A return to the past? Egypt's neoliberal counter-revolution

In a harshly worded statement Egypt's "interim government" led by Essam Sharaf - a former member of the influential "higher policies secretariat" of the ruling party NDP - today vowed to begin enforcing the "anti-strike law" that was issued in April and bans any strikes or protests that disrupts the economy (in contradiction with international treaties signed by Egypt that confirm the right of workers to resort to peaceful strikes to press their demands on employers).

Shortly after the statement was issued on the governments web page, Central security forces and plain-clothes agents descended on tenant farmers that had been staging a peaceful sit-in outside the Cabinet, protesting years (or rather decades) of displacement and ill-treatment by the state. Several farmers were arrested and hauled into police vans, according to Nora Shalaby who was there and took these pictures:

These images are a dark reminder of the state of things before January 25, when central security forces in cooperation with plain-clothes agents and thugs routinely clamped down on peaceful demonstrations in Egypt, and comes days after the military arrested five Petrojet workers, who had been taking part in a two-week sit-in outside the petroleum ministry protesting the sacking of 1200 workers. It also comes after renewed accusations of police brutaliy, most notably in the case of a bus driver that was allegedly taken to the police station in Ezbekiyya and beaten to death last week after refusing to pay a bribe to a police officer - an event that sparked protests and riots in the area.

On the same day Samir Radwaan, new minister of finance after Youssef Boutrous Ghali (who fled Egypt before Mubaraks ouster and was handed a prison sentence of 30 years in absentia last week on charges of corruption and squandering of public wealth), promised that Egypt won't back away from the "economic reforms" and free-market polices pursued under Mubaraks decades-long rule. (He doesn't seem to understand that in a supposedly democratic Egypt, that should be up to the voters to decide). As elsewhere where the neoliberal doctrine has been applied since the 70's, these "reforms" (mainly privatization of public enterprises and tax-cuts for companies and the rich) resulted in exploding inequality, a rapid decline in the quality of public welfare and increasing poverty. They have proved disastrous for the majority of the population, to the extent that they may be identified as the single most important cause of the revolution.

In what was perhaps an unintended coincidence but still a very clear signal of the inclinations of Egypt's current rulers, a proposed capital gains tax of 10% was reportedly cancelled today, after pressure from investors and the head of the national stock exchange. So today's events can be summed up: at the same time as the government vows to use force against farmers and workers who insists on demanding a fairer share of Egypt's wealth after the revolution, demanding "patience" of poor families who can barely feed their children let alone send them to decent schools, they quickly bow to pressure from the privileged minority who benefited most of Mubarak's corrupt and neglectful rule. Disturbing, but hardly surprising.

Egyptian police arrest local journalists during Gaza protest

Hossam el-Hamalawy reports that three journalists working for Al-Masry Al-Youm was arrested today while covering a pro-Palestine protest in front of the french embassy in Cairo. Follow Hossam on twitter for updates. 

Mahalla labour activist fired

Tadamon reports that Mahalla Spinning and Weaving labour activist Mustapha Fouda has been fired following attempts by workers at the factory to organize a strike last Monday (January 6). Workers had presented five demands, including raising the minimum wage and improved housing and transports.

Pic above: Mustapha Fouda on someone's shoulders during an anti-privatization protest in Mahalla on October 30, 2008.

Blogger arrested, beaten up by police in Tanta

Yesterday, Egyptian blogger Demaghmak was arrested on the streets of Tanta along with his brother, and beaten by a police commander together with two plain-clothes men and six regular troopers.  The commanding officer told them "I will make sure you motherfuckers kiss the feet of any policeman you see" (roughly translated...). They were thrown into a police jeep and released after a while, Demaghmak reports on his twitter page.

Trouble at the Airport

The security agencies continues their policy of harassing Egyptian activists passing through Cairo Airport. Last week, CTUWS (Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services) Program Coordinator Rahma Refaat was stopped and her passport held for two hours when she was leaving to attend a meeting of the International Federation of Workers Education Associations, IFWEA. The previous month, CTUWS General Manager Kamal Abbas was subject to the same harassment while leaving for the AFL-CIO 26th Constitutional Convention, and released only just in time to barely reach his flight.

Free union leader threatened with up to six months in prison

Jano Charbel reports: "Labor activist Kamal Abu Eita, head of Egypt's only independent labor union, faces charges of disseminating false information and defaming the reputation of the country's state-controlled union leaders." Kamal Abu Eita told al-Masry al-Youm: "I do not wish to tarnish Egypt's image abroad, in fact we are attempting to improve its image abroad. Through our efforts we are proving to the world that Egypt is capable of genuine trade unionism. In this sense I am proud of improving Egypt's image."

Head of Free Union under Attack

Via the Center for Socialist Studies: The head of the independent RETA-union, Kamal abu Eita, will be questioned tomorrow Saturday on charges by Hussein Megawer, head of the official trade union federation, that he has been spreading "false information" that has hurt the reputation of Egypt and its official trade union system. Kamal abu Eita in turn accuses Megawer of acting as a "union police" after failing to control the labour movement, and says that the attacks on him is a sign of weakness.

More links on the free union here and here.

Pic above: Kamal abu Eita during a demonstration outside the trade union federation HQ, november 2007.

Police repression of journalists in Tanta

Joseph Mayton reports on police violence and harrasment against journalists who tried to cover the Tanta Flax & Oil Co. strike: "This is when they started pushing me harder and harder back from the gate. I felt a punch land on my side, but thought little of it as I continued to stand my ground. Finally, a uniformed officer interceded and began talking to me. He was cordial, introducing himself as Ibrahim (24-years-old and straight of the academy). There was no going any further he said and promised to go and talk to the state security chief present. With my six or so-man escort, we made it back to the large, obese man sitting and talking to the American writer who had accompanied on the trip. I said that I was going to walk on the 'public street' and look inside the factory to see what was going on and then I would leave. Every step I would take was followed by at least two, often three or four, men jumping front, fists clenched and ready to pounce. I said that I had a job to do and that I must look into the factory. One of the men said that if I tried again that I would be arrested and driven to the Tanta police station. He looked serious." Read it all.

A clear example of how the strict limits on labour activism (as well as freedom of the press) in Egypt is still in place. The union of textile workers apparently got a green light to support the strike in Tanta, as a token evidence that such actions are tolerated in Egypt. But security agencies still wants to restrict media access to the workers and isolate them in order to break their morale as well as preventing industrial action from spreading.

MB - Turning the other cheek?

There was a new crackdown on high-ranking MB leaders on Saturday morning, including Dr Abdel-Monein Aboul Fotouh - sometimes described as a leader of the "reformist" trend within the movement and respected by many outside its ranks. The Arabist speculates that this has something to do with Gaza: "Considering all of these people were involved in the fundraising drive and aid effort to Gaza, and the Egyptian government has just reopened the border, one wonders whether there’s any connection."

On the other hand, blogger Mahmoud Abdel-Monein sees the crackdown as part of the ongoing attempt to weaken the movement ahead of the coming transfer of the presidential post from Mubarak to his son. He goes on to criticize the weak response of the movement to recent crackdowns, pointing out that even when high leaders received harsh prison sentences in military tribunals last year, the movement left the campaigning on their behalf to their female relatives and younger bloggers. "Why did the movement decide to turn the other cheek to receive another slap?" he asks.

Abdel-Monein doesn't try to answer this question. But one of the commentators on his blog suggest that it is because of weakness: It is clear the Ikwhan doesn't have a million active members as many use to claim. "Most of them are behind bars." Even if this is an exaggeration, it would surprise me if the passivity in the face of the governments repression didn't cause considerable damage to the movement's appeal among the younger generation.

New wave of repression against free union

The state-backed union has launched a new wave of attacks on the independent Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Employees, according to the Center for socialist studies. These includes a physical assault by a representative of the state union on a free unionist in Gharbeyya. In Qaliubeyya several unionists has been subject to disciplinary measures for collecting membership fees for the free union, while local ministry officials has been threatened with punishment if they cooperate with the independent union. A representative of the union says that these attacks are a sign of weakness, not strenght, since the state union fears becoming irrelevant and loosing all its influence on the labour movement.

Pic above: tax collectors celebrate the founding of the first free union in Egypt at the Press Syndicat, December 20 last year.

The effects of throwing someone from a fourth floor balcony

"Fracture of the right leg, hip and shoulder, three pelvic fractures, fracture nose, facial injuries, fracture of three vertebrae, blood accumulation in the stomach and around the liver, post concussion syndrome and difficulty breathing to upward pressure of abdominal blood collections."

According to El-Nadeem Center for Treatment of Victims of Torture this is the injuries suffered by Muslim Brotherhood member Fares Barak when he was thrown from a balcony on the fourth floor by state security investigators, who broke into his flat as the family was celebrating the 7th birthday of their daughter, on May 17.

Statement: "Egyptian Postal Workers Struggling Alone"

The Center for Trade Union and Workers' Services issued a statement on the struggling postal workers, denouncing the detention of Mamdouh Faza'e - a postal worker from Ismailiya who was arrested by state security on charges of inciting a strike threatening the national economy - and calling for international solidarity:

"Center for Trade Union and Workers Services (CTUWS) emphasizes on the equity of the workers’ demands, and denounces Mamdouh Faza'e’s detention and his trial. CTUWS considers this action as a dangerous curve in the relation between workers and Government, especially the right to strike is guaranteed by international treaties that Egyptian government signed on. CTUWS calls upon international federations and trade unions to support Egyptian postal workers for their just demands. - CTUWS, 24 May 2009."

Postal worker detained for "inciting to strike"

More repression: As Hossam al-Hamalawy reported, a postal worker from Ismailiya has been detained on charges of "inciting a strike threatening the national economy". According to a statement published by the Center for Socialist Studies, Mamdouh Faza'e was arrested by state security after sending a fax to his bosses in Cairo in which he threatened with a strike unless temporary workers was employed on permanent contracts. The prosecutor has ordered his detention for 15 days for during the investigation, while labour lawyers maintain that Faza'e didn't break any law, that going on strike is a constitutional right, and that threatening to strike cannot be considered "incitement."

More on the postal workers:

* On Sunday, postal workers in Kafr el-Sheikh called for a national strike - starting Monday. This call came after the manager of the Egyptian Post Authority refused to meet a delegation of postal workers from several governorates despite the fact that "he himself had fixed the time for the meeting."

* Apparently, one of the grievances of the postal workers is that employees of the telecommunications authority earns 3 times as much, even though they belong to the same ministry. Another long-running dispute concerns the refusal of the management to give fixed contracts to workers employed after 2001.

* Today, "hundreds" of postal workers started an "open-ended" sit in in Kafr el-Sheikh. According to Al-Youm Al-Sabi'a the General Union of Postal Workers tried to convince the workers to cancel the protest.

Statement on persecution of Mahalla unionists

The "coordinating commitee for the defense of the rights and freedoms of unions and workers" released a statement (published on the Center for Socialist Studies website) denouncing measures taken by the Ghazl al-Mahalla management against union activists.

Last week, the management fired blogger Kareem el-Beheiry. As the statement points out "this is not the first time al-Beheiry and his fellow workers has been subject to arbitrary measures, as el-Beheiry and Kamal Fayoumi and Tarek Al-Sinousy was arrested after the events of 6th April 2008" - and jailed without trial for almost two months.

In November Kareem and four other workers were transfered to other branches of the company, while several others was refused the yearly "social raise", after workers at the factory staged a demonstration against alleged corruption within the management and plans to privatize the factory. The CEO also filed a court case against union activists and several journalists for publishing "lies" about the company.

The statement criticizes the Ministry of Manpower and the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions (EFTU) for ignoring the plight of the workers, who repeatedly sent complaints and staged sit-ins at the union headquarters asking for an intervention on their behalf. The ministry and the state-controlled union did not intervene even when the management refused to implement a court verdict to revoke the arbitrary transfers and return the workers to their previous positions, thereby "showing clearly that the union is representing the interests of the employers against the workers."

Mahalla blogger threatened by dismissal

Kareem el-Beheiry, who runs the blog "Workers of Egypt," reports that he is being threatened by dismissal (once again...) by the general manager of Misr Spinnng and Weaving in Mahalla for repeated absence from work. Kareem writes that he was in fact repeatedly prevented to enter the company offices in Cairo (to which he was transfered in November after taking part in a anti-privatization protest at the factory - a decision that has been challenged in court by labour lawyers) on the grounds that he came a few minutes late. The first time Beheiry was fired was back in 2007, after he started reporting about labour activism and corruption within the management on his blog - that time he was returned to his work only after some workers threatened to organize protests and strikes in solidarity with him.

Pic above: Kareem in sunglasses talking to striking real estate tax collectors during their 11-day sit in in december 2007.

Fishermen jailed by military court

Clashes took place between demonstrators and police in Ismailiya today, after a military court sentenced 3 fishermen to one year in prison this morning, Tadamon reports. The three men - Nasser Sa'ad Sadiq (33 years), Magdi Mohamed Ali (23 years) and Ahmed Mohamed Ali (28 years) - were arrested 12 days ago for wearing diving equipment in the canal zone. Two days ago they were ordered released by the prosecutor, only to be immediately arrested by the military police and transfered to a military court. After the sentence this morning, about 500 people blocked a street and agreed to leave only after they were promised negotiations about cancelling the verdicts...

During a meeting organized by activists from Tadamon in Borolos two days ago, on the occasion of Sham el-Naseem, fishermen from Fayyoum, Ismailiyya and Borolos met to talk about their problems and to exchange experiences. (Click the pic above for a set on flickr - I must say it would be nice if all these meetings could take place in such a nice environment, except of course for the 2x4 hours bus ride from Cairo). The meeting was a first step in a campaign aiming to connect fishermen and grassroots organizations working to suport them in different parts of Egypt.

During the meeting, fishermen from Ismailiyya complained about three main problems: recent hikes in the yearly license fees, refusal of ship owners to pay compensation for oil spills in the Suez canal, and the ban on fishing in the canal during the passage of warships and military transports - which according to the fishermen has had a severe impact on their income since the start of the US war against Iraq. They also complained about abuse and threats from the police and security forces, as a response to their attempts to organize around their demands.

Armed security men harass Mahalla labour center

4 armed men claiming to be from state security visited the Afaq socialist center in Mahalla on Thursday, asking for it's director Hamdi Hussein, a former worker and labour activist at Misr Spinning and Weaving. They waited for hours outside the center before leaving, as Hamdi was alerted on phone and did not show up. According to blogger Kareem el-Beheiry, activists in Mahalla have been put under surveillance ahead of 6 April.

Crackdown on 6 April solidarity protest

Reuters: At least 18 activists were beaten and detained today as they attempted to organize a solidarity protest with the detained students in Kafr el-Sheikh. 7 journalists and lawyers were also detained during the event.

Students detained for distributing flyers for 6 april strike

According to a statement from the "6 april youth" two female students at Kafr el-Sheikh University was detained by guards on campus, and handed over to state security, after distributing flyers with the 6 april strike statement to students.

Security bans Ayman Nour conferences

A month after his release, state security prevented several conferences that was supposed to be held by Ayman Nour and the Ghad-party this week, in four governorates outside Cairo, el-Badeel reports. In other words, despite Nours release, it's business as usual when it comes to dealing with the opposition. Big surprise (not).