The Lebanese comrades staged a protest in front of Mubarak’s Embassy in Beirut, in solidarity with the Mahalla workers and detainees.
Carole has more photos:
I also received a video of the protest that took place in Toronto, Canada, on 11 April in solidarity with the Mahalla workers:
And here are letters of solidarity from Canadian labor unions:
April 11, 2008
His Excellency Hosni Mubarak
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Abdin Palace
Cairo, Egypt
Re: Egyptian Workers at the El Mahalla El Kurba
Dear President Mubarak:
On behalf of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), representing 3.2 million working women and men across Canada, I strongly condemn the recent violent acts against the workers of the El Mahala El Kurba factory in the Nile Delta.
The CLC has been informed that thousands of textile workers at El Mahalla El Kurba went on strike for increased wages to compensate for continually rising inflation. We were shocked to learn that, to disperse protesters, the police fired rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowd. Many people were injured and hundreds acquired breathing problems resulting from gas inhalation.
We urge the Egyptian government to ensure an immediate stop to all attacks on workers and involved citizens, and immediately release all political prisoners who have been detained for their labor and political activism.
We note that, in the last few years, Egypt has witnessed many workers’ protests and strikes, in a number of industries, particularly in the spinning and weaving sectors. Your governmnet has cracked down on political opposition, jailed journalists and editors, closed human rights organization and imprisoned hundreds of political activists.
The CLC urges you to take direct action against these violations of basic human and trade union rights – namely the right to organize, freedom of expression, freedom of opinion and freedom to publish information.
We are also calling for the immediate enforcement of the Administrative Court judgement annulling all unfair decisions to close the Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) headquarters and allow its legal right to register.
I look forward to your immediate and decisive action in these matters.
Very sincerely,
Kenneth V. Georgetti
President
Canadian Labour CongressFrom the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE):
April 22, 2008
His Excellency Hosni Mubarak
President of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Abdin Palace
Cairo, Egypt
Your Excellency:
We write to express grave concern about the recent acts of violence against textile workers in El Mahalla, an industrial town in the Nile Delta. We are told that several workers have been killed and that more than 250 workers were arrested after the April 6 strike at the factory, one of the largest in the Middle East.
We are aware that thousands of textile workers, on strike for better wages to cope with continually rising inflation, have faced rubber bullets and tear gas. We understand that many workers were injured as the police resorted to this violent response.
In recent years, we are aware that your government has cracked down on political opposition, jailing journalists and other critics, shutting down human rights groups and detaining political activists.
We join with many others in urging you to stop the attacks on citizens and workers, particularly those at El Mahalla, and to release political prisoners detained because of their labor and political activism.
We further urge you to guarantee citizens’ democratic rights to gather, strike and protest the failure of the government to guarantee a safe and dignified living, fair wages and suitable working conditions. Also of concern is the closure of the Center for Trade Union and Workers services headquarters. We urge you to reverse that decision.
We endorse the call for a public investigation into the El Mahalla events with a view to bringing to justice those who ordered shots to be fired on strikers. Clearly, these recent incidents of violence suggest the need to insure the economic stability, social justice and protection of citizens’ rights to security, equality and dignified living.
Yours truly,
Paul Moist
National President
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
Claude Généreux
National Secretary-Treasurer
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
cc:
Ambassador Dr. Mahmoud El-Saeed, Egyptian Embassy, Ottawa
Egyptian Consulate, Montreal
The Council of Ministers
Karam Saber, Executive Manager, Land Center for Human Rights
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Maxime Bernier, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Canadian Embassy, Cairo
Ken Georgetti, President, Canadian Labour Congress
National Executive Board members, Canadian Union of Public EmployeesFrom the International Solidarity Committee, Ontario Division, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE):
Statement of Solidarity with Egyptian Workers
10 April 2008
CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee Condemns Attacks on Striking Egyptian Workers
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario International Solidarity Committee strongly condemns the latest round of repression by the Egyptian government against workers and protesters in El-Mahalla, an industrial town in the Nile Delta.
Eyewitness statements from workers, human rights, and solidarity organizations in Egypt indicate that thousands of workers and their families have been targeted by government troops in the area. At least two protesters have been killed by security forces, over 300 workers arrested, and the area placed under siege.
The repression follows a courageous call for a one-day general strike, originating in El-Mahalla, and supported widely by workers, human rights groups, and political organizations across the country. El Mahalla Factory is one of the largest textile factories in the Middle East.
CUPE stands firmly with our Egyptian brothers and sisters in their fight against neo-liberalism and state repression. We call on the Egyptian government to immediately release all those arrested in the last few days, particularly children. The Egyptian government must immediately cease the practice of torture in detention and bring to justice all those involved in human rights abuses. Furthermore, we call on the government to respect the right to strike and organize, and for workers at El Mahalla to be granted a livable wage and decent working conditions.
CUPE International Solidarity Committee urges its members to send messages of protest to Egyptian officials in Canada as well as emails of support to the striking workers (see below). We note the call by workers for further strike action on May 4th and will continue to stand in solidarity with all workers in the region.
And I received the following message from Sweden:
We in the SAC, Swedens Workers Central Organization, protest strongly and with anger against the violence that the aggressive agents of the police used on the protesting workers. The Egyptian workers need to be treated with the fullest respect, as they deserve, since they create everything.
When they struggle for what is just and fair, their demands should be listened to and fulfilled. Using brute, fatal force and lethal weapons against those who feed and dress a world is unacceptable! These simple demands should be met.
– all activists should be released immediately
– the right to strike left untouched
– the right to demonstrate should be left untouched
– no more violence against the workers of Egypt
– justice for the injured workers and the family of the murdered boy
– the demands of the workers should be met
The International committé of the SAC
Per Lundin
