CAIRO, Jan. 23 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt's police force celebrated both the 64th national police day and the anniversary of the 2011 Uprising in the Police Academy on Saturday,despite the uprising being partly an expression against police brutality.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attended the high-level celebration aired on live television, shortly after he lay a wreath of flowers over the "police martyrs' monument". The president issued a presidential decree, granting medals of honour to several "martyred policemen", which were handed out during the commemoration.

Sisi started off his speech on how hard this day is for him and observed a minute of silence. 

Reactions quickly started pouring in on social media, which played a vital role in helping protesters organise during and after the uprising. The hashtag, #national_police_day has stared trending on Twitter, with many supporting the dual celebration and others heavily criticising it.

Multiple calls have been issued on Facebook urging demonstrations but just two days ahead of the anniversary, tension pervades and it is unclear if these calls are going to gather momentum.

Last month, Sisi asked the "group calling for a new revolution" in January, if they want to "ruin this country and destroy the people."

On Friday night, army forces were dispatched to assist the police in "protecting citizens and securing vital facilities," as well as secure major roads, the armed forces spokesman said on his Facebook page.

In the Greater Cairo metropolis, army patrols and rapid deployment forces were dispatched and a battlegroup was sent to Alexandria and other provinces, the spokesman said without naming the provinces. Meanwhile, reinforcements were made to secure Egypt's western border, involving the air force and border guards.

Monday marks the fifth anniversary of 2011 Uprising that led to the overthrow of then-President Hosni Mubarak, who had remained in power for 30 years until crowds took to the streets to object to his rule.

The uprising’s anniversary coincides with the national police day because the organisers deliberately chose this day to protest the police’s practices. Police brutality was one of the triggers of the uprising which drew attention to the police's use of excessive, at times fatal, force.

In late 2010, a Facebook page called for protests on January 25, 2011 which sparked 18 days of protest in what later came to be known as the 2011 uprising. 

The Facebook page, "We are all Khaled Said," was set up in memory of a young man who was brutally beaten to death while in police custody in June 2010. His death became the rallying cry for rising anti-authoritarian sentiment exacerbated by trumped-up claims that Said had choked on a hashish wrap, despite the emergence of pictures of his badly disfigured face, the result of a brutal beating.

The Facebook page signaled the start of an era where social media became increasingly important for popular mobilization in Egypt and elsewhere.