The People’s Revolution and the Dream of Democracy
The Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS), 16th August 2013:
Since the ascend of the Muslim Brotherhood to the regime 30th June 2012 there were calls to go forward and give the new regime the opportunity to comprehend the Egyptian people’s hopes and aspirations to subsistence, freedom and social justice, to cause real change based upon freedom and democracy, uproot corruption and the establishment of real institutions for all the citizens without discrimination or exclusion through real participation which starts with societal dialogue for all the social spectrum until the realization of actions and the adoption of decisions reflecting consensus without exclusion or egotism; with the aim of building the state of law which all the Egyptians are seeking.
But all these hopes and aspirations dissipated gradually with the beginning of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule. It was only after the elapse of two months that16 Egyptian soldiers were assassinated in Rafah, a city on the Egyptian borders. The killers were members of a terrorist organization affiliated to the Brotherhood. There were news at that time that the Egyptian Presidency was not serious in tracing the killers or disclosing their identity. At the same time there were news and reports from international sources on the perpetrator and their organizational affiliation. It was certain that the Egyptian Presidency institution has rendered the law ineffective and wasted the Egyptian people’s right to know the fact and to know who killed their sons.
The Egyptians went in millions for demonstrations on the “Friday of Accountability” calling on the President to fulfill his promises. The President had promised to solve the security issues, penalize the martyrs’ killers and improve public services. It became apparent at that time that the Brotherhood and the Presidency have waivered all the promises for democracy and the Egyptians’ right to peaceful demonstration, expression of their rights and the right to hold the government accountable for its actions. The Brotherhood gathered their advocates and members at Tahrir Square and attacked the demonstrators with stones and empty bottles to prevent them from reaching Tahrir Square. Thousands of the youth were injured. The platform of the political currents opponents of the Brotherhood was destroyed as was seen and heard by the whole world.
The Brotherhood and the President waivered thee democratic principles when the President solely announced the Constitutional Declaration of 19th November 2012 without consulting the political currents which accepted his invitation a few days earlier to consult on what he called ‘national dialogue’ and consider the following stage. More astonishing was that none of the presidential team ( the vice president, the legal advisor or the other assistants and councilors) had any prior idea about the announced Declaration. Several of them resigned in protest of such a solitary decision, marginalization of their role and crude intervention of the Brotherhood in managing the state as if they were its actual rulers.
Chancellor Tarek el Bishry head of the constitutional amendment committee who was a prominent supporter of the Brotherhood described that Declaration as a coup against legality and said that the President is not entitled to issue constitutional declarations after that which was subject to the referendum of 19th March 2012.
The Egyptian people rose against that Declaration considering it a coup against democracy, a support for tyranny and immunity for the presidential decisions against the judiciary.
The Brotherhood confirmed once again its fascism and gathered its militias and supporters to attack the demonstrators in front of the presidential palace ‘Itihadiya’ who were calling to withdraw the Constitutional Declaration and reaffirm the state of law for which the 25th January Revolution was initiated. The President called his supporters to the presidential palace and addressed them as his ‘relatives and clan’ and said that they are the Egyptian people and that the ‘others’ are but saboteurs, criminals and enemies of the revolution. Since then, the Brotherhood and its extremist supporters started bloodshed as they used to do throughout their history of terrorism, killing and torture. They killed about ten of the revolutionary youth in front of the presidential palace.
The crimes of the ruling Brotherhood regime continued to liquidate the revolutionary youth. They killed Mohamed Gaber known as Jeika who was the Admin of “Lying Brotherhood” and a member of the “Popular Current”. Other members of the current were arrested. Christy, an activist from Al Dostour Party was killed. Mohamed el Gendy was fiercely tortured and thrown in the street. He died in hospital later on. Other activists in various Governorates were prosecuted and attacked.
From these successive sufferings and disappointments and the increasing feeling of the loss of a modern civil state based on democratic principles and amidst the escalated domination of the Brotherhood and its allies on the regime for the benefit of the Brotherhood itself and its supporters other than the partners in the country and the other political currents, it became apparent that the battle launched by the Brotherhood and its allies is a battle between two projects: the first is the project of the Brotherhood in a state which has no place for the others (as shown in the constitution which was issued in spite of the withdrawal of members of the political parties, civil currents, Al Azhar and the Church) and the second is the project of a modern democratic state based upon the principles of justice, freedom, equality and nondiscrimination.
Then came the “Rebel” initiative led by a group of the youth who felt that maintaining such a decaying political, social and economic situation would lead to the total collapse of the state and the end of the dream of the state of freedom and social justice which was the essential cause of the 25th January revolution. “Rebel” started a signature gathering campaign for early presidential elections; a democratic procedure adopted in modern states when conditions deteriorate similar to what was taking place in Egypt. The movement collected more than 25 million signatures to withdraw confidence from the President was seriously resisted and severely attacked by the Brotherhood and its allies. Such attacks incited more support to the Movement from all the categories of the population. The Movement called for demonstration on 30th June in which over 30 million Egyptians had taken part. They wanted to put an end to this crisis. The army felt the seriousness of the situation and that the state is to a deep abyss unless political consensus is reached amongst all the parties of the political process. The army called for consensus several times but the presidency did not pay the due attention to such calls. On the contrary, the presidency hindered the political initiatives of the other political parties as well as the armed forces. The armed forced were biased to the Egyptian people which gathered in millions on June 30th and July 3rd 2013. The army announced its support to the Egyptian will and announced a road map in which it undertook that it will not rule and that it will not intervene except for security considerations and for exercising its internationally recognized functions. The head of the Supreme Constitutional Court was appointed a Temporary President for the country. A government from all the political currents of the country was formed but the Islamic current refused to take part in it.
The Muslim Brotherhood disclosed once again that it does not put into consideration the aspirations of the Egyptians to their right to demonstrate, express their opinions and participate in ruling their country. The Brotherhood called the demonstrators ‘non believers, traitors, stooges of the west, enemies of Islam, etc.” and threatened to set the country in fire. The Brotherhood made lists of the political and media elite to be terminated, armed its supporters and brought foreign elements to spread chaos and destruction in the country. More than 40 churches were burnt and fifteen police stations were attacked police officers and soldiers were killed and their bodies were mutilated in a manner despicable by any religion and against any human rights and norms.
The Brotherhood justified its crimes by dispersing the “non peaceful” sit-ins in Rabaa and Al Nahda Squares. Protestors in the two sit-ins were warned more than three times and were asked in the name of all the Egyptians to drop their weapons and join the peaceful political process of the country. Otherwise, they were pleaded to sit-in peacefully without jeopardizing inhabitants of the surrounding areas who were severely punished morally and physically merely because they argued the so called legality of the former president. Even the children of the surrounding areas of the two squares were subject to inhuman aggression and terrorist actions.
The security authorities asked the protestors in Rabaa and Nahda to leave the place peacefully and promised them that they will not be prosecuted or arrested. They wanted to terminate the sit-ins with minimum life losses. The number of killed police offices and soldiers shows to what extent they did not resort to force against those protestors.
The CTUWS is very much sorry for the innocent victims who lost their life during these events and emphasizes the necessity to hold those who committed violence and encouraged aggression against the Egyptian state, national unity and the people’s right to live in peace and enjoy their right to democratic option; such a right which is different, by all means, from the exercise and incitation of violence and the destruction of the state institutions under the fancy of faked legality and the call to return a president who was ousted by the revolution of the people.
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