Changing the agenda

Was the poor turnout at a recent public rally in solidarity with Iraq symptomatic of receding political activism? Gihan Shahine gauges the mood

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While Egyptian political activists are convinced that the only response to the end of the war on Iraq should be even more organised political activism against the Anglo- American colonial occupation there, inertia seems to be the more dominant mood of the moment.

Other than the usual tightly-secured demonstration at Al-Azhar Mosque after Friday prayers, the only activity held in solidarity with Iraq last week was a poorly- attended public rally organised by the labour committee of the leftist Tagammu' Party on Sunday. "People did not show up because they feel very shocked and frustrated about everything that is happening in the Arab region," explained Tagammu' Party Chairman Khaled Mohieddin. Despite the scant turnout, Mohieddin said, the Tagammu Party, along with "all other political powers in Egypt, have vowed to put Iraq and the Iraqis atop the agenda, and we will undoubtedly continue to pursue our struggle against the Anglo-American occupation of Iraqi land and resources."

But even with political parties actively pursuing that agenda, and a vast majority of the population in agreement with them, there was scant anti-war activity in Egypt on Saturday, despite the fact that demonstrations took place in at least 40 other countries around the world. What happened to the tens of thousands who had rallied and marched for Iraq's sake just a few short weeks ago?

The Ministry of Interior, it turned out, had not given its blessing to a peace march being organised by a coalition of political parties -- basically the same group that held a massive anti-war rally at Cairo Stadium before the war began that brought together at least 120,000 protestors. The coalition had actually been planning to hold their protest in tandem with Saturday's rallies across the globe; when permission was not forthcoming, they changed the date to Tuesday. But since permission had still not been obtained by then, the date was again postponed. The rally is set to take place at the headquarters of the Doctors' Syndicate today.

Doctors' Syndicate chairman and NDP MP Hamdi El- Sayed -- one of the main organisers of the would-be rally -- said he did not see the cancellation of Saturday's protest as either a major loss, or a blow to political activism in Egypt. "Mobilising the public," explained El- Sayed, "would have been a major challenge because of how shocked people are about what's going on in Iraq. The media has been tarnishing the image of the Iraqi people by focussing on all the theft and vandalism, which is part of a US conspiracy to kill Arab sympathy for, and solidarity with, the Iraqis. And so we thought it would be better to cancel the march rather than go out with just a few people."

According to El-Sayed, the focus now, before embarking on future protests, should be on increasing public awareness and promoting an economic boycott of the US and UK. "First, we need to hold public meetings where political and military experts explain the current situation as well as the tremendous imminent threats facing the region, to the general public," El-Sayed told Al-Ahram Weekly. "People have to understand that the looters represent a minor fraction of a nation with a great civilisation." They also have to comprehend, El-Sayed said, "that the hardest days are yet to come."

Muslim Brotherhood MP Mohamed Mursi, another key organiser of the peace march, agrees that political activists need "time to both change their agenda and the political discourse". However, Mursi insisted that this does not in any way mean "we will stop organising public protests nationwide." According to Mursi, "we are still in the process of preparing for the next phase of political activism with a new focus on ending the military occupation of Iraq."

While Egypt's political activists prepare for that next phase, US peace activists seemed to quickly manage their own transition. According to Sara Flounders, co- director of the New York-based International Action Centre, which helped organise this week's demonstrations, "it's more urgent and more important than ever that there be a mobilisation." This time, she explained, the demonstrations are shifting focus to protest against "the colonial occupation of Iraq". The protestors are also rallying against the hiring of retired three-star US General Jay Garner as head of the interim government in Iraq, and pressing for a leading UN role in the post- war reconstruction.

Why don't political activists in Egypt have a similarly clear-cut agenda? Press Syndicate Secretary Yehia Qallash said "peace activists worldwide are fighting for justice and peace, but for us the issue is far more complicated. As Arabs, we are directly affected by the colonisation of such a great country, and people need time to overcome their shock following the abrupt fall of Baghdad, in order to begin to be able to move."

The syndicate's deputy-chairman, Abdel-'Al El- Baqouri, thinks public frustration is not the only factor behind the current political stagnation. "We can't just blame it all on the frustrated public," El-Baqouri said. "It is mainly the government's fault for clamping down on people's right to protest." El-Baqouri also blamed "the absence of strong political powers which have largely failed to mobilise people".

It is clear that political parties and syndicates have not come up with an agenda "in the face of a US atrocity which is equal only to that of the British colonisation of India", lamented El-Baqouri.

"Political parties, including the National Democratic Party, have kept silent about the US's vandalism of Iraq, and its blatant threats towards Syria," he said. "No one is standing up to challenge US attempts to wipe out Iraqi civilisation by destroying their museums, libraries and universities. No one is there to defend the fate of the 20,000 Iraqi scholars or call for an Arab role in the reconstruction of Iraq. The only political discourses we have are the speeches of President Mubarak. Is that ever enough?"

El-Baqouri said it was "high time for all political parties [including the NDP], syndicates, professional unions and civil society to wake up from their current inertia, and discuss the current dilemma with an openness and transparency that will enable us to face this major challenge."

Ahmed Seif El-Islam Hassan El-Banna, secretary- general of the Bar Association and a leading member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (his father founded the group), agreed. The association, renowned as the most politically active of all syndicates, is planning a conference next Tuesday to bring together a wide spectrum of political and civil society activists.

Explaining why the association has not been active since the fall of Baghdad, El-Banna told the Weekly that "we were waiting to find out what would happen, and update our agenda accordingly. Now we know that our agenda will focus on ending the military colonisation of Iraq, and calling for the unity of all Iraqi Sunni and Shi'ite sects, as well as a UN role in running post- Saddam Iraq."

Both El-Banna and El-Baqouri agree that it is also time for "Arab regimes to stand united in the face of the Zionist American plans to occupy the region and take over its resources."

Everybody seems to agree that the fall of Baghdad is the worst setback the Arab world has witnessed since 1967 -- with even worse ramifications for the region as a whole this time, since the same scenario might occur in Syria, Iran or any other country in the area. There is also anger about the fact that the US might not have been so easily victorious in Iraq had it not been for the help of Arab regimes, a factor that makes formulating an agenda a daunting challenge calling for the unity of all political powers, trends and civil society.

"The current situation is extremely dangerous," said El-Banna. "The US will not revert from its Zionist plans to occupy the entire region, which will only lead to the collapse of the global system and the eruption of a third world war, all of which will ultimately lead to massive losses for the US."

El-Baqouri said an Arab summit should urgently convene "to affirm that rebuilding Iraq is an Arab mission. We should also work to block any sort of normalisation between the Iraqis and the Zionist enemy, stop the attempts at liquidating the Palestinian issue, and stop an imminent US-led war on Syria or any other Arab country."

Intellectuals, El-Baqouri added, should also play a role in countering US media propaganda portraying America as the administrator of democracy in the Arab world.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 17 - 23 April 2003 (Issue No. 634)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/634/eg3.htm