Can the Revolutionary Path Front find a way forward for Egypt?

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With the aim of creating an alternative to the current polarisation between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, a new political movement has been launched in Egypt.

Late last month, around 150 activists from different political backgrounds founded the Revolution Path Front.

According to its founding statement, the group’s aim is “reclaiming the revolution and confronting the counter-revolution”.

Following nationwide protests against President Mohamed Morsi tumultuous year in power, on 3 July, 2013, the Egyptian army ousted Morsi – the country’s first, democratically-elected president since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

Since that time, Egypt has been in turmoil.

Hundreds of people – mostly Brotherhood supporters demanding his reinstatement – have been killed in clashes with the police and army.

And Morsi himself has been held in detention in a secret location.

On 4 November, 2013, he and 14 other senior Brotherhood figures will go to trial for the deaths of seven people during clashes between opposition protesters and Muslim Brotherhood supporters outside the presidential palace in Cairo last year.

The political scene in Egypt has been severely divided between those who support the army, and call for the repression of political Islam, and those who support the Muslim Brotherhood and call for Morsi’s return.

But neither side is willing to admit the failure of both parties in responding to the demands of the Egyptian people.

Political activist, Khaled Abdel Hamid, a founding member of the Revolutionary Path Front, told Equal Times that the movement offers Egyptians another way:

“The military authority and the Brotherhood are the two wings of the counter-revolution.

“We will not ally with the army against the Brotherhood, and we will not ally with the Brotherhood against the army,” he said.

 

Violence

Since the army ousted Morsi, protests have spread all over Egypt, especially after the authorities brutally dispersed two pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August. More than 1000 Brotherhood members and supporters were killed and wounded in the attack, which was supported by many Egyptians.

But despite the violence and uncertainty, almost three years on from the January revolution, many Egyptians feel that none of their demands were met, namely “bread, freedom, dignity and social justice.”

That’s where the Revolutionary Path Front comes in. It is calling for the redistribution of wealth to achieve social justice. It has also pledged to combat political oppression, fight all forms of discrimination, set the path for transitional justice and adopt foreign policies that guarantee Egypt’s sovereignty.

In order to try and achieve its ambitious objectives, the Front is planning to launch a number of campaigns in the coming weeks, according to Abdel Hamid.

One of the campaigns will be based on one of the Front’s first document titled “The Rights of the Egyptian People” which was unveiled at the founding conference.

The document aims to gather one million signatures in support, with the eventual aim of it being included in a future constitution.

It aims to guarantee equality for all Egyptian citizens in everything from decent work to freedom of speech to access to healthcare and education.

The Front has strongly condemned the violence that has threatened to tear Egypt apart but warns that until justice is served, the bloodshed is likely to continue.

In a statement issued recently by the Front commenting on the latest security forces crackdown which saw more than 53 people killed during marches to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 6 October war, it said:

“We condemn the killing and the instigation to violence committed by this regime, and we stress the inevitability of just retribution against all killers – from Mubarak and his gang, to [Mohammed Hussein] Tantawi and his Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, to Morsi and those of his Brotherhood who acted outside the law, to the current regime which continues the killing and has been using incendiary language for month.”

Not a single official has been convicted for any of the violence that has swept Egypt since 2011, but the Revolutionary Path Front says this must be corrected.

“Sooner or later retribution will come, for there can be no hope of stability until there is justice.”