Statement of the Egyptian Communist Party, from Tahrir Square, February 1, 2011

The Lebanese Communist Party has published a statement by the Egyptian Communist Party, found here, sent from Tahrir Square today February 1, 2011. Below is a sketchy and unofficial translation done by this blog:

Statement issued by the Egyptian Communist Party

The revolution will continue until the demands of the masses are fulfilled

The moment of truth is approaching. This is the decisive moment for the Egyptian popular forces for change; to topple the Mubarak regime. It seems that the imperialists, and their American masters in particular, are lifting their hands from him after the continuation of revolution everywhere in Egypt.

Today millions emerge to demand the departure of Mubarak. They will prevent all the conspiracies of the dictator and his gang of spies to thwart the revolution and overcome them.

The formation of a committee, which enjoys the confidence of the people and the demonstrators, is crucial to achieve the demands of the political, economic and social revolution, and we emphasize the basic demands presented by the national forces to the deputies of the people's parliament:

1. Dismissal of Mubarak and the formation of a presidential council for a transitional period of limited duration

2. Forming a coalition government to administer the country during the transitional period

3. To convene the election of a constituent assembly to draft a new constitution for the country based on the principle of the sovereignty of the nation and ensure the devolution of power within the framework of a democratic just civil state.

4. Prosecute those responsible for hundreds of deaths and injuries of revolutionary martyrs and victims of oppression as well as ensuring the prosecution of those responsible for plundering the wealth of the Egyptian people.

5. Long live the revolution of the Egyptian people

February 1, 2011 - Cairo

Botswana National Front statement on Egypt and Tunisia

This came to us by e-mail, reproducing below

01-02-11

PRESS RELEASE

The Botswana National Front (BNF) has been following the events in the Middle East with a keen interest. It has to be understood that what has happened in Tunisia and is now happening in Egypt is a sign that the People want to take control and determine their destiny. There are also signs that other countries which have not known genuine democracy are also on the brink of experiencing the People’s revolution. The Tunisian Jasmine Revolution has set the tone. The political, social and economic realities of the middle east have been altered. We are hopeful that the "Front of January 14" which is a front formed and led by the left parties of Tunisia will not allow this to be just another revolution in vain. The revolution should not start and end with people taking to the streets. The people should feel the fruits of their uprising and sacrifices. It should not be about replacing one looter with another. There should be a complete change in the political, social and economic structures.

The people are rising because they feel their interests are not being taken care of. The lack of democratic space and unfair distribution of resources has given room to these uprisings. The Egyptians and Tunisians are taking charge and not allowing the elite to act and decide on their behalf. They have seen what can happen if you allow such a situation to prevail, where you just vote and seat back. It is not like the Egyptians are not aware that elections are due in September. They lave lost confidence in elections because they say, “this is the revolution of the people who are hungry; this is the revolution of the people who have no money against those with a lot”. The events elsewhere in Africa have obviously made them see elections as a farce. Ivory Coast, Kenya, Gabon etc being good examples. There is now a stalemate in Ivory Coast even after the people have spoken. What the Egyptian state, parliament and judiciary have failed to carry out on behalf of the People is now being carried out by the people themselves. It debunks the myth that only the state, parliament and judiciary are the only arms that provide for checks and balances in government. The people are asserting their authority and supremacy. The people’ revolution is for sure not going to stop until those who shun democracy leave office. The tone has been set and the world will never be the same again. This is a lesson for other dictators. These events are going to inspire others who are oppressed and bring about more openness in undemocratic societies. Egyptian leader and former air force officer, Hosni Mubarak who came into power in 1979 after the assassination of Anwar Sadat currently enjoys the support of the army but this has not stopped the people from taking to the streets to speak out against injustices perpetrated by Mubarak and his allies and call for their immediate evacuation from office.

Mubarak should give up power and allow for peace and change. Because of his over obsession with pursuing his personal interests, he will not realize that the capitalist system that has propped him up over the years will suffer if he does not go. It holds true that the system is pregnant with the seeds of its own destruction. The situation will deteriorate and the oil prices will go up. This will not be good for the capitalist dominated global economy as the rise in fuel will affect the economic recovery as inflation will go up. The US which has been providing financial assistance of about US$ I.5 bn per year to Egypt is not happy to see crude oil prices go up. This will slacken recovery at a time when the Obama administration is under pressure to grow the economy with presidential elections not so far off. The US foreign policy in the middle east is now at crossroads because of the people’s uprising. US stocks suffered the biggest one day loss in nearly six months while the crude oil prices have gone up. Probably sensing that the their ally, Mubarak is likely to suffer the Ben Ali fate, the US has asked the Mubarak regime to avoid using force against its people. Just to ensure that they are on the side of the people. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) government should have its voice heard and be on the side of the people. They went against the SADC consensus on Zimbabwe and recently invited Alassan Quattara to Botswana on a state visit at a time when other countries are busy trying to find a solution to the Ivory Coast impasse. While the Botswana government foreign has lately been to break ranks with the rest of the region and shout and make their views heard without due consideration, they have been quiet on Swaziland, which still remains undemocratic and continues to detain political and trade union leaders. The inconsistency of its foreign policy is disturbing. It emphasises the view that they are a regional proxy of the West.

These events in Tunisia and Egypt are also going to change the geo-political landscape of the middle east. The Egyptian leader helped a lot in ensuring that Israel continues to persecute the people of Palestine. Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace agreement with Israel. Winds of change are now blowing though the region and there is a glimmer of hope for the liberation of the Palestine people.

The Mubarak regime is collapsing because it failed to fully empower and develop its people. We at the BNF have always maintained that the resource that has to be empowered and developed is the people. It is the empowered and fully developed people who will in turn develop the country. By this we mean an all rounded development; political, social and economic. If this does not happen then the people will rise up and put right what is wrong. It might be delayed but it can not be stopped. People have to also share in the prosperity of their country. They have to benefit from whatever stake is there in the country otherwise that very stake is itself threatened. This is the advise we can give to the dictators and opponents of democracy, social and economic justice.

Moeti Mohwasa

BNF Information and Publicity Secretary

Appeal to expel the NDP from the Socialist International

Please help circulate the following appeal. In its statement on Egypt published January 29, the Socialist International (to which parties like the British Labour Party and German SPD are affiliated) did not issue an expulsion of Hosni Mubarak's dictatorship party from its ranks. We consider that if NDP remains in the SI, it seriously damages the credibility of SI to act as an advocate of social democracy. The NDP must be expelled immediately, and the Mubarak dictatorship must be condemned in unequivocal terms.

Appeal to the Socialist International regarding Egypt

Yesterday the Socialist International, the international body to which Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) is affiliated, finally published a statement on the developments in Egypt. The statement, which can be read here, is suprisingly bland. It makes general references like "These changes are at the core of the people’s demands: freedoms, rights, jobs and opportunities. The role of politics is to provide them." Furthermore the statement makes a positive reference to the sham elections scheduled for September 2011. Another section says: "In the case of Egypt, with its key role as a partner of the international community – including our own International - in the search for peace and stability in the region, we are confident that gains in democracy and freedoms would lead to greater stability." The follows words like "NDP did not deliver...", etc.. With such verbiage, the Socialist International has adopted the sort of discourse the U.S. State Department used some days ago. In no passage is the dictatorship, the tortures and the violence of the NDP regime condemned in clear terms.

Nor does the statement mention the elephant in the room, namely that the ruling party of a brutal dictatorship that prefers to massacre its own population rather than leave office remains an affiliate to the Socialist International. The fact that the International has not expelled the NDP, unlike the expulsion of Ben Ali's RCD (long overdue, though), is disturbing.

Please contact the Socialist International, and ask that they 1) condemn the Mubarak dictatorship in unequivocal terms and 2) immediately expells NDP from its ranks. Be polite, but clear. E-mails can be sent to secretariat@socialistinternational.org . Even better, send a fax it their London offices at +44-20-7720 4448 or +44-20-7498 1293.

Please circulate this appeal, it can be re-posted on your own blog.

Stockholm idag 28/1! Solidaritetsdemo för Egyptens folk

fr. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149545368432216

Demonstration till stöd för det egyptiska folket! (Message in English is below)

När?:Fredagen den 28 januari 2011, kl 17:00.
Var?: Utanför den Egyptiska ambassaden i Stockholm, Strandvägen 35

...Till alla våra vänner i Solidaritetsrörelsen;

Gå med oss och stöd människorna i Egypten i deras uppror mot den egyptiska regimens brutalitet och tortyr.

Den 25 januari 2011 gick mer än 200 000 egyptier ut på gatorna i fredliga demonstrationer mot korruption av den egyptiska regimen och för att protestera mot fattigdom, tortyr och förfalskning. De stod inför kraftfull brutalitet av den regimska säkerhetsapparaten; polisen använde tårgas, bomber, gummikulor och ammunition mot de fredliga och civila demonstranterna.

Idag, fredag den 28 Januari 2011, kommer det egyptiska folket runtom i Egypten att gå ut i stora demonstrationer för att kräva sin frihet.

Låt oss visa solidaritet med det egyptiska folket i deras kamp om att återfå sin frihet och mot korruption och tortyr. Sprid ordet vidare, tack!

IN ENGLISH
Demonstration in support for the Egyptian People in front of Egyptian Embassy Stockholm
Friday 28th 17:00
To all of our friends in Solidarity Movements

Please join us to support People in Egypt in their uprising against the Egyptian Government brutalities and tortures.

On January 25th, more than 200 000 Egyptians took to the streets in peaceful demonstrations against the corruption of the government of Egypt, poverty, torture and forgery, and were faced with the brutality of the regime security forces. The police used tear gas , rubber bullets and live ammunition.

Today Friday the 28th, the Egyptian people will go out in large demonstration to demand their freedom.

Show your solidarity with the Egyptian people in their struggle to regain their freedom and against corruption and torture.

Demonstration Location: In front of Egyptian Embassy Strandvägen 35, Stockholm. Time: Friday 28th 17:00

SPREAD

Nyhetslänkar: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Geography 101

Verdens Gang, one of the largest daily newspapers in Norway, has an online article on the temporary lifting of the Egyptian blockade on Gaza, stating that the Rafah border crossing will be open for two days for medical and family travels. The title of the article is, somewhat shockingly, "Egypt opens passage to Israel" ('Egypt åpner overgang til Israel') One ought to expect more from the foreign desk of a major newspaper.

Update: At 12:14, soon after this blog post was twingly-linked to the VG article, the article was updated and 'Israel' was changed to 'Gaza Strip'. However, when accessing the article from the main page, 'Israel' still comes up when the cursor is placed over the link to the article.

Egyptian politician sentenced to two years imprisonment for having visited Gaza

I have previously reported on the human rights abuses in Egypt against those who side with Gaza. The Jerusalem Post writes that today a tribunal sentenced an opposition parliamentarian to two years imprisonment and a 1,000 dollar fine for 'illegally' travelling to Gaza. Magdi Hussain, who is the General Secretary of the Labour Party, had been seized by Egyptian authorities on January 31 when returning to Egypt from Gaza without a passport.

The Jerusalem Post also writes that "Egypt's military tribunals are known for their swift verdicts." In clear-speak, that means a complete lack of democratic functioning. A defense lawyer, Mohammed Moneib, stated that no lawyers were permitted to defend Hussain at the trial.

International solidarity is needed know, to pressure the Egyptian regime to release the prisoners of the Palestine solidarity movement.

News links on Palestine & Egypt: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Egyptian blogger detained and beaten

On Monday the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information stated that the Egyptian blogger Diaa Eddin Gad has been detained and beaten by police. According to a Reuters article published the same day, Gad's whereabouts were still unknown. Gad runs the blog Sout Gadeb, which has voiced solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and criticized the complicity of the Egyptian regime in the Gaza massacre.

The arrest of Diaa Eddin Gad shows that the shame of the Egyptian regime has no boundaries. The Egyptian regime is well willing to cooperate with the Israeli occupation. Amongst other things, oil and natural gas is supplied through Egypt. At the same time the full might of the repressive state machinery is unleashed on the critics of the regime, on those who speak out for their brethen in Gaza.

News links: 1, 2

South Africa: Protests will continue

The Palestine Solidarity Committee has vowed to continue their mass mobilizations against the Gaza massacre. Yesterday a rally was held outside the Egyptian embassy, protesting the complicity of the Mubarak regime in the killings of the people of Gaza.

Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny releases new video in support of Gaza - calls for Arab unity in solidarity with Palestine

The video by Egyptian singer Tamer Hosny is titled كلنا واحد, 'We are all one' and calls of Arabs (and their governments) to go from words to action in solidarity with Palestine. In the video you can see protests in Lebanon and Jordan, amongst others.

In Egypt the mood is one of outrage against their own government, which is complicit in the massacre of the people of Gaza. The Egyptian government should heed the call of the people, open the border with Gaza whilst stopping oil exports to Israel. The cause of Palestine is tightly linked the the cause of democratization of the Arab world. When Arabs have governments who obey their people instead of Washington and Tel Aviv there will be real progress in the liberation of Palestine.

Egypt: Artists in Solidarity with Gaza hold press conference, demands end of oil exports to Israel, breaking of diplomatic links with Israel

From Al-Jazeera channel. Towards the end of the video you get a glimpse of the Egyptian mass protests against Israeli massacres.

Egypt: "No to the Israeli war on Gaza!" - students at the Cinema Institute form solidarity committee

On January 2, 2009, the founding statement of the 'Cinema Institute Students Committee for Solidarity with Gaza" was released. The statement read

"We, students of the Cinema Institute of the Arts Academy of declare our full opposition to the Zionist aggression on the defenseless people of Gaza, and categorical rejection of the organized war of extermination aimed to break the spirit of resistance"

(approximate translation by the Peace n' Freedom blog)

Solidarity action at Egyptian football match

"At a league match in Ismailia, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Cairo, players from Cairo's Al Ahly and the home team, Ismaili, walked onto the field wearing white shirts with the words "Gaza is in our hearts" spelled in red letters.

The packed crowd of about 20,000 chanted, "We sacrifice our soul and our blood to you, Palestine."

Fans and players also observed a moment of silence before the game to honor the Palestinians killed in Gaza since the 8-day offensive began."

, full article at Taiwan News.

"Hundreds Protest Closed Egypt-Gaza Border"

"In Egypt, about 400 people gathered near the Al Fatah Mosque in Cairo to protest the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza and to get the Egyptian government to open the border between Gaza and Egypt."

, from VOA, 3 January, 2009.