El-Beblawi praises security forces in eid visit

Egypt’s interim prime minister stated Thursday that security is the top priority of the current Egyptian government. Hazem El-Beblawi, accompanied by Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, met with the security leaders and forces on a visit to Cairo’s Central Security headquarters in El-Darassa, on the first day of Eid, the holiday that follows the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The prime minister praised the "great” and “continuing" role of the security forces, especially the Central Security Forces, to fulfil their mission in "maintaining security, and protecting the nation and people,” state news agency MENA reported. The Central Security Forces are a paramilitary branch of Egypt’s interior ministry, criticised by many human rights activists for involvement in serious rights abuses. On Wednesday, El-Beblawi reiterated in a televised speech the cabinet's decision to disperse the ongoing sit-ins in Cairo in support of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. He asked the protesters to leave the sit-ins, located in Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in east Cairo and in Al-Nahda Square in Giza, as soon as possible. The Egyptian presidency also released a statement on Wednesday announcing that foreign-backed mediations with Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood had failed. Envoys from the European Union, the United States, and Arab countries have flocked to Egypt in the past two weeks to try and broker a deal between the Brotherhood and the current transitional government. In the statement, the presidency held the Brotherhood responsible for the failure of the talks. Source: Ahram Online