DATE=9/10/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EGYPT - SECURITY (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253698
BYLINE=LISA BRYANT
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Egypt's Interior Minister has replaced the
head of state security, as part of a larger security
reshuffle. This comes after the attack (Monday,
September 6) on President Hosni Mubarak. From Cairo,
Lisa Bryant reports.
TEXT: An Egyptian official said Friday that Interior
Minister Habib El Adli has replaced the chief of state
security, and that at least three security officers
are to appear before a disciplinary tribunal.
The three were in charge of security at the Egyptian
Mediterranean City of Port Said, the scene of the
knife attack on President Hosni Mubarak. All three
were also removed from their jobs earlier this week.
The Interior Ministry official said that four other
policemen will be disciplined for apparently lax
security during the President's visit to the port
city, which is one of Egypt's key industrial zones.
The attack took place as President Mubarak drove
through Port Said in a motorcade. As crowds cheered
their President, 39-year-old Al-Sayeed
Soliman reportedly stabbed Mr. Mubarak with a pocket
knife. He also managed to injure the head of the
presidential guard, before security officers shot him
dead. President Mubarak escaped with superficial
wounds on his hand, and went on to deliver a scheduled
speech.
But since then, there have been questions about how
the attacker -- who was reportedly acting on his own -
- got so close to the moving presidential motorcade to
injure both Mr. Mubarak and the head of the
presidential guard.
In interviews with Egyptian newspapers this week,
President Mubarak said the attack showed that security
authorities did not carry out their job well. The
President said those responsible will be questioned
and punished.
Mr. Soliman has been variously described by local
newspapers as a Muslim fundamentalist with a grudge,
and as a mentally unstable man who did not take his
prescribed medication.
//OPT// Some press reports said Mr. Soliman may have
been carrying a letter for President Mubarak, not a
knife. But in his published remarks, the President
said his assailant was carrying a knife, and a bottle
with liquid in it - not a letter. //END OPT//
Later this month, Egypt's 71-year-old President is
expected to be elected to a fourth straight six-year
term. Monday's attack raised questions about who will
succeed President Mubarak, a survivor of numerous
assassination attempts.
Although the President apparently escaped unscathed,
he nonetheless cancelled a scheduled visit to Libya
for the Organization of African Unity summit.
(SIGNED)
NEB/LB/GE/ENE/JO
10-Sep-1999 10:53 AM EDT (10-Sep-1999 1453 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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