'The revolution belongs to the Egyptian people': Socialist Alliance statement of solidarity with Egyptian revolution

[This statement was adopted by the Socialist Alliance (Australia) national executive on July 12, 2013. Below that is a statement from Spain's Izquierda Anticapitalista (Anti-capitalist left), the views of which, reports International Viewpoint, "represents a generally held opinion in the Fourth International."]

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The Socialist Alliance recognises and welcomes the June 30-July 3, 2013 popular mobilisations of the Egyptian people, led by youth, for democracy, human rights and social and economic justice that brought down the regime of President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Socialist Alliance notes that the number of Egyptians who participated in the protests was higher than the number who voted for Morsi, as was the number of Egyptians who signed the Tamarod petition calling for the president to step down.

At the same time, the Socialist Alliance condemns the violent and repressive measures of the Egyptian Armed Forces since July 3 in particular the July 8 massacre of more than 50 unarmed supporters of the Morsi government and the arbitrary detention of Morsi and other leaders and functionaries of the deposed regime.

The Socialist Alliance believes the revolution belongs to the Egyptian people not the armed forces. On July 3, 2013, as on February 11, 2011, the armed forces “went over to the people” in order to steal the fruits of popular rebellion and maintain the rule of Egypt’s foreign-backed elites in the face of changed realities created by mass people’s struggle.

The Socialist Alliance condemns the annual $1.3 billion subsidy paid by the US to the repressive Egyptian Armed Forces so that they can play the role of arbiter in Egyptian politics for the benefit of Western strategic and economic interests. The Morsi government was elected with the approval of the military. The US and the military was complicit in many of the crimes of the Morsi government that alienated the people including strategic collaboration with the US and Israel and most significantly the implementation of neoliberal economic policies that deny justice to the Egyptian people.

The Socialist Alliance calls for justice with respect to all crimes against the people by the armed forces, the Morsi regime, the Tantawi regime and the Mubarak. At the same time the Socialist Alliance calls for all those detained accused of crimes to be accorded due process.

The Socialist Alliance supports those who are calling for an immediate return to civilian rule and a civilian-led process to democratically create a new government and a new constitution.

The Socialist Alliance recognises that no Egyptian government can satisfy the needs of the Egyptian people as long as it is beholden to the diktats of Western-controlled financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank. As such, the Socialist Alliance recognises the struggles of the Egyptian masses as part of the worldwide struggle against neoliberal globalisation.

The Socialist Alliance expresses full solidarity with those in the mass movement, including the left wing parties in the Coalition of Socialist Forces, seeking to counter the political influence of the military and elite political forces over the mass movement.

Izquierda Anti-capitalista (Spain): Egyptian revolution must continue without the tutelage of the army

July 8, 2013 – Neither Morsi nor the army represents the aspirations for freedom and social justice

The enormous mobilizations in Egypt that preceded the fall of Morsi have shown the increasing social rejection of their reactionary and increasingly authoritarian neoliberal project. The Muslim Brotherhood were not originally involved in the Egyptian revolution, but after the fall of Mubarak they became the main political force in the country as the only organization opposed to Mubarak with a strong implantation and social basis. Their work in government has made it clear that their political project is far from the popular aspirations that brought down the dictator in 2011.

From the protests against Mubarak in January 2011, the Army — the most significant economic and political institution in the country — has had as its sole intention assuring an “ordered transition”, as well as channelling popular aspirations in directions which do not threaten the structures of power. For that reason, it established an initial entente with the Muslim Brotherhood with the aim of directing the revolutionary process towards moderation without structural economic changes. Now, following the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood’s inability to guarantee the stability of the country, the Army has broken its alliance with Morsi.

The popular mobilization against the latter shows the firm determination of the Egyptian people to deepen the aspirations to freedom and social justice that led to the fall of Mubarak in February 2011. But the outcome of this intense mobilization, with the taking of control by the Army by means of a coup d’état, also shows the enormous weaknesses of the revolutionary process. In particular, it emphasizes the absence of a political pole favourable to social justice and the deepening of the revolution. It is the absence of a political alternative linked to the popular mobilization which has allowed the Army and its allies to take the initiative in trying to channel post-Morsi scenario towards their interests.

A period of great uncertainty for the revolutionary process has therefore opened. The determination and capacity for struggle of the Egyptian people have been well demonstrated, but also the strength of the forces of order and the Army, now riding on the popular aspirations. The Egyptian people will have to continue fighting to avoid their desire for change being reined in from above and to prevent any authoritarian reversion by the army and its allies, as well as to avoid the country slipping into a witch-hunt against the Muslim Brotherhood or any other organizations that are against the government, and a civil confrontation that adds to the chaos and can, in addition, be utilized by the army and reaction to impose an authoritarian reversion.

Izquierda Anticapitalista considers that for all this the social mobilization and popular self-organization of the Egyptian people are necessary as well as the construction of a democratic pole, of those on the left and those favourable to social justice, to advance so that the revolution is not snatched from them by those who want everything to change so that things remain the same.

[The original is at La revolución egipcia debe continuar sin tutelas del ejército.