the region were victimized by terrorism uipported by forces of evil Had it not been for the decisive and self-confident efforts by the police, armed with solid naitonal awareness and overwhelming popular support to deter such forces, they could have undermined Egypt’s ability to pursue progress and to boost its national ecomomy. We do support international efforts to combat terrorism and to chase terrorist elements at large that terrorize and threaten lives of innocent civilians. Prompted by vocious and morbid motives, those groups seek to hatch enmity between Islam and the West and to instigate inter-civilization clash in an era where interests are vested and systems standardized.

This is also an era where time and space are cut short with walls of isolation falling apart together with all barriers to free movement of persons, capital and thought from country to another.

Claims of enmity between Islam and the West and instigating inter-civilizations clash have nothing to do with either Islam or civilization. In its proper essence, Islam urges countries to exchange benefits among each others and enjoins peoples of the world of all national and ethnic origins and religions to know more and come closer to each others. Regret ably, some circles in the West have manipluated such false claims in a bid to propagate theories pre-supposing a fundamental contradiction between Islam and other civilizations. In addition, they seek to drive a wedge between the Islamic nation and others. In so doing, they ignore the fact that civilizations, foremost of which is the Islamic, are based on creative and meaningful interaction in favour of the welfare of humanity as a whole, rather than on clash arising from conflicting interests, values and heritage.

Therefore, we should give no chance to terrorist elements at large to ruin the unity of international community in its confrontation with those aggressive elements.

Nor should allow any opportunity to provide any such philosophical or ideological cover for their sinful activities as may enable them to impose or legitimize their morbid logic. Egypt’s national experience in its drown-out war against terrorism has unequivocally proved that failing complete popular support to the police, they will not be able to eradicate such danger. Undoubtedly, this also confirmed that the most important factors of Egypt’s success in combating terrorism were the awarness and vigilance of Egypt’s great people and support by all categories of the Egyptian society to police in its difficult mission.

Under the same criteria, the success of the international campaign against terrorism will depend to a large extent on gaining trust and understanding by all peoples of realities. They are also required not to surrender to these erroneous and underground theories propagated by anti-Islamic circles. Besides, all countries especially major powers are also required to exert every serious effort to address causes and situations that may create a fertile to undermine security and stability in various areas of the world and to disseminate calls of despair and frustration among peoples.

In this context the international campaign against terroirsm should essentially go side by side with serious and honest efforts to put into effect international legitimacy resolutions, especially in the Middle East. This region now witnessess unprecedented escalation in the cycle of violence, devastation and oppression as a result of full disregard by Israel of all its obligations as an occupation force, its perseverence in humiliating the armless Palestinian people, its refusal to enter into serious peace negotiations.

In the meantime, Israel further demands that the Palestinian people should submit to its dictations and acquiese in it’s stances that renege on earlier signed agreements thus blurred out any hope for resuming the peace process by offering paralizing conditions. In this context, I must re-affirm that the credibility of the international campaign against terrorism will depend to a great extent on success by the United States, European Union, the Russian Federation and the United Nations, not only in implementing an integrated plan to ensure the cessation of violence and to start serious negotiations with the object of reaching a settlement, but also in establishing as soon as possible an independent sovereign Palesetinian state. Obviously all international powers without exception and even the majority of the Israeli people have now come to realize that the rise of such state is an indispensible pre-condition for achieving peace and the co-existance between both peoples.

On the other hand, it must be equally clear that in order to achieve comprehensive peace, every occupied inch of the Golan must be returned to brotherly Syria. Israel is required to withdraw from the rest of territories it occupies in South Lebanon.

From the same perspective, the intrernational anti-terrorism campaign should not deviate from its set objectives. It should not also be deluded by the pretexts of some parties that attempt to widen its scope to include other countries that have nothing to do with terrorism. Besides, those parties aim at labelling certain countries, organizations or institutions as terrorism supporting, with the object of pressing them into giving concessions in other areas. Examples in this respect are so many, salient of which is the latest Israeli government’s decision to label the Palestinian Authority as a terrorism-supporting body. Israel manipulates this pretext in order not only to paralyze President Arafat movement and thwart his persistent pursuit to reach a settlement but also to force him to unilaterally stop violnce. Meanwhile, Israel continues to escalate daily acts of violence and terror, totally indifferent to its legal and contractual obligations and heedless of denunciation by the international community of its policies and anti-peace practices.
Brothers and Sisters,

Over the past years, the police have realized a number of achievements that deserve praise and appreciation. They proved to be the honest guard that protected our steady steps on the road to economic reform, deepening democracy and respect for human rights. They provided a protective hedge to our national economy at a crucial stage of transformation and harmonization with global economy. Besides, they have been a major defender of the Egyptian society, its values, principles and unity. These underpinning should be safeguarded rather than abandoned or ignored.

No doubt, the changing conditions around us will impose more burdens on the police in certain fields and will require increasing caution and vigilance in facing up to these conditions, as part of our persisting pursuit to reduce the effects of these changes on our steady progress in all fields.

As you recall, I asked the government, in my address to the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council last November, to re-set its order of priorities in such a way as to face up to the changes on the global arena following the September 11 events. The government has already taken a number of decisions in this regard, particularly in the field of economy. The losses we have already sustained as a result of the implications of those events make it necessary to heighten emphasis on encouraging national industries, attracting more foreign investments and enhancing our ability to export and compete in world markets.

All these as well as other additional measures, will require further efforts on the part of the police forces to ensure that such laws and measures are enforced properly, thus allowing them to be instrumental in achieving the aspired progress and stability for our development process.

In view of the foregoing, the police are required to pursue their successful policies to develop their efforts and capabilities to cope with ongoing changes and potential developments. This should help the police to detect and pre-empt crimes before being committed. The police forces should be furnished with the latest means of high technology to maintain this high level of training and planning. Efforts should be made to stimulate initiative and development capabilities to cope wih contemporary challenges. All these should be employed to realize goals of maintaining security and stability.

Police Officers and Soldiers,

To commemorate the great events of the 25th of January 1952, and to celebrate today its 50th anniversary is to renew confidence by all Egyptians in the strong patriotic commitment of the Egyptian police institution and their deep dedication to their sublime mission of maintaining the nation's security and stability. Greetings for our police force in its golden jubilee.

Greetings for its faithful martyrs who sacrified their souls to make every citizen secure about his soul, family, present, future, dignity and property. Greetings for its brave meni, who perform their duty in full compliance, with high professional efficiency, obvious institutional discipline and complete respect of the rule of law.

May I ask Allah the Almighty to keep Egypt secure, lofty and strong and protect it against evil. I also ask Allah to keep Egyptians vigorous against the nation’s enemy and meoiful to their kith and kin. He is the Best sustainer and Best supporter.

May Allah’s peace and Mercy be upon you.

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