Uruguayan author, teacher, and political activist Hiber Conteris wrote the following solidarity message to the Mahalla workers and detainees:
We, the Latin American workers, students and intellectuals, express our solidarity to all of you who resist oppression and fight against injustice. Your world is our world, your fight is our fight.
Hiber Conteris
Hiber was detained amid Latin America‘s Dirty War, by the US-backed Uruguayan dictatorship, from 1976 to 1985, during which he survived brutal torture. He was released in March 1985, only to receive in August of the same year the news of his 23-year-old son Carlos’ martyrdom in Nicaragua where the latter had volunteered to fight with the Sandinista against the Contras.
In Beirut, The Lebanese comrades are also mobilizing for a solidarity protest in front of the Egyptian Embassy, Sunday 4 May, 1pm.
In Washington DC, the Alliance of Egyptian Americans are calling for a demonstration in front of the Egyptian Embassy on 4 May.
Arab activists in the Bay Area are also circulating the following message of solidarity:
Workers and Activists in Egypt Jailed and Beaten: A International Call for Action and Solidarity
In response to a call for a strike on April 6th by the Egyptian workers in Ghazl el-Mahalla compound—the biggest textile mill in the Middle East—the Mubarak regime decided to occupy the factory complex with security forces, abduct strike committee leaders Kamal el-Fayoumy and Tarek Amin and arrest political activists and bloggers of every political tendency in Cairo and other cities, as well as cracking down on journalists and photographers who tried to cover the events.
(https://arabawy.org/2008/04/06/police-abort-mahalla-strike/)Not able to suppress the protests, the Mubarak security forces used rubber-bullets, tear-gas, and live ammunition against the Mahalla people who decided to protest on the streets of the Nile Delta town, leaving at least three dead and hundreds injured and around 800 arrested. Many of the activists and citizens, whose release was ordered eventually by the Prosecutor, remained in police custody or were issued detention decrees by Mubarak’s Interior Minister General Habib el-Adly, including Ghazl el-Mahalla activists Kamal el-Fayoumi, Tarek Amin and blogger Kareem el-Beheiri
(https://arabawy.org/2008/04/22/updates-on-the-detainees/)We send our solidarity to the Egyptian workers and their supporters. We call on the Egyptian dictatorship, which is the second largest recipient of US foreign aid after Israel amounting to USD2 billions a year, to release the hundreds in custody.
What can you do?
1- Stay updated and circulate information about Mahalla.
Information is available in English on:
Hossam el-Hamalawy’s Blog: https://arabawy.orgAnd in Arabic:
http://tadamonmasr.wordpress.com
http://hmlc.katib.org
The Egyptian Blogs Aggregator: http://omraneya.net2- Send emails to the Egyptian Embassy in Washington demanding the release of the detainees.
EMBASSY OF THE ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT
3521 International Ct. NW Washington DC 20008
TEL: 202.895.5400 / TEL: 202.966.6342
FAX: 202.244.4319 / FAX: 202.244.5131
Email:Embassy@egyptembassy.net
Email:Consulate@egyptembassy.net3- Sign a petition by sending a message to:
aworldtowin_egy@yahoo.comText of Solidarity Statement and Currents list of Signatories:
Mahalla Protest LetterIn response to a call for a strike on April 6th by the workers in the Mahalla textile complex, the biggest factory in Egypt, the Mubarak regime decided to occupy El-Mahalla complex with security forces, abduct strike committee leaders Kamal El-Faioumy and Tarek Amin and arrest political activists of every political tendency in Cairo and other cities. Not able to suppress the protests, the Mubarak security forces used rubber-bullets, tear-gas, and live ammunition against the Mahalla people who decided to protest on the streets of the city and in different villages, leaving at least two dead and hundreds injured and around 800 arrested. We send our solidarity to the Egyptian workers and their supporters. We call on the Egyptian dictatorship to release the 800 detained yesterday including more than 150 political activists (socialists, liberals, and Islamists), more than 600 protesters from Mahalla (mainly women and children) and Mahalla strike Committee leaders.
Jeremy Corbyn, Member of Parliament, United Kingdom
Bob Crow, general secretary RMT Union (UK rail workers)
Mark Serwotka, general secretary PCS Union (UK civil service workers)
Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition
Francisco Louçã, Member of Parliament, Portugal
John Rees, Cairo Conference
Clare Solomon, President, SOAS Student Union
China Miéville writer, Britain
Mike Davis writer and academic, USA Prof.
Esther Leslie (Britain)
Michael Löwy (sociologist, France)
Prof. Moshe Machover (Britain)
Prof. Jacques Bidet (France)
Prof. Claudio Katz (Argentina)
Prof. Jonathan Nitzan (Canada)
Prof. Craig Brandist (Britain)
Prof. Colin Sparks (Britain)
Prof. Alex Callinicos (Britain)
Jim Wolfreys, President, King’s College London UCU (university and college lecturers)