Middle East & North Africa

The Arab Revolution brought down several despotic regimes, but due to the lack of a clear revolutionary workers’ alternative, the vacuum was filled by Islamist parties. But once in power, these forces soon began to expose their true reactionary nature, and thus prepared the ground for a second wave of mobilisations.

Two years since the Egyptian revolution and we have seen many killed on the streets of Cairo in clashes between the revolutionary youth and workers and the Islamists of the regime. This is an indication of the situation as it stands today in the Arab world. The revolution brought down the Mubarak and Ben Ali regimes, but did not solve any of the underlying social problems that were the fundamental cause of the revolution. We publish here a statement on the Arab revolution based on a discussion at the International Executive Committee of the International Marxist Tendency from its meeting in January 2013.

On the morning of February 6th, the prominent left wing leader Chokri Belaïd was assassinated in front of his house in Tunis. Thousands have taken to the streets, attacked offices of the ruling Ennahda party, which they consider responsible for the assassination, and a general strike has been called for tomorrow, February 8th. This could be the incident that sparks a much needed second revolution, two years after the overthrow the hated Ben Alí regime.

Anger was simmering on Tahrir Square yesterday as hundreds of thousands poured in to the square to protest against Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Across the square large banners were inscribed with slogans such as “The Muslim Brotherhood has stolen the revolution” and “The Muslim Brotherhood are liars”. Throughout the day a seemingly never-ending stream of marches reached the square from all over the ancient city. In size and radicalism yesterday’s protest was equalled only by those that overthrew the hated dictator Hosni Mubarak in January 2011.

Two funeral processions turned into
mass protests on the streets of Egypt today. Over the last 5 days
thousands of people have taken to the streets in order to protest
against a decree announced by the Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi,
allowing him to rule more or less autocratically. The events have
publicly displayed the true nature of the Muslim Brotherhood who once
claimed to be representatives of democracy in Egypt. At the same time
these events show that none of the contradictions which led to the
revolution have been solved and that under the surface a new wave of
revolution is being prepared.

As fighting has spread into the two
main Syrian cities of Damascus and Aleppo, generally speaking, the mass
movement has greatly ebbed in the last few months giving way to a
guerrilla-like armed struggle lead by the militias of the Free Syrian
Army. So, where is Syria going and what is the revolution, or, quite
arguably, what remains of the revolution, going to produce?

The second round in Egypt’s fraudulent
presidential elections will be taking place on June 16th and 17th. In
the
election, Ahmad Shafiq, one of Mubarak’s old ministers, will face
Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. The Marxists can offer no
support to either of these candidates, both of whom represent the forces
of counter-revolution. However, the Revolutionary Socialists group
(sister organisation to the UK Socialist Workers Party) in Egypt
have decided to do just that and it is a grave mistake.

One of the main features of a
revolutionary situation is the suddenness with which the mood of the
masses can change. The workers learn quickly on the basis of events. And
the events of the last 24 hours (2 June) show that the workers and youth of
Egypt are learning fast.

Much confusion exists on the left as
to the real nature of the Syrian regime because of what it was in the
past.

It is a year since the Syrian masses
rose up against the Assad regime. Since March 2011, the Syrian people
have faced the open brutality of the state in wave after wave of mass
demonstrations, strikes and civil disobedience. These movements arose in
response to the stifling dictatorship, and against the massive
inequality, unemployment and poverty in Syrian society.

Saturday February 11 marks the one year
anniversary of the fall of Mubarak. Summer, Autumn and Winter have
passed since the beginning of the “Arab spring”, and the Egyptian masses
are still taking to the streets. Despite all that has happened over the
past 12 months, nothing has fundamentally changed for the majority of
ordinary Egyptians. There have been a series of victories and defeats
for the workers and youth of Egypt, but now, with the anniversary of the
Revolution, the movement is entering a new phase.