Egypt: The revolution hangs in the balance

These three related articles are from Socialist Worker in the UK:

Unity against generals' attempted coup in Egypt


by Mostafa Bassiouny, Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt

The ruling Military Council (Scaf) has launched a number of very serious attacks on the Egyptian Revolution over the last week. The military police can now arrest civilians at will and parliament has been dissolved. 

The generals have also announced additions to the Constitutional Declaration of March 2011 which give them virtually unlimited powers. 

We have to understand that this military coup has been in the making for a long time. What happened during the last week was the culmination of a process that had been going on for months.

The problem became visible with the reaction to the sentencing of former dictator Hosni Mubarak on 2 June. The protests were not strong enough—they were much smaller than before. 

The mass movement had retreated. So Scaf believed it could act without facing a strong reaction. The generals’ growing confidence led them to think they could take on the Muslim Brotherhood. 

For most of the last year the Brotherhood has worked closely with Scaf, but now it is under attack.

The last round of the presidential election pitted Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood against the generals’ candidate, Ahmad Shafiq. We don’t have official results yet, but Mursi appears to have won.

We don’t equate Mursi and Shafiq. The Egyptian Revolution was a popular revolution, which involves a broad spectrum of forces from the right to the far left. 

Right

The Muslim Brotherhood represents the right wing of the revolution. It is not the counter-revolution.

It saw the fall of Mubarak as an opportunity to work with Scaf so the Muslim Brotherhood could take a role in government. 

So since 11 February 2011 the Brotherhood has been a conservative organisation. But Shafiq is the counter-revolution.

That is why we are mobilising for protests against the military coup alongside the Brotherhood. Most political forces are taking part. 

We are calling on revolutionary forces to build a mass movement against the coup and the changes to the Constitutional Declaration.

However we believe that the role of the workers’ movement will be critical in the coming months.

Workers’ demands for social justice remain unmet, and whichever candidate becomes president will have neither the desire nor the means to meet them. 

Socialists have a crucial role to play in helping build up workers’ organisations which can confront Mubarak’s regime and get rid of capitalism itself.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=28841



Egyptian military is taking advantageby Hisham Fouad, Revolutionary Socialists, Egypt

The people excluded the remnants of the old regime from the election and rejected Ahmad Shafiq at the ballot box. This is important because if Shafiq had won the election this would have led to massive demoralisation. 

The ruling military council (Scaf) pre-empted the election results by issuing a constitutional declaration putting full legislative power in its own hands.

This means it will control everything, including the Constitutional Drafting Commission and the incoming president. 

Scaf is taking advantage of a downturn in the revolutionary struggle. But we believe that the revolutionary retreat will be temporary.

The revolutionary forces must unite to confront the military coup and build in the streets to restore the masses’ faith in the revolution.

Some on the left and among the liberals are calling for a united front against both the military and the Brotherhood. It is a big mistake to take this perspective now. However, we have to deal with the Brotherhood on a case by case basis. 

This means that we will protest with them against the constitutional declaration and against the dissolution of parliament.

But if they move back in the direction of compromise with Scaf we won’t stand with them.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=28845



Egypt’s revolution hangs in the balance
The revolution in Egypt is at a critical moment. Some commentators in the mainstream media have even declared it finished. 

The ruling military government—the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf)—has brought about what the media are calling a “soft” coup.

It is “soft” only in the sense that it has not—as yet—involved any killing. Scaf has certainly not balked at murdering protesters over the past year.

What happens over the next weeks will be decisive. A revolution is a process, not just a single event. Gains can be won and sometimes pushed back. <="" p=""> 

But there are moments when the forces of revolution and counter-revolution hang in balance. This is one of them.

Scaf sensed an opportunity to secure its power—and took it. The generals changed laws restricting who they could arrest, dissolved parliament and put themselves in charge of rewriting the constitution.

This does not mean the counter-revolution has won. But it does mark a surge in their confidence. The danger is that if Scaf is not pushed back now it will go further to crush the opposition. 

Scaf has unleashed repression against protesters before, but each time it has provoked a resurgence of the revolution. The generals are gambling on the idea that revolutionaries cannot deliver such resistance this time.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which had won a majority in parliament, now finds itself on the streets fighting for its future.

This is an organisation full of contradictions. Brotherhood youth fought to the death to bring down the dictatorship. Yet its leadership sees its role as one of being absorbed into Egypt’s ruling establishment.

It’s important revolutionaries are uniting with the Brotherhood in broad mobilisations to defend the gains of the revolution, while building their own independent organisation on the ground. These mobilisations can push Scaf back.

Since the fall of dictator Hosni Mubarak millions of ordinary people have fought for a future without poverty and oppression.

They know what defeat would look like. During the 18 days that brought down Mubarak, a placard in Tahrir Square read “We are not Chile”—where a revolution was drowned in blood after a coup.

In the final days of Mubarak’s rule the decisive force was the entry of the organised working class into the struggle. This is the social force in Egypt that has the potential power to bring down Scaf—and drive the revolution forward.

http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=28842