Democratic Palestine : 20 (ص 26)
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- Democratic Palestine : 20 (ص 26)
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Class Polarization in Egypt Today
Interview with the Egyptian Communist Party
Below is an interview with Comrade Ahmed, Politbureau member of the Egyptian Communist Party, as
was printed in the no. 12, 1986 issue of Al Nahj, the journal of the Arab communist parties.
This interview is of special importance because of the critical
stage through which the Egyptian people’s struggle is passing.
The economic and political ‘open door’ policy moved Egypt
from a forward position in the Arab front opposing imperia-
lism, to a forward position in the imperialist-Zionist-
reactionary activities in the area. The Egyptian Communist
Party has played an important role in opening the eyes of the
Egyptian people to the reality of the trap into which they were
dragged via Camp David and the ‘open door’ policy.
What were the main lines of the struggle after the
Communist Party was revived in 1975?
The Communist Party was declared on May 1, 1975, consis-
ting of three Marxist organizations that united early in 1973.
Earlier, efforts had started to rebuild the party, through
Marxist study groups that discussed this task and worked to
achieve it. This coincided with the first signs of the retreat and
ensuing crisis of the system of ‘national capitalism’, which was
the prelude to the 1967 defeat
The period from the 1967 defeat until 1975 was rich in
national, democratic and social struggles. Faced with the 1967
‘catastrophe’, our people chose to challenge the defeat. Mil-
lions took to the streets on June 9th and 10th, refusing to
accept Nasser’s resignation. This was not just an emotional
move as some have portrayed it. On the contrary, it expressed
the people’s awareness of the necessity of blocking the way to
capitulation. Popular consensus was predicated on the demand
for ‘change’ and popular participation in the political life and
decision-making. The people were demanding a revolutionary
program that focused on arming the masses, forming a
popular defense army and calling for democracy and freedom
of expression. This also meant redefining the role of the prole-
tariat and the peasants to guarantee more genuine representa-
tion within the political and mass organizations; purifying the
state apparatus and army of reactionary elements; adhering to
the economic and social achievements; demanding a real war
economy; standing firm against all wasteful tendencies and
controlling elements of capital accumulation in the private
sector, etc.
Despite the spontaneous nature of their movement, the
masses became a strong popular censor on the regime’s poli-
cies. The mass upsurge in February and November of 1968
were among the factors that motivated the regime to wage the
1968-9 war of attrition. Sadat came to power in late 1970 in a
difficult period. The people were tired of the no-war, no-peace
situation. Sadat had to adjust to the escalating nationalist tide.
He promoted the slogan of ‘decisiveness’ all through 1972, but
soon his lies were uncovered. The year of decisiveness was
almost over when huge student demonstrations broke out,
demanding armed struggle to liberate the occupied land. Uni-
versity students held a sit-in. Sadat barbarically suppressed the
student movement. At the end of 1972, the security forces
invaded the university campus for the first time in Egypt’s his-
tory. More than 1,000 students were arrested at Cairo and Ain
Shams universities. The Helwan workers played a major role in
this event. They and the communists joined the students in
their battle; the communists’ role was very prominent.
Under the pressure of popular demands, Sadat was forced to
enter the October War that the people wanted as a liberation
war. Sadat, in contrast, only wanted to maneuver; he viewed
26
the war as a short-term investment for launching his march
towards retreat and capitulation. At the same time, the eco-
nomic ‘open door’ policy that he intensified after the October
War, led to the deterioration of the living conditions of the
toiling masses Due to this situation, social struggle increased
in the early seventies. There were many workers’ strikes and
peasants’ movements. In the Shubra Al Khaima area, there
was a wide-spread strike by textile workers in the private
sector. Helwan workers also organized strikes early in January
1975, and marched to Cairo in a demonstration. Workers at Al
Muhallah (Egypt’s largest textile factory) organized a huge
strike that Sadat put down, using tanks, armed vehicles and
airplanes.
This period also witnessed important democratic struggles
that enforced the masses’ right to organize themselves. The
masses rejected the single organization formula(the one-partv
system). Egyptian communists made an important initiative in
this regard; they started reorganizing their ranks and called for
freedom to form parties and democratic organizations.
In fact, the decision to dissolve the Communist Party, in the
mid-sixties, did not last for long. Developments soon revealed
the seriousness of this mistake. There was realization of the
necessity of having a party for the working class. There were
many attempts to meet this need in different forms. Many
imagined that a party of the working class could be achieved by
transforming the vanguard elements within the Arab Socialist
Union into a scientific socialist party. However, it was soon
discovered that this was an illusion, especially since the Nasse-
rite experience had faltered after the failure of the first five-
year plan to achieve its goals in 1965, and after the develop-
ment of the private sector at the expense of the public sector,
and the development of the rural bourgeoisie. Then the crisis
of the Nasserite regime’s structure surfaced and was manifest
in the 1967 ‘setback’. This completely eliminated what
remained of the illusions about the possibility of making the
regime progressive, in the absence of the working class and its
communist party.
Preparations began for the formation of Marxist organiza-
tions. Even the Nasserite youth started working independently.
After the 1967 defeat, groups of the youth organization were
arrested and accused of forming secret Marxist circles in the
youth organization. A blow was dealt to the leftist elements in
the central committee of the youth organization, and later it
was suspended.
The declaration of the communist party was the first viola-
tion of the ban on the right to form political organizations.
Months later, the Sadat regime, for many reasons, was forced
to allow the formation of trends within the Arab Socialist
Union. These were developed into political parties.
In general, these were the main lines of the revolutionary
struggle that coincided with the declaration of the Egyptian
Communist Party.
What are the most prominent signs of class polari-
zation at present in Egypt? Does the political
alignment reflect class interests?
A number of factors are accelerating class polarization.
Among these are the intensification of the present regime’s
crisis and isolation; the increasing gravity of the class struggle;
the growing rejection of the policies of subordination; the - هو جزء من
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