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fractal-vortex
7th August 2013, 07:41
The situation in Egypt appears as following: since struggle for independence from the British monarchy, the leading role in Egypt was assumed by the left, liberal, patriotic bourgeoisie, that has sometimes clad itself in socialist colors (Nasser). However, since 1950s, this regime has gradually been declining, becoming more and more corrupt. Young people have been sidelined, having little or no opportunity. The regime, headed by the descendants of the free officers (the liberal faction of Egyptian bourgeoisie), has been repressive and humiliating to people in general and young educated people specifically. Opposition groups arose, some of them being the April 6th movement, which is young people supporting workers of Egypt, and Revolutionary Socialists, a Trotskyist, social-democratic type of organization. The conservative faction of the bourgeoisie has been organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, since 1930s, first in struggle together with the liberal faction of the bourgeoisie, against the British imperial regime, and later suppressed by the free officers.

As the regime has been becoming more and more intolerable to the people, the conservative faction of the bourgeoisie, relying in part on the uneducated, religious elements of the Egyptian working class, has been gaining ground. They provided medical and educational services to the people in the slums. And when the Arab spring came in 2011, the Mubarak regime has been partially shaken by a coup detat, conducted by the army against the top, in order to save the regime from the rebelling masses. Muslim Brotherhood has taken power in the first free elections conducted in that country (2012). And it immediately began to show its incompetence in ruling the country, and moreover, its repressive, undemocratic nature.

Since the elections in 2012, opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood has taken the form of a Tamarod (rebel) coalition, headed by the liberal bourgeoisie, and joined by socialist Revolutionary Socialist party, and other left wing groups. El-Baradai is the leader of the coalition, and lets not forget that El-Baradai was the head of the U.N. committee that was inspecting Iraq prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion of the country. So, the liberal Egyptian bourgeoisie now is nothing but a tool in the hands of the U.S. imperialism.

The army descendants of the free officers - has overthrown the Mursi regime of Muslim Brotherhod in July 2013, in order to supposedly transfer the power to the El-Baradai coalition. They seek popular support, but the people remember these thugs from 2011 and previous years.

So, now the country is facing its crisis in not having a party that truly represents the working classes, the interests of the people and the youth. The socialist parties, like the Revolutionary Socialists have been a part of the broad anti-regime coalition, first with Muslim Brotherhood against the Mubarak regime, later with the army (at least implicitly) against the Mursi regime. Now they say they are "Against the MBs, Against the folool (remnants of the Mubarak regime), Against SCAF (Supreme Command of the Armed Forces)", but their credentials as a socialist, revolutionary party have been undermined by their previous cooperation with the national bourgeoisie.

Moreover, we need to realize that the situation is not unique to Egypt. For example, a similar situation exists in Tunisia, where the people have tried to overthrow the corrupt regime of Ben Ali (allied to France), and now are in struggle against the conservative, Islamist Ennahda movement. This movement has already killed a number of socialist deputies in the parliament, and we suppose that on a more local level there has been violence and repression of socialists even to a greater extent.

The crisis of not having a socialist party is truly of global proportions. It is a crisis in the Arab world, in the former Soviet Union region, and all other parts of the world, including the citadel of imperialism, the United States. Why we, the people, have not been able to form such a party, a militant organization that would take with an iron fist our rulers, and do unto them like they do unto us?



July August 2013, Nikolaev, Ukraine.


e-mail for discussion: [email protected]

cyu
7th August 2013, 09:57
Not to mention the various "Socialist" parties of Europe bowing to the finance industry and implementing austerity measures. In a capitalist election environment, they know they can never get elected without big money for their campaigns and positive reporting from capitalist-owned mass media.

ckaihatsu
16th August 2013, 19:40
End U.S. aid to the Egyptian military!


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ANSWER Coalition Condemns Massacres in Egypt:

End all U.S. Aid to the Egyptian Military"


Brian Becker speaks on behalf of ANSWER Coalition at press conference at National Press Club on August 14, 2013, condemning the massacres in Egypt


http://www.answercoalition.org/national/assets/images/brian-becker-egypt.jpg

Egyptian soldiers may be the ones pulling the trigger but the bullets and guns are paid for by the government in Washington, states Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition.

The following statement was presented by Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14 in response to the massacre in Egypt.


The ANSWER Coalition condemns the massacres carried out by Egyptian security forces in Cairo today and demands an immediate end to the $1.3 billion in annual U.S. aid to the Egyptian military, which is now ruling the country. According to official estimates, nearly 300 people were killed today and more than 1,400 were wounded, most of them civilians. We express our solidarity with the Egyptian people, who have inspired the world with their great struggle over the past two and a half years.

While the Obama administration may issue hollow statements opposing the repression, much of the weaponry used today came from the United States, just as was the case in the long years of the Mubarak dictatorship.

The Egyptian Revolution that began in January 2011 has gone through many phases. After the downfall of Mubarak in February 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) became the de facto rulers. But the Egyptian people continued the struggle demanding an end to military rule, leading to elections. After Mohammed Morsi was elected president in June 2012, his policies included continuing neo-liberal economic policies, reactionary social policies, and continued cooperation with Israel and the United States against the Palestinian people. We disagreed with Morsis economic and social policies, and we disagreed with his orientation supporting the foreign-backed armed struggle in Syria.

On June 30, millions of people took to the streets opposing the Morsi government and its policies. The opposition was eclectic. It included progressives, socialists, liberals and some former elements of the Mubarak regime. The military, led by General al-Sisi, seized upon this mass outpouring to project itself as the savior of the nation, and became the effective ruling power. In reality, the brutal repression carried out by the state security forces over the past six weeks endangers the future of Egypt and could lead to even more tragic consequences for the Egyptian people and the Arab people as a whole.

Read Article (http://www2.answercoalition.org/site/R?i=5TUkGA9ec9tEqJl3N-JJpw) | Share:


[...]


A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.AnswerCoalition.org/
[email protected]
National Office in Washington DC: 202-265-1948
Boston: 857-334-5084 | New York City: 212-694-8720 | Chicago: 773-463-0311
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MarxSchmarx
17th August 2013, 05:40
End U.S. aid to the Egyptian military!


Subscribe Forward this email Donate


ANSWER Coalition Condemns Massacres in Egypt:

“End all U.S. Aid to the Egyptian Military"


Brian Becker speaks on behalf of ANSWER Coalition at press conference at National Press Club on August 14, 2013, condemning the massacres in Egypt


http://www.answercoalition.org/national/assets/images/brian-becker-egypt.jpg

“Egyptian soldiers may be the ones pulling the trigger but the bullets and guns are paid for by the government in Washington,” states Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition.

The following statement was presented by Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14 in response to the massacre in Egypt.


The ANSWER Coalition condemns the massacres carried out by Egyptian security forces in Cairo today and demands an immediate end to the $1.3 billion in annual U.S. aid to the Egyptian military, which is now ruling the country. According to official estimates, nearly 300 people were killed today and more than 1,400 were wounded, most of them civilians. We express our solidarity with the Egyptian people, who have inspired the world with their great struggle over the past two and a half years.

While the Obama administration may issue hollow statements opposing the repression, much of the weaponry used today came from the United States, just as was the case in the long years of the Mubarak dictatorship.

The Egyptian Revolution that began in January 2011 has gone through many phases. After the downfall of Mubarak in February 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) became the de facto rulers. But the Egyptian people continued the struggle demanding an end to military rule, leading to elections. After Mohammed Morsi was elected president in June 2012, his policies included continuing neo-liberal economic policies, reactionary social policies, and continued cooperation with Israel and the United States against the Palestinian people. We disagreed with Morsi’s economic and social policies, and we disagreed with his orientation supporting the foreign-backed armed struggle in Syria.

On June 30, millions of people took to the streets opposing the Morsi government and its policies. The opposition was eclectic. It included progressives, socialists, liberals and some former elements of the Mubarak regime. The military, led by General al-Sisi, seized upon this mass outpouring to project itself as the “savior of the nation,” and became the effective ruling power. In reality, the brutal repression carried out by the state security forces over the past six weeks endangers the future of Egypt and could lead to even more tragic consequences for the Egyptian people and the Arab people as a whole.

Read Article (http://www2.answercoalition.org/site/R?i=5TUkGA9ec9tEqJl3N-JJpw) | Share:


[...]


A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.AnswerCoalition.org/
[email protected]
National Office in Washington DC: 202-265-1948
Boston: 857-334-5084 | New York City: 212-694-8720 | Chicago: 773-463-0311
San Francisco: 415-821-6545| Los Angeles: 213-687-7480 | Albuquerque: 505-268-2488

If this message was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive future ANSWER updates,
click here to subscribe. (http://www2.answercoalition.org/site/R?i=JoYUVfbcHaOi6GIxxqkgsA)

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However, one must admit this is a necessary, but quite insufficient solution, to the problem. I think it is very easy for those of us in the Global North to think that we can solve the problems of other countries through our own actions. Although I hate to repeat the Obama people's mantra that it is "for the Egyptian people to decide their future", on this, the broken clock is right. At most, the american left can express solidarity with the side it feels appropriate. But frankly, between the tweedle dee of the military junta and the tweedle dum of the Muslim brotherhood and their bourgeois backers, I have a hard time seeing how American non-intervention is any more urgent now than at other times.

ckaihatsu
18th August 2013, 17:55
However, one must admit this is a necessary, but quite insufficient solution, to the problem. I think it is very easy for those of us in the Global North to think that we can solve the problems of other countries through our own actions. Although I hate to repeat the Obama people's mantra that it is "for the Egyptian people to decide their future", on this, the broken clock is right. At most, the american left can express solidarity with the side it feels appropriate.




But frankly, between the tweedle dee of the military junta and the tweedle dum of the Muslim brotherhood and their bourgeois backers, I have a hard time seeing how American non-intervention is any more urgent now than at other times.


Are you taking issue with the call for denying further funding to the Egyptian (military) establishment?

MarxSchmarx
19th August 2013, 05:56
Are you taking issue with the call for denying further funding to the Egyptian (military) establishment?

Well when put that way, of course not.

What I am taking issue with is the idea that denying military aid by the US government is a relevant course of action or even the correct solidarity position with the Egyptian people that activists in the USA can take.

My concern is that the American-centric view of this crisis, with the approach that the American government effectively legitimizes the coup d'etat, does not go far enough. I realize the posts you made do not formalize this view, but my broader point is what the Egyptian military is perpetrating does not exactly hinge on American aid.

Zealot
19th August 2013, 10:16
Egypt is heading towards civil war. The Egyptian military dictatorship is considering an outright ban on the Muslim Brotherhood; a popular, well-financed political group that was elected into power not long ago. Considering that the Arab Spring is still a hot topic and the recent carnage on the streets of Egypt, I think this is a recipe for disaster.

ckaihatsu
19th August 2013, 18:22
Egypt is heading towards civil war. The Egyptian military dictatorship is considering an outright ban on the Muslim Brotherhood; a popular, well-financed political group that was elected into power not long ago. Considering that the Arab Spring is still a hot topic and the recent carnage on the streets of Egypt, I think this is a recipe for disaster.


It looks like Egypt, and Syria, et al (MENA), are bearing the brunt of the world's economic downturn, with the inevitable friction playing out in those countries by proxy -- NATO versus the rest of the world.

The Egyptian military -- like any employer -- retains the 'high ground' by simply forcing 'churn' below themselves, endlessly.

TheIrrationalist
19th August 2013, 21:53
Apparently they are going to release Mubarak.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/mubarak-free-prison_n_3778796.html

The Arab spring's 'achievements' in Egypt aren't very lasting. Now it seems they are getting just another Mubarak. The military isn't going to step down so easily, and I wouldn't like to see the MB, or any Islamist force in power. There isn't many solutions but an unstable future for Egypt.

ckaihatsu
19th August 2013, 22:14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlVlfj7rfsM


Religious Rage: Will Egypt's Muslims & Copts live in peace? (RT Documentary) (Pre-recorded)

Published on Aug 4, 2013

Their churches are set on fire. They are killed on the streets. Their women are kidnapped and converted to Islam by force. The Coptic Christians of Egypt are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. RT explores the dramatic changes that the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime brought about.

Watch more on RT's documentary channel http://rtd.rt.com

RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air

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RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.

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KurtFF8
19th August 2013, 23:21
my broader point is what the Egyptian military is perpetrating does not exactly hinge on American aid.

Of course not, but the ANSWER coalition is an American organization based out of the United States. It could make demands of the Egyptian military all it wants but it wouldn't make as much sense. It is rather operating within the country it is based on, and examining the role that the US government plays in this crisis. I don't think it follows from this that it is a US-centric view.

MarxSchmarx
21st August 2013, 05:19
Of course not, but the ANSWER coalition is an American organization based out of the United States. It could make demands of the Egyptian military all it wants but it wouldn't make as much sense. It is rather operating within the country it is based on, and examining the role that the US government plays in this crisis. I don't think it follows from this that it is a US-centric view.

Maybe I should have been a bit clearer about where I was coming from.

But first, there is plenty of activism, of widely varying effectiveness, targeted against foreign governments rather than US policy per se from within the US. Darfur is a recent example of something that is comparatively visible. Ironically there is almost no activism surrounding the Central African Republic's collapse that is closely related to the Darfur conflict. There are also people-to-people activism for example by woman's groups in America directly with people in other countries rather than have their activism mediated by the US government.

Having said this.

What exactly is the purpose of groups like ANSWER? You are right they have no influence over the Egyptian military, but they also are for all practical purposes just as ineffectual when it comes to the US government.

They convince themselves, maybe, that they are able to affect American foreign policy? I would be surprised if those who run ANSWER seriously believe this.

So if they know they have no more say when it comes to the US government than they do Egypt, the charitable conclusion is: "look there is this horrible stuff going on in Egypt, let's use the time and energy of the miniscule AMerican left to focus on this problem as though even if what we wanted came to pass (the us government withdraws aid) nothing will really change." If they actually pursue this line, only a willfully US centric perspective seems to me to be able to convince oneself it is worth the effort.

The perhaps more cynical view is: "there is this current event that is getting a lot of publicity, let's spin it to make ourselves look relevant and grow our front group. In order to make this a compelling campaign let's sell the story about how America controls the purse springs and if we can just convince our government to pull out all will be right and good and we would have made a meaningful difference." I tend to see opportunistic appeals like that as America-centric.

KurtFF8
21st August 2013, 13:35
But first, there is plenty of activism, of widely varying effectiveness, targeted against foreign governments rather than US policy per se from within the US. Darfur is a recent example of something that is comparatively visible. Ironically there is almost no activism surrounding the Central African Republic's collapse that is closely related to the Darfur conflict. There are also people-to-people activism for example by woman's groups in America directly with people in other countries rather than have their activism mediated by the US government.

I wasn't saying "oh well ANSWER is American so it can only mobilize against the US government" but rather that in this particular situation, when we have the US government continuing to send billions of dollars in aid to the Egyptian military which is cracking down, it seems the obvious thing to do is to highlight the role of the US (which has itself been quite involved in trying to determine the outcomes of these struggles). That's not to say ANSWER would be opposed to picketing the Egyptian embassy or whatnot, but considering ANSWER's base I think it makes more sense to direct the message towards combating the US role here (which ANSWER seems to have been consistently doing since it was founded)


What exactly is the purpose of groups like ANSWER? You are right they have no influence over the Egyptian military, but they also are for all practical purposes just as ineffectual when it comes to the US government.Maybe it's just me but I think that attempting to build an anti-imperialist movement that is highly visible has value. Will the White House stop what it's doing because ANSWER called a demonstration? Of course not, but I don't think that's really the point in the first place.


They convince themselves, maybe, that they are able to affect American foreign policy? I would be surprised if those who run ANSWER seriously believe this. No, ANSWER is not a policy pressure group.


So if they know they have no more say when it comes to the US government than they do Egypt, the charitable conclusion is: "look there is this horrible stuff going on in Egypt, let's use the time and energy of the miniscule AMerican left to focus on this problem as though even if what we wanted came to pass (the us government withdraws aid) nothing will really change." If they actually pursue this line, only a willfully US centric perspective seems to me to be able to convince oneself it is worth the effort.Not to be too repetitive but ANSWER is a US based organization that has been operating over the years fighting issues related to US imperialism and domestic issues of racism, so it would make sense to link the crackdown in Egypt to the US role in that crackdown. Again, this is hardly US centric, as ANSWER is based in the US and is an organization dedicated to fighting US imperialism and hegemony. I just don't really understand your point I guess.


The perhaps more cynical view is: "there is this current event that is getting a lot of publicity, let's spin it to make ourselves look relevant and grow our front group. In order to make this a compelling campaign let's sell the story about how America controls the purse springs and if we can just convince our government to pull out all will be right and good and we would have made a meaningful difference." I tend to see opportunistic appeals like that as America-centric.I guess you could spin any action of any group as simply opportunistic because they are involved. Even if they have the "correct" political line it's just "opportunism." Are you suggesting it would just be more appropriate to sit back and say or do nothing?

But then again I don't see this as either opportunistic or America-centric in any way. Especially considering that the point of criticizing the US role is the result of the actions of the Egyptian Military, not the US military, of which ANSWER has denied facilitated the coup in the first place.

ckaihatsu
21st August 2013, 17:18
The perhaps more cynical view is: "there is this current event that is getting a lot of publicity, let's spin it to make ourselves look relevant and grow our front group. In order to make this a compelling campaign let's sell the story about how America controls the purse springs and if we can just convince our government to pull out all will be right and good and we would have made a meaningful difference." I tend to see opportunistic appeals like that as America-centric.


You're simply constructing a strawman here -- your purported "cynical view" -- which you're then easily dismissing.

I would say that your entire line here is itself "cynical", or overly pessimistic and dismissive, when the (ANSWER) line that you're critiquing is itself valid, albeit arguably reformist.

Djoko
21st August 2013, 17:34
Egiptian military will overthrow muslim brotherhood and bring back Mubarack or some of his asociates. Otherwise there will be wide scale civil war with many victims.

ckaihatsu
21st August 2013, 17:43
Egiptian military will overthrow muslim brotherhood and bring back Mubarack or some of his asociates. Otherwise there will be wide scale civil war with many victims.


I very much doubt this, since attempting to bring back Mubarak would antagonize the Egyptian public -- the military has the luxury of staying above-it-all, summarily hitting the 'reset button' whenever it likes, issuing new elections.

KurtFF8
22nd August 2013, 16:49
albeit arguably reformist.

Which would be a strange straw man in itself.

ckaihatsu
22nd August 2013, 20:38
[The ANSWER] line [...] is itself valid, albeit arguably reformist.





Which would be a strange straw man in itself.


Well, just keep in mind that *all kinds* of activism -- and calls to activism -- are *necessarily* reformist, since they take place in undesired real-world conditions of imperialist oppression.

A *revolutionary* line, by comparison, would call for the immediate overthrow of the entire bourgeois system, but since that's not going to happen for any given day we have to strategize, as for activism, within the conditions that are actually out there.

Since the elite's attacks are unending, much activism is defensive in nature, making it reformist, technically -- (defending Bradley Manning would be an example here).

greenforest
24th August 2013, 16:15
Professor Hatem Bazian, co-editor and founder of the Islamophobia Studies Journal and director of the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project, has speculated the attacks on Churches were the work of the interior ministry:


Adding more fuel to the fire is the systematic stoking of religious tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians with emphasis on assigning responsibility to the Brotherhood for fomenting attacks on some 30 churches across Egypt. The attacks on Coptic churches are an old Interior Ministry strategy intended to divide the communities, develop mistrust on the ground level and increase the feeling of insecurity that then can be harnessed to consolidate power by means of extracting cooperation through intimidation. Furthermore, the attacks on churches serve a more strategic purpose of magnifying the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood and through it prevent any real criticism from the international community since the European and American public will not be moved to action considering attacks on a Christian religious minority.

ckaihatsu
28th August 2013, 02:12
Egyptian Blood on Hands of US Government; End Military Aid to Egypt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vHzulxZrAM