Egyptians say no to “privilege and oppression”

 

“This is one of poorest areas of Cairo, one of those that will be most affected by the social agenda of the Morsi government, once the draft constitution will be approved. That’s why we decided to stage a demonstration here.”

Amr, a 35-year old engineer, was leading a protest in Imbaba, a neighbourhood in northern Cairo, on Tuesday.

Imbaba is also one of the places where the revolution started and where the second round of the referendum will be held this weekend.

Amr was carrying a banner reading “No to the Brotherhood constitution of privilege and oppression” and was distributing leaflets to people during the march.

Under the slogan “Yasqut yasqut hokm el morshed” ("Down, down the leaders!"), young activists explained to people in the neighbourhood just why they were saying “no” to the new law and how it would affect their lives.

 

 

Beyond the Islamist nature of the constitution – which will erode some core civil rights and liberties, especially for women – other social issues are cause for concern, such as health, education, labour rights and housing.

Opponents staged demonstrations in various areas of Cairo, and some were involved in clashes with the police.

Over 2,000 protesters gathered outside the Presidential Palace calling on President Mohamed Morsi to step down and a few gathered in the capital’s iconic protest hub Tahrir Square.

“The constitution does not ensure any freedom of association and right to collective bargaining for the workers, and this prevents any social demand", says Raed, a high-school teacher who joined the tent of the new Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, placed right in the centre of Tahrir Square.

"This is essential for us, especially since the government does not foresee minimum wages”.

According to the National Salvation Front opposition coalition there were widespread voting violations last Saturday. The electoral commission rejected any accusations of irregularities but promised a proper investigation.

Most of Egypt’s judges also accused the Brotherhood of trying to undermine their independence.

Over 10,000 judges boycotted the first round of voting on 15 December and the next day about 1000 top judges announced that they would boycott supervision of the second round this Saturday.

The government obtained a 57 per cent “yes” vote in the first part of the referendum, but that was much less than the Muslim Brotherhood had hoped for.

Morsi’s government assured Egyptians that once the constitution is passed, national elections will take place early next year, in order to bring stability to the country.

 

Controversy

The draft constitution, however, is not the only issue being debated these days between the government and the opposition.

The new trade union forces are unhappy about the way the government has handled an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a US$4.8 billion loan to Egypt, as civil society and labour organisations have so far been excluded from the talks.

Given the current political situation – the unionists claim – the government does not have enough legitimacy to sign an agreement for which it will not bear any consequences, since these are conveyed to future governments and generations.

“The executive and legislative powers are accumulated in the hands of the president in the absence of a parliament and a constitution, which regulates the relationship between the three authorities and ensures Egyptians political, civil, economic and social rights,” reads a document issued by the Democratic Labour Congress and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions.

In particular, it was announced that the loan would be used to bridge the budget deficit, without any investment in economic and social development.

This would prevent the economic recovery Egypt so desperately needs, as unemployment has now reached 12.6 per cent, and of that figure 78 per cent are under 29 years of age.

Also, the unions claim that reorganising priorities of public spending should not lead to a reduction of services.

“We should recall what came about with a program agreed by the IMF in the early nineties to cut spending on services, in particular health and education, [which deprived] millions of Egyptians of their right to healthcare as well as the collapse of the education system.”

Not surprisingly, these polices have led to a high unemployment and extreme socio-economic imbalances, which were among the core reasons for the uprisings in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab region.