Egypt’s military has demonstrated yet again why its rule of Egypt is not in the interests of workers and the people. In the last week more than 500 pro-Morsi supporters have been murdered in the streets while protesting against the military coup of 3 July. At the same time, the Muslim Brotherhood has attacked Egypt’s minority Coptic population by burning down churches because of the Copt Leadership’s support for the military coup. Communal violence divides workers and prevents us from organising in our own interests. During the 2011 uprisings in Egypt, it was the entry of organised labour that ultimately saw the defeat of Hosni Mubarak. And workers are still organising in Egypt. Steel workers in the Suez are striking because the company failed to fulfil on a promise made during the 2011 uprising – workers’ equal share in the profits. The same military that is said to have saved Egypt from Morsi’s Islamist government has arrested two of the strike leaders and encircled the factory. Workers’ mobilisations such as these, aiming to realise social and economic demands of the 2011 uprisings are what’s needed in Egypt today, not military rule and not religious communal violence.
Egypt’s military has demonstrated yet again why its rule of Egypt is not in the interests of workers and the people. In the last week more than 500 pro-Morsi supporters have been murdered in the streets while protesting against the military coup of 3 July. At the same time, the Muslim Brotherhood has attacked Egypt’s minority Coptic population by burning down churches because of the Copt Leadership’s support for the military coup. Communal violence divides workers and prevents us from organising in our own interests. During the 2011 uprisings in Egypt, it was the entry of organised labour that ultimately saw the defeat of Hosni Mubarak. And workers are still organising in Egypt. Steel workers in the Suez are striking because the company failed to fulfil on a promise made during the 2011 uprising – workers’ equal share in the profits. The same military that is said to have saved Egypt from Morsi’s Islamist government has arrested two of the strike leaders and encircled the factory. Workers’ mobilisations such as these, aiming to realise social and economic demands of the 2011 uprisings are what’s needed in Egypt today, not military rule and not religious communal violence.
