Long-time member of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Morsi came in the winner in Egypt’s June 16-17 second-round presidential election. After a final review of the results, the Supreme Election Commission reported June 24 that Morsi had received 13.2 million votes of 26 million cast, or 51 percent, leaving Ahmed Shafiq, his opponent and a former premier under Hosni Mubarak, with 12.3 million votes. Three days before the Commission’s declaration, thousands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi packed Tahrir Square. In Nasr City, a district of Cairo, a few thousand came out in support of Shafiq and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
For the first time, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, banned since 1948, has become president of Egypt. However, the Mubarak regime survives through the SCAF under the leadership of Field Marshall Mohamed Tantawi.
Morsi took an informal oath of office as Egypt’s fifth president June 29 on a stage in the middle of Tahrir Square, with thousands of Egyptians in attendance. In his 43-minute speech, Morsi stressed his legitimacy as president and called for national unity. He also vowed to demand the release of Egyptian cleric Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence in the United States in connection with the 1993 Twin-Tower bombing in New York City. Morsi also called for the release of Egyptian political prisoners who had been arrested by the military council.
The next day, Morsi swore his formal oath before the Supreme Constitutional Court, pledging: “I swear to God that I will faithfully preserve the republican order, that I will respect the constitution and the law, and look after the interest of the people comprehensively, and that I will preserve the independence of the nation and the safety of its land.”
SCAF and the Mubarak regime’s consolidation of power
On June 14, SCAF effectively carried out a military coup d’état through the Egyptian Supreme Court with the liquidation of the newly elected parliament, mostly controlled by the Freedom and Justice Party of the Muslim Brotherhood. Pending adoption of a new constitution, the incoming president will be unable to exercise executive power, since amendments by SCAF to the March 30, 2011, military-authored Constitutional Declaration eliminate any threats to its political and economic powers.
Article 53 of the Declaration states: “The incumbent SCAF members are responsible for deciding on all issues related to the armed forces including appointing its leaders and extending the terms in office of the aforesaid leaders. The current head of the SCAF is to act as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and minister of defense until a new constitution is drafted.”
More significantly, Article 60B allows the military to have the final say on the drafting of the constitution and the time frame for new parliamentary elections.
On June 13, Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid granted the military police, along with military intelligence, the power to arrest civilians under the pretext of maintaining security until the adoption of a new constitution. This decree was another way to justify civilian trials in military courts, discourage popular mobilizations and reestablish emergency laws. On June 26, however, an Egyptian court overturned the decree—a sign of challenges to the authority of the military as the newly elected president takes office.
On June 18, Sameh Ashour, top legal adviser to SCAF, told al Jazeera: “The upcoming president will occupy the office for a short period of time, whether or not he agrees. His office term will be short despite the huge efforts exerted in the election campaigns.” In other words, the military’s coup will take precedence over the president’s “legitimacy.”
SCAF most wanted a victory in the election for ex-Premier Shafiq, regardless of the voting numbers. He had been Mubarak’s aviation minister in the 2000s and a former military general himself. However, the military council decided that Shafiq would be a liability if elected, since such an outcome would have set off another round of revolutionary and militant uprisings.
Major General Mamdouh Shahin is reported to have affirmed on June 27 that SCAF would not back down from the amendments to the Constitutional Declaration. “Nor will we give in to demonstrators in Tahrir Square,” he added. (Egypt.com, June 27)
Divide and conquer
Over the course of the year and half since Jan. 25, 2011, SCAF and its ruling general moved quickly to crack down on the uprising, arrest revolutionaries and attempt to uproot revolutionary and progressive elements from Egyptian society. SCAF implemented only cosmetic reforms in an attempt to contain the revolt.
For example, the State Security Investigations Service, the main security apparatus of Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, was ostensibly dissolved but in reality only renamed as “Egyptian Homeland Security.” Most of the generals who served under Mubarak retired, while deputy directors and other high-level assistants in different sectors of the government replaced their superiors.
The military also installed two former ministers from the Mubarak era. Essam Sharaf served as transportation minister in 2004-2005 under Mubarak and then last year as prime minister under SCAF from March until the deadly clashes in November and December. His successor, Kamal al-Ganzouri, served as prime minister in the late 1990s and implemented neoliberal measures—foreign and domestic buyouts of key public-sector industries. He was sworn into office in December 2011, and resigned with Morsi’s presidency. As puppets of SCAF, Sharaf and al-Ganzouri “governed” in the same manner as they had under Mubarak.
The military, the backbone of the regime, continued the policy of brutal force, violence and torture. The top head of the military facilitated the interior ministry and the Central Security Forces and coordinated attacks on demonstrations, marches and sit-ins and raids on human rights organizations. Thousands of Egyptians have been wounded or injured, and many have lost their eyesight after being hit with projectiles. Hundreds more have been killed by the military and CSF.
Under the command of Maj. General Hassan al-Roueini, the military conducted thousands of military tribunals against revolutionaries, activists and civilians. Torture continued under the military as the prisoners were shifted from cells in intelligence centers to military prisons.
The state-run media demonized revolutionaries as “thugs, provocateurs and foreign agents” to discredit grassroots organizing in working-class neighborhoods. The media demonized the Muslim Brotherhood as “backward” and “terrorist” to get people to vote for Shafiq. On May 23, the government declared that oil and gas prices would effectively be doubled by eliminating all subsidies and introducing a coupon system. A decade of neoliberal policies resulted in multinational corporate buyouts of formerly nationalized industries and huge monopolies controlled by a handful of Egyptian tycoons, including the two banker sons of Mubarak, Alaa and Gamal.
On June 6, Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly were sentenced to life in prison and stripped of any honors, military or civilian, on charges of killing protesters. Six of the top assistants of al-Adly, however, were declared innocent and released. Mubarak’s sons were also exonerated from corruption charges, along with their father.
Alaa and Gamal are still being held for insider trading and manipulating the stock market. After the verdicts were announced, people flooded Tahrir Square and other major squares around Egypt to demand the execution of Mubarak, al-Adly, the assistants, and Field Marshall Tantawi. Protesters chanted, “The people want to topple the regime” and “The people want to execute the field marshall.”
The military viewed developments during Mubarak’s last days as a threat to the entire regime and most importantly to the military institution itself. The military controls a vast industrial empire that includes the manufacturing of consumer goods, food, mineral water, construction, mining, land reclamation and tourism. Its production is estimated to total 8-40 percent of Egypt’s GDP.
Hence, sacrificing Mubarak and his ministers was the solution to prevent a civil war that could result in the loss of the military’s lucrative businesses.
After the Camp David Agreement 1979, Egypt became an ally of the United States and Western Europe. Since then, Egypt has received more than $3 billion annually in aid, coming in the form of both military and economic assistance to the government. Two of the largest corporations that sell directly or indirectly to Egypt are Combined Tactical System Inc and Federal laboratories. Thousands of Egyptians have been killed as a result of CS gas from projectiles or from live ammunition used during the 18-day uprising and its aftermath.
The Obama administration has been talking to the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood since the ousting of Mubarak. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the first foreign official to meet with Morsi following his electoral victory. They reportedly discussed the future of U.S.-Egyptian and Egyptian-Israeli relations and the issue of minority rights under “Islamist rule.”
The Muslim Brotherhood has been the main opposition group to all Egyptian presidents since the Egyptian monarchy was overthrown. During the Nasser years, many Brotherhood members were imprisoned and tortured after a failed assassination attempt in 1954. During the Sadat era, the Brotherhood members were released from prison. Subsequently, militant organizations like “Islamic Society” and “Islamic Jihad Organization” split from the Brotherhood for its deals with Sadat. These two organizations plotted and killed Sadat in October 1981 during a military parade.
During Mubarak’s reign, the regime continued the policy of imprisoning Brotherhood members and prohibited it from building hospitals and schools and establishing charities. In the last decade, the Brotherhood became more involved in the electoral process, winning and losing seats in parliament running as independents.
The leadership of the Brotherhood declared that it would not participate in the uprising that began on Jan. 25, 2011. Younger members, however, marched in the streets, and others broke ranks after Mubarak left office. The Brotherhood quickly began talks with SCAF after Mubarak’s fall regarding elections, wanting a piece of the pie as the most powerful organized force in Egypt.
The Brotherhood since its creation has organized and recruited people mainly through the mosques. At the same time, they provided working-class Egyptians with social services, protection, free clinics and free education. Hence, the Brotherhood is a diverse organization. The leadership wants moderate reform and is pro-capitalist, while the membership ranges from the wealthy elite to the upper middle class to the working class and peasantry. The more radical factions have left the organization in protest of their collaboration with SCAF.
The revolutionary movement and mass mobilization
After the coup, it is clear that the military is defending the regime from any type of revolutionary change. After the first round of election, the military consolidated its power without any pretext, as the legal side of the coup was provided by the court. Meanwhile, the revolution is ongoing.
The labor movement has been under attack by SCAF and the installed governments. Three days before Mubarak was ousted, a general strike was called in solidarity with the demonstrations across Egypt protesting poverty, unemployment, harsh working conditions, unfair contracts and no bonus and against privatization and the criminalization of independent unions.
After Mubarak, the Egyptian state continued the policy of criminalizing strikes and non-governmental unions and failed to raise the minimum wage. Parliament, when seated in January, shelved the demands of workers and union representatives. Egyptian workers have continued to call for the removal of SCAF, the interim cabinet and all of Mubarak’s thieves and bosses in the factories, textile mills, agriculture and social services.
The Egyptian state has seen the power of the labor movement, which is the most determined force for crippling a dictatorial state and an oppressive economic apparatus. A movement, known as the “boycotters,” came out during the elections and declared that elections under the military are invalid and people should take to the streets if any of the old Mubarak loyalists come into power. On June 8, Egyptian women demonstrated against sexual harassment and against the military’s rule over Egypt. Woman have played a role equal to men in the revolution.
The election of the first civilian president in Egypt is historic. At the same time, the Egyptian masses will hold Morsi accountable for his actions. Tahrir Square mobilizations, civil disobedience and grass roots organizing are the tools for the Egyptian revolution. The revolutionaries and youth are steadfast in support of the demands of the revolution: “Bread, Freedom, Social Justice, and the Rights of the Martyrs!”
Long live the Egyptians revolution!
U.S. out of the Middle East!
