Year: 2008

1976

Posted on By 3arabawy
[25-11-1976] Leftist students demonstrate outside the parliament building to protest the high cost of living and Sadat's economic policies. Two months later, the country was to witness a national uprising on 18 and 19 January 1977, that was crushed by Sadat's army [Photo by Popperfoto, Courtesy of the UK Socialist Worker Archives]
[25-11-1976] Leftist students demonstrate outside the parliament building to protest the high cost of living and Sadat’s economic policies. Two months later, the country was to witness a national uprising on 18 and 19 January 1977, that was crushed by Sadat’s army [Photo by Popperfoto, Courtesy of the UK Socialist Worker Archives]

Kamal Khalil, recalling the 25 November 1976 Cairo University march which he led as an Engineering graduate student and a communist organizer:

The Nasserists and the Communists were due to march on that day. But there were divisions in every faction.. both among the Nasserists themselves and the Communists. The Workers Communist party activists had announced they were not joining the march. My group’s cell leaders back then, the “Communist Party-8th of January,” voted 3 to 2 against joining the march. I decided to break the organizational orders, and agitate for the protest by noon. We had drafted together with the Nasserists, the “November Progressive Document”, where we stated the demands of the student movement against the reconciliation with Israel, the repression of the opposition and the “Open-Door” Policy [Sadat’s neoliberal reforms]. The original plan, before the student leaders started hesitating, was that we were to mobilize for a march on the parliament, and hand the “Document” to the parliamentarians. The march started by only 200 students, but soon swelled to more than 3000 and those who were hesitating, ended up joining when it became clear the Central Security Forces were not going to obstruct the march.
We camped outside the parliament, at el-Qasr el-Eini. Back then it was two-way street. One thing I’ll never forget was a bus driver who was on the opposite direction. We started chanting: “El-Ta’ayeed el-Tam el-Tam, li Edrab el-Na’l El-‘Am! [Our full solidarity for the transport workers’ strike]”. The bus drivers in Cairo had gone on strike earlier in the summer, bringing the capital to halt. The bus driver stopped his bus, and leaned out of the side window, to hug the demonstrators and kept on honking. A student delegation went up to deliver the “Document” to the parliamentarians. Of course their response was “sure we’ll look into that”.. but nothing happened. In less than two months, the intifada broke out.

Mahalla Testimony

Posted on By 3arabawy

A journalist present in Mahalla during the April uprising, recalling the initial clashes that sparked the intifada in El-Shoun Sq:

It was all peaceful (in the square) until the police assaulted the people. Suddenly, I don’t know from where they showed up, but out of the alleys came big baladi women with sticks and kitchen knives.. young men.. children.. like a sea flood.. I don’t know from where they showed up.. but again, they just appeared. They fought the police back. The women were shouting at the soldiers and corporals: “You Israeli sons of bitches! You Israeli sons of dogs!”

Pigs obstruct Bedouin conference

Posted on By 3arabawy

From the Daily News Egypt:

Heightened security in North Sinai led to the delay of a proposed conference of Bedouin tribes in which they planned to make demands from the Egyptian government.
Earlier on Friday, hundreds of Bedouins had driven through towns between Rafah and Sheikh Zowayed to announce the conference, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday.
Although it did take place, many of the representatives were unable to attend due to the closure of all the roads leading to Irsal, Shabana south of Rafah where the meeting was held.
Those who managed to attend released a statement declaring that another conference will be held on Aug. 25 where the Bedouins will make a list of demands.
Among these demands is the release of Bedouins incarcerated since a spate of terror attacks in tourist resorts across Southern Sinai in 2006.
Demands also include reaching an agreement for land ownership with the government and benefits from increased investment in Sinai.
The attendees also called for being given employment priority in projects in the area and that companies investing in Sinai offer services to the people in the vicinity.
“The government is not concerned with the simple people of Sinai and is more interested in the businessmen,” journalist and activist Mustapha Singer told Daily News Egypt.