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Monday, January 25, 1999
Dear Brothers, Honourable Egyptian Policemen, Amidst the most memorable days in the history of national struggle, there emerges your day as a vivid embodiment of the courage of valiant men who never hesitated to offer their pure blood in the great battle of sacrifice. This battle has become a symbol of national resistence and sanctity of duty as well as a national day for all Egyptians. The memories of the 25th of January, 1952, revives our permanent trust as well as that of the whole of Egypt, in the deep national commitment by the Egyptian police to its people and their deeply-rooted faith in their duty to safeguard and protect security of the homeland however grave are the sacrifices involved. On this memorable day there was entered, with great honour, into the annals of the Egyptian history the fierce resistence by a number of brave policemen in Ismailia city. They refused to surrender and fought out to the last drop of their blood in defense of their site and their country’s dignity in face of the heavily-armed occupation forces. Those policemen gave the best example of heroism and sacrifice. They preserved their homeland’s pride and glory, thus making this great event a day to be celebrated by the Egyptian police, embodying its sublime message of commitment to duty and safeguarding the security of the homeland and its citizens. Over history the Egyptian police have supported the struggle of the Egyptian people as it helped it in all calamities and hardships. It has offered enormous sacrifices to guarantee its security and protect its rights and interests. Vigilantly they have watched over the security, honour, freedom and property of every citizen. Similarly, they have safeguarded the security of the homeland by fending off the evils of crime, maintaining its stability and protecting its progress. All over its history, the Egyptian police have been an integral part of the people. Police personnel, officers and soldiers alike, are sons of this nation, emerging from its soil, belonging to all categories of the society. Deep inside they bear the values and morals of the Egyptian people; truimphing for the oppressed and the rightholder; following, in their conduct, the dictates of God, conscience and the homeland and exerting utmost efforts, even beyond their capacity, to perform their duty. The police have lived up to the expectations of the people, extending its presence to every site, ensuring secure and stable life in the new urban communities wherever they emerge on Egypt’s map where human activity prospers and villages and cities throbbing with life and mega projects rise. This all depends in the first place on security and stability reassuring every individual that his efforts and property are secure both at present and in future. Stability and security are the two basic prerequisites to guarantee the prosperity of every human activity, failing of which makes it impossible for the human efforts to yield any fruitful work or make any progress. While Egypt has witnessed, over the past years, a tremendous surge of urbanization, leading to increased investment and development rates and the crystalization of a new vision for Egypt’s future, one of the major factors of success is that Egypt has maintained its security and stability thanks to the efforts of the vigilant national police that abide by provisions of law and the supreme interests of the homeland, treats all citizens on equal footing, safeguards both public and private property without discrimination and provides for every law-abiding citizen full security and confident outlook for the future. It has been the constant policy of the Egyptian police under all circumstances and at all times to side by the peoples’ interests, defend their security and rights in face of outlaws, advocates of the unlawful and death mongers who live on crimes, profiters from destruction and poisonous drug trafficking, spread corruption among people and wait with malicious intend, for the chance to undermine Egypt’s security and stability. In this continous battle with crime and criminals, everyday there fall faithful martyrs who sacrifice their lives in fulfilment of their duty. In spite of the fierce battle with outlaws, the Egyptian police have not judged anyone based on suspicion nor have they denied the accused the right to fair and just court trial. The Egyptian police have always acted in strict discipline, subject to rule of law and have respected human rights under well-established policies, allowing all the matter to be handled by a fair, impartial judicature, goverened exclusively by conscience and the rule of law. While the police, in their day-to-day dealing with out laws, are subjected to false accusations originated by those who hate to see the police clamp dawn on their criminal activities, this will never affect the essence of the Egyptian Police or their image in citizens’ eyes. No community anywhere in the world is free of this phenomenon. Never will succeed the attempts of those who want to undermine the morale of such a national organization that has offered tremendous sacrifices to maintain national unity, achieved a massive victory over terrorist groups and could direct fatal blows to them, thus saving the homeland and citizens from their evils and perils. The Egyptian Police have succeeded in encircling the dangerous activities of such groups and managed, through crushing blows, to foil their plans, undermine and paralize their organizations. In the battle against terrorism, there have fallen many faithful police officers and soldiers who sacrified their pure blood in defending the right of every Egyptian to a secure homeland, where neither the present nor the future are endangered by deviant factions, that spread terror everywhere, seek to sabotage its national economy and hit its supreme interests in favour of foreign power. These factions are intent on obstructing the development plans, disrupting progress and draining out Egypt’s ability to be an influential party in the Arab world or in the Middle East region. Success by the police in performing their duty greatly depends on their ability to gain confidence and cooperation of the masses. In this sense, security becomes a joint effort between the police and the people where every citizen performs his responsible role, abides by the provisions of law and respects others’ rights. In addition, everyone should perform his duty as a good citizen who should not withhold testimony, cover up a crime nor keep information on any criminal but rather should cooperate as far as he can with policemen in chasing up crime in order to maintain the security of his family, neighbours and homeland. The truth is that without the peoples’ support to the police in its battle against outlawed groups and factions, it would have been impossible for the police to achieve such great success, nor could they have chased these groups all over the country, dealing crushing blows at them and ridding the people of their evils and heinous acts; thus showing their loyality to people and homeland. Greetings to the valiant policemen, who, together with the Armed Forces men, undertake a sacred mission, in defence of the right of every Egyptian to a secure homeland. Greetings to our martyrs who lost their lives in the most honourable battles of sacrifice defending the achievements of a great nation that stood up firmly against forces of aggression and crime. While Egypt has made great successes in combating terrorism and its elements, it is incumbent on the international community to exert additional efforts for encircling terrorism, draining its sources as well as unveiling its schemes. It has been proved that terrorism is a general international phenomenon; its crimes and evils are not confined to a certain group of countries in specific regions. No country can benefit from it even though it might lose vision for sometime. Brothers and sisters Our celebration today coincides with the beginning of a new year which, we hope, will witness a significant addition to national efforts that will reinforce the course of the Egyptian progress and contribute to improving living standards for all Egyptians besides redoubling the nation’s capability to confront the challenges of the future. Under an atmosphere of stability and security, Egypt has been able to continue its development efforts at rates in excess of threefold the population growth rate, reaching this year about 7% despite world recession. Hence, there is great hope that we would be able to offest the dramatic fall in petroleum prices and absorb the potential negative impact on the conditions of Egyptian manpower abroad as a result of such decline. This will be achieved by reliance on domestic efforts and Egypt’s increasing ability to attract more Arab and foreign investment and increasing gross domestic product, as a result of the entry into actual production of a large number of economic projects. We greatly hope that Egyptian development rates would keep their pace despite all contingent circumstances, depending on the efforts of all Egyptians, men and women. We are destined to exert unceasing effort, motivated by our firm, unwavering determination, great self-confidence and absolute belief that we will, God willing, realize our goals. We have provided the proper atmosphere for unleashing the Egyptians’ initiatives, eliminated all obstacles hindering the increase of the private sector’s participation in development projects, widened the scope of participation and provided security and stability which make every investor, Egyptian or foreign, feel secure about his efforts and property. The huge variety arising in the various development fields, based at present on a number of mega national projects and a huge network of small and medium enterprises all over Egypt. This variety has provided Egypt’s economy with various sources of power and an adequate immunity, which could alleviate consequences of the volatility of world economy and its renewed crises. We have ambitious plans seeking to realize the best use of Egypt’s vital geographical location being the crossroads of the three continents; employ it to reinforce Egypt’s position in the international trade movement. Thus, industrial free zones and joint ventures may be created at the entrances of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, reducing transport and processing costs and re-exporting the Egyptian and joint-venture production to world markets, in east and west at competitive prices. Both projects of east Port Said and Suez Gulf have entered into the stage of implementation. East of Port Said, there will be established the biggest container transshipment port in the Middle East, and on the Suez Gulf, there will be another port of an equal importance, depending on a huge industrial area that attracts increasing demand on the part of Arab and foreign investors. It is true that efforts exerted by Egypt over the past years, in order to upgrade infrastructure utilities, have contributed to pushing forward these gigantic projects, reducing construction periods and costs and accelerating the utilization of their revenues through construction phases. This ensures Egypt’s ability to pursue its development efforts depending on its own resources. In addition, it underlines the national economy’s ability to promote itself, depending on increasing development rates that can meet the Egyptians needs, realize a tangible steady progress in their living standards and provide a reasonable surplus that can be re-invested. The wheel rolled in the right direction; it is our duty to cooperate in pushing it forward so that the Egyptian progress should proceed towards the aspired goals. The goals are represented in a safe homeland with a bright future for the coming generations, providing new advanced schools, upgrading their abilities, potentialities and skills, qualifying them for the challenges of the coming age, providing clean hospitals with good service and health care, a suitable residence that befits man’s dignity and a cohesive free community under the umbrella of a full-fledged democracy, respecting freedom of opinion and press, truimphing for the rule of law and safeguarding the collective and individual freedoms; a community where all unite together to consolidate its national unity and preserve its social safety. This is our ultimate and aspired dream that unites us under the umbrella of the Egyptian patriotism. This dream has become within the range of vision a tangible reality embodied everyday in a constructive work that adds up to the structure of the homeland. Thus, it is our mission to exert our utmost effort to highly raise this structure so as to realize the hopes of all citizens. It’s such a mission that should be fulfilled by all citizens, each in his own specialization and scope of work. It’s the real test of every Egyptian. There are no more execuses that prevent participation and no more reasons that justify indifferent or wait-and-see attitude because chances of participation are not restricted to an individual or a group but are rather open without limits. It is our constant approach to expand the right of participation to the maximum limits because our homeland needs the efforts of all its sons; it needs enterpreneurs/owners of large enterprises as well as owners of the small ones. It is also in need of new generations of its youth who are capable of breaking into fields of business with a new sophisticated progressing perspective in addition to the efforts of women who are an indispensible component of the Egyptian Labour force. Brothers and Sisters The security, safety and stability of the homeland are the underpinnings of its progress. We have pledged to maintain Egypt’s peace, safeguard its stability and safety. This will ensure that all Egyptians will live together in amity and tolerance in a country that opens up its doors to all friends, supports those oppressed and those who claim lawful rights and stands against treacherous agression, fearing no one in defending the right side. Along this road, we have faced enormous challenges and difficulties. Yet, the Divine Providence, people’s backing and courage have been the best support for us. I pray to God Almighty to keep Egypt safe, strong and lofty so as to remain as it has always been a beacon of civilization, a heart throbbing love and goodness and a fluttering flag of the Arab nation. He is the best Custodian and Supporter. |
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