| Egypt update – more violent clashes follow after Sunday’s clampdown |
|
|
| By Fred Weston | |
| Tuesday, 08 April 2008 | |
|
On Sunday, as we reported yesterday, the planned general strike called by the Mahalla textile workers was blocked by a heavy police and military intervention. Although the strike was scuppered, there were huge protests on the streets and violent clashes with the police. Instead of intimidating the workers the heavy-handed intervention has increased their determination to struggle.
Mahalla was under police occupation yesterday. The workers at the Mahalla textile mill have been forced by a heavy police intervention to turn up for work, but that does not mean everything is back to normal. The scenes in the surrounding neighbourhoods remind one of the Palestinian Territories, with a heavy presence of military vehicles. While this is going on the families of the arrested workers have been gathering outside the local police stations demanding to know what has happened to their family members and bringing them food and so on. According to the Egyptian Workers and Trade Unions Watch "42,000 workers took part in either strikes, sit-ins or demonstrations during the past month, while 54,000 workers threatened to do the same... The month also witnessed 22 sit-ins, 13 demonstrations and 10 strikes." This shows that Malhalla is not an isolated case, but merely the tip of an iceberg. There is seething discontent across the whole country. The deep-felt hatred of the regime was graphically shown when people vented their anger against by stamping on big pictures of Mubarak. In this little detail we see the future of this regime, which cannot be a very long one.
The mood of the workers is clearly evident in the video available here below where in the face of armed police they show no fear whatsoever. The Egyptian workers are on the move and whatever measures the government takes they cannot be stopped. It is the objective situation that is pushing the workers forward. Their life has become unbearable. Bread has not only become very expensive, it is also in short supply. The government has ordered the army bakeries to supply bread to the commercial outlets in a desperate attempt to alleviate the problem. Marxists have always explained that when a socio-economic system is no longer able to develop the productive forces then its days are numbered. The system in Egypt cannot even provide bread! [Information based on reports on 3arabawy] For more photos see the gallery of Per Bjorklund and the photos by Omar Said Mahalla workers facing police
An interesting news item on the effects of rising food prices and bread shortages in Egypt
See also:
|
Now the protests in Egypt
are continuing. The latest news is that textile workers involved in leading the
protests are still being held by the police. They were interrogated at the
Tanta Prosecutor's Office and according to some unconfirmed reports they were
subject to severe beatings. It has also been confirmed that four demonstrators
were killed by the police [see 
On the 
Middle East Egypt Egypt update – more violent clashes follow after Sunday’s clampdown 
