Sisi promises 'second republic' after honoring families of officers, medical staff who lost their lives on duty

CAIRO – 8 March 2021: President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has teared up after meeting the family members of dozens of military and police officers who were slain during confrontations with terrorists, as well as the families of doctors who lost their lives after contracting Covid-19.

On the Martyr’s Day on Tuesday, Sisi met honored and shook hands with either the wife and young children of the victims or their elderly parents. He also honored officers who were injured in the turbulent period following the 2013 ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood regime, and veteran officers who were injured in the Israeli-Egyptian wars until 1973.

He also honored a doctor who lost his eyesight after an excruciating headache while working under extreme pressure in a quarantine hospital treating many severe cases of Covid-19 in May 2020. He was expecting a baby after 11 years of marriage, but did not get to see him with his own eyes.

The president thanked the families and vowed that Egypt would stand by their side for as long as they lived, saying that without the sacrifice of those martyrs, the country wouldn’t have stabilized and leapt anti developments that have thus far come a long way.

He took the opportunity to highlight the importance of the farmland Egypt has left, warning that any more encroachments on agricultural plots would reduce job opportunities. He encouraged Egyptians in the countryside to expand their homes vertically, rather than horizontally, even if it goes against their traditions.

A “second republic” was promised by the president with the developments ongoing to upgrade the countryside and infrastructure in Cairo and other major cities, as well as the inauguration of the Administrative Capital and other new urban communities.