The following is based on a talk by the author, who had just returned from a month-long visit to Egypt, at an ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) public forum in San Francisco on Feb. 11.
Egyptian streets near the Interior Ministry were once again filled with tear gas, “non-lethal” shells and burned-out cars. Central Security Forces patrolled the streets, repressing protesters. More than 2,500 Egyptians were wounded or injured. Reuters reported on Feb. 8 that more than 15 Egyptians had died. Demonstrators chanted, “The people want to topple the regime!” and “The people want to execute the field marshal!”
The latest revolt was triggered when more than 73 people were killed and more than 350 were injured in Port Said following a Feb. 2 soccer match in which the Cairo-based Ahly team was defeated. Hundreds attacked the Ahly team and their strongest fans, known as “Ultras,” as police stood on the sidelines doing nothing.
The attack was highly suspicious. The Ultras had defended demonstrators during the first days of the revolution beginning Jan. 25, 2011, and then in the face of massive repression in November. They are well-respected throughout the revolutionary movement, renowned for their courage in confronting the security forces.
Public sentiment was further inflamed when the head of police in Port Said was transferred to Cairo without being held accountable for the injured and dead. The “soccer riot” occurred after Field Marshal Tantawi announced the lifting of the emergency law, which has been in place for 30 years. For the past year, the martyrs who died during the revolution, whether at the hands of the police, military police or thugs, have not been given justice.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by Tantawi, has moved toward making “mild reforms” in order to demobilize the ongoing struggle against the military and the remnants of former President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. SCAF’s steps include moving up the date for the transfer of power that was scheduled for July 1.
SCAF may also arrest 20 former members of the National Democratic Party—Mubarak’s party—on corruption charges. However, the recent trials of Mubarak; his sons Alaa and Gamal, who are well known for their corruption, money laundering and insider stock trades; and former Interior Minister Habib Al- Adly are seen by most Egyptians as sham exercises.
Response of Parliament
The response of Parliament to the violence on the ground has been minimal. Parliament is dominated by the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, with the Nour Party right after the FJP in terms of seats. The liberal forces have a minimum representation in Parliament—most notably Amr Hamzawy, who has been a strong anti-SCAF voice. Prime Minister Kamal el-Ganzouri, who was installed in November by SCAF, has echoed the political line of the regime.
El- Ganzouri, an old Mubarak ally who served as premier in the late 1990s, was responsible for the privatization of Egyptian industries during his term. According to Al-Ahram newspaper, SCAF will not relieve Ganzouri of his post. Mohamed Morsy, president of the FJP, rejected the proposal to move the presidential elections to an earlier date, claiming that it violates the electoral process, since the lower and upper house are scheduled to meet on March 4 to select members for a committee to write the constitution.
The parliamentary elections haven’t represented the demands of the revolution in terms of social- economic resolutions, but simply placed the most organized political movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, in power. Moreover, the Brotherhood has been making a lot of backroom deals with SCAF and in public talks with the United States.
The strength of the Brotherhood and its domination of Parliament is due to its social base in the poor areas of Egypt, as well as its strong economic base of businesses and charities. Established in 1928, it is the one of the oldest standing political and social organizations in Egypt. Moreover, revolutionary Egyptians have seen the parliamentary elections as a barrier preventing the necessary changes for Egypt, including toppling the regime and holding SCAF accountable for the deaths of Egyptians throughout the transition period.
Anniversary of Mubarak being forced out
Mubarak was forced out of office on Feb. 11 last year by the power of the Egyptian people through militant and determined action around three main demands: bread, liberty and social justice. A general strike was called to mark that anniversary throughout Egypt to involve the organized masses in Tahrir Square, factories and other workplaces, and schools. It lasted for three days, shutting down the whole country and much of the economy.
The tragic events in Port Said, along with the dictatorship of SCAF and its methods of repression, have driven the Egyptian masses to continue their revolution. Major universities, including Cairo University, Ein Shams, American University in Cairo and German University in Cairo, joined the call for the strike. Many martyrs of the Port Said massacre were young Egyptians, and university students have had it with the crimes of SCAF and the regime.
On Feb. 9, around 8,000 GUC students joined with public and private universities for a nationwide strike and civil disobedience. Facebook and Twitter campaigns played an important role in publicizing the general strike. The military deployed army vehicles and tanks around key governmental buildings and other important locations. SCAF also used organized religious heads to criticize the calls for civil disobedience as “against religion.
It has been estimated that more than 9 million Egyptians marched to Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, the first anniversary of the start of the revolution. The main slogan was “Down, down with military rule!” The mass mobilization was to remind SCAF that its time is limited and that the people’s demands have not been fulfilled. The vast majority of people viewed Jan. 25 as a stepping stone for the continuation of the revolution. The marches were diverse, bringing in different sectors of Egyptian society
Since the crackdown on a sit-in in front of the premier’s cabinet on Dec. 17, movement organizers have been creating awareness within their communities. The campaign known as Kaseboon, or “Lairs,” has been an effective tool to raise consciousness and to counter the state media television news, which has been a mouthpiece for the regime and the military. The campaign involved the screening of videos exposing the lies of military officials and the brutal violence used against protesters. Popular committees for the defense of the revolution have been the main organizers, and other grassroots organizations led by leftists, socialists and communists have displayed videos in their communities.
The West and Egypt
Since Mubarak was forced to resign, Field Marshal Tantawi has been the voice and face of the regime. Tantawi was Mubarak’s minister of defense for 20 years, and before that he was the top general of the presidential Republican Guard. The United States called Mubarak during the uprising “a friend, an ally and an anchor of stability in the region,” referring to the client state headed by Mubarak and his obedience to U.S. foreign policy. Mubarak opened Egypt to multinational corporations and limited domestic production of such crops as wheat and rice, the two commodities that Egypt imports the most.
Mubarak’s regime also played a key role in the repression of the Palestinians with the closing down of Rafah, the entrance to Gaza. Moreover, Egypt is the second largest recipient of U.S. military aid after Israel, amounting to $1.3 billion a year for the past 30 years. Strengthening the military was the American strategy to keep the regime “stable” for its interests, but the time came when Mubarak became a liability.
While the United States continues to talk about democracy in the Middle East and Egypt’s important role, Egyptians have been killed by the police and military with bullets and tear gas labeled “Made in the USA.”
The United States has critical interests in keeping Egypt within its sphere of influence—controlling the Suez Canal for the passage of the U.S. naval fleets to the Persian/Arabian Gulf and the flow of oil from Saudi Arabia, and preventing Egypt playing an anti-imperialist role in the region. U.S. officials have talked and agreed with the Muslim Brotherhood over government and regional issues. The United States hopes to keep the Brotherhood in power to have leverage against Iran and over the Brotherhood itself, since Egypt is a Sunni-dominated country and Iran has a Shi’a-oriented political system. The U.S. hopes to maintain this balance of power in the region as it slaps new layers of brutal sanctions on Iran.
The general strike can help the Egyptian revolution to survive and succeed in toppling the regime and the military council.
Long live the Egyptian people and their struggle against the Western-backed dictatorship!
U.S. out of the Middle East!
