Egypt’s Police Prepare For Violent Protests on June 30
Expectations grow for widespread violent clashes on the one-year anniversary of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi coming to power.
CAIRO — Less than two weeks before June 30, the day of expected massive protests calling for the ouster of Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohammed Morsi, both the Ministry of Interior and the military are left with difficult options as expectations of widespread, bloody confrontations continue to rise.
Retired police Col. Khaled Okasha, a security analyst and main witness in the trial involving Morsi’s jailbreak during the January 25 protests, believes the Ministry of Interior “is going through the most complicated, confusing and mysterious time in its recent history.”
On June 12, a day before Okasha’s talk with Al-Monitor, Egypt’s Interior Minister Gen. Mohamed Ibrahim announced that “police forces are legally committed to securing the June 30 protests, keen on the safety of every citizen regardless of their political allegiances.”
The statement contradicted the minister’s statement two days earlier [June 10]: “You will not see a single police officer in protest areas to let peaceful protesters express their opinions freely.”
