Tag: europe

Here’s a translation by Comrade David of a question that has been put down in the European Parliament by Raül Romeva, a Catalan Euro MP, and member of the European Green group. He placed it in Spanish, but it hasn’t appeared yet on the EU web site in any language:

On the social protests in Egypt
In recent weeks, various media channels have reported on the different protests of Egyptian civil society, provoked by precarious working conditions in many sectors, such as industry, public transport, education, health, or state administration. Thousand of people, with the support of the social movements, went out onto the streets in response to the actions carried out by the police to impede the carrying out of the strike called in the textile factory of Mahalla, the largest in Egypt. These protests have ended up with the arrest of more than 800 people, which include more than 150 political activists and more than 600 demonstrators from Al-Mahalla, as well as leaders of the factory strike committee.
These events do no more than demonstrate, on the one hand, the unsustainable situation of working and social conditions, combined with the lack of democracy and freedoms which exists in the country and the repression by the Mubarak regime, which has until now enjoyed the endorsement of the West.
In view of the situation and in virtue of the terms of the Egypt-EU Association Agreement, with special attention to respect for Human Rights, what opinion does the Commission have about these reports? Does it not believe that with such police repression the terms of the Euro Mediterranean Association Agreement are clearly being breached, in particular Article 2? Has the Commission taken, or does it foresee taking, any action with respect to the matter, in particular to request the release of the demonstrators and activists? What opinion does the Commission have about Egypt in terms of democratic standards? Does it not believe that the strengthening of democracy is a priority in Egypt, even a precondition for increasing economic cooperation? What steps is it taking in this direction?
Raül Romeva, Member of the European Parliament

Romeva also signed a letter of solidarity with Mahalla:

Solidarity with Egyptian workers
Egypt has suffered a worsening of repression at the hands of the pro Western regime of Hosni Mubarak since the state suppressed a strike which had been called for 6 April 2008, by the workers of the textile plant of Mahalla, the biggest factory in Egypt.
Mubarak’s 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.
The Mahalla strike is of evident interest for the trade union movement. It is just the most recent of a wave of workers’ protests which have spread across Egypt: struggles against poverty and for a decent life in a country where a typical monthly salary is less than €40. The sectors involved include industry; public transport; education; the health service; state administration… as well as a very active student movement.
People opposed to war and occupations in the Middle East also have special reasons to show their solidarity with these struggles. The war policy of Bush in this region depends on the support of local regimes like Mubarak’s. Egypt receives around 2 billion dollars a year in military aid from the USA, and it’s an essential ally of Israel, to whom it supplies the cement necessary for the wall in the West Bank. The siege of the Gaza Strip —which shares a frontier with Egypt— would be impossible without Mubarak’s collaboration. Any step forward in the struggle for social justice and democracy in Egypt is also a step forward in the struggle for the freedom of Palestine and against the wars in the region.
For all these reasons, Egyptian workers who are struggling and suffering repression deserve and need our support.
We, the undersigned:
1. Send our solidarity to the workers of Egypt, and to the Egyptian movements for democracy and in solidarity with Palestine;
2. Call on the Egyptian government to release the 800 people detained during the recent protests, including more than 150 political activists and more than 600 demonstrators from Mahalla (mainly women and children), as well as the leaders of the Mahalla strike committee;
3. Demand that the European Union ends its support for the Mubarak regime and adds its voice to the call for free elections;
4. Demand that the media in Spain give the same coverage to the struggle for democracy in Egypt as they do to the equally justified demands for democracy in countries that are not Western allies.
Signed:
Raül Romeva, member of the European Parliament
Joan Herrera, member of the Spanish Parliament
Comissions Obreres (trade union confederation, Catalonia)
CGT (trade union confederation, Spain)
CATAC (Public employees’ union, Catalonia)
IAC (Alternative Union Federation, Catalonia)
STEE-EILAS (Basque Teachers’ Union)
CGT union, Barcelona Buses
CoBas union, Spain
Dr. Klaus Engert, Verdi (Public sector Union, Germany)
Oscar Andino (Member of the national leadership, Restaurant workers’ union, Uruguay)
Plataforma Aturem la Guerra (anti war movement, Barcelona)
Palestinian Community of Catalonia
Sodepau (Solidarity, Development and Peace NGO)
Another world is possible network, Sabadell
CEM Biodiver (Association for the study and conservation of biodiversity, Sabadell)
En lucha (revolutionary socialists, Spain)
* “Con la Conferencia del Cairo” (“With the Cairo Conference”) is an initiative of anti war and Palestine solidarity activists from different parts of the Spanish state.
* For more information: concairo@gmail.com and http://concairo.blogspot.com