Opposition Calls for Resignation of Interior Minister After Tourists Abduction

George Ishaq, the coordinator of Kefaya movement, slammed the deterioration in security services in dealing with frequent challenges, the last of which is the abduction of at least 11 tourists from Upper Egypt without detecting there location till now.

Ishaq said in statements to Ikhwanweb that Monday’s accident is the direct result of the state of emergency which has weakened the performance of security services including criminal security apparatus. Ishaq described what happened as part of an overwhelming state of corruption plaguing Egypt.

Ishaq added that the weakness of security services is due to the fact that its mission has been transformed from protecting citizens to protecting the regime.

“I call on the Interior Minister to resign because he is the one responsible for this deterioration,” Ishaq said.

Karima Hefnawy from Kifaya told Ikhwanweb that the accident mirrors the collapse in state institutions which Egypt suffers at present.

“The state security apparatus is preoccupied with cracking down on protestors and pro-reform activists, while it is unable to protect the people of even the guests to our country,” she said.

Hifnawy reiterated Ishaq’s call for the interior minister to resign, but added that she demands the entire regime to resign because of its failure in the face of all challenges and the disappearance of state institutions.

At least 11 tourists and four Egyptians were kidnapped from the Egyptian-Sudanese borders in Upper Egypt on Monday, Reuters and security sources said. Among the kidnapped an Egyptian police officer, five Germans, five Italians, and a Romanian tourist.