On March 24 the aberrant sentence of an Egyptian court was confirmed, giving the death penalty to 529 political activists of the Muslim Brotherhood. In a «lightning» kangaroo trial, demanded by the Egyptian military government, this court produces the biggest Egyptian capital punishment in modern times, and of the entire world in recent times. The repression is not only against the organization of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) but also dozens of activists on the left are being tried.
This sentence means one of the biggest attacks on democratic rights and the right to protest in history. And under the ridiculous accusation of killing a policeman in the middle of a mass demonstration! And other 1,200 people, including senior leaders of the MB as Mohammed Badie, are being prosecuted on similar charges. In addition to these legal aberrations, there are thousands of detainees for demonstrating against the military government.
If there are still sections of the left who doubt the nature of the Egyptian military government here is the proof. It is a dictatorship which with the false argument that the MB is «terrorist» and «fascist» is massively repressing the popular sectors that have every right to speak out against the military, for the MB or for whoever they want. With this argument dictatorship wants to keep at bay the people to continue ruling for the multinationals, agreeing with the US and Israel and going against its people and the Palestinian people.
With these punishments what the dictatorship aims for is cowing the popular masses and liquidating the revolution started in January 2011 in Tahrir Square and which it came to exceed the government of the Muslim Brotherhood which had hijacked the revolution. It is the counterrevolution that seeks to impose itself to reinstate the military regime, as manifested by Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi presidential candidacy.
But the revolutionary process is still alive, so in February there was a wave of strikes by textile workers and other sectors that put on the ropes the civilian-military government. To the extent that they had to resign to seek a political re-composition. Now they validate this brutal sentence looking to terrorize even more the mass movement. But it may turn against them because it will increase the workers and people’s hatred against this murderous regime.
The Internationalists said at the time that it was a grave error of sectors of the Egyptian left, to endorse the coup and endorse in the military and in their new Government comprising pro-bosses and pro-imperialist political forces and political leaders opposed to the MB. We pointed out that the approval of a majority of the left to the military coup— which legitimized it before the masses— would have a very expensive price. Today we are seeing this sad reality. Neither the military government nor the MB, but only the people, its workers, women and the revolutionary youth mobilized and in power, can achieve the fundamental changes that have been raised since the revolution began in 2011.
The internationalist socialists, members of the Coordinating Committee (IWU–FI / ILC) reiterate that we have no political consensus with the Muslim Brotherhood, because it does not represent the revolution, on the contrary, it is a reactionary Islamist bourgeoisie apparatus trying to liquidate the revolution for their own interests. But we reject the death sentence of hundreds of political prisoners and demand its cancellation and the immediate release of the 529 and of all political prisoners in Egypt. We do not grant any rights to this murderous dictatorship to judge anyone. It will the working people and youth, who started the revolution, who will try former President Mursi, and also these military murderers who claim to speak on behalf of the revolution when they are agents of the counterrevolution.
We call on workers and the youth of the world to join all popular, democratic sectors, and of the Arab left that repudiate this aberrant death sentence of hundreds of political prisoners. We call to promote statements, petitions and all kinds of unitary actions demanding the repeal of the death sentence and freedom of all political prisoners in Egypt. We also call on the international left, which still supports the military dictatorship, to withdraw its recognition of the dictatorship and move to support the youth and the Egyptian people in their fight against the military government.
Down with the death sentences of 529 protesters!
Freedom to all political prisoners!
Down with the civil-military dictatorship of Egypt!
Coordinating Committee IWU–FI / ILC
International Workers Unity–Fourth International (IWU–FI)
International Liaison Committee (Lucha Internacionalista [Internationalist Fight], Spanish State – İşçi Demokrasisi Partisi [Democratic Workers Party], Turkey)
28 March 2014
