Egyptian Chronicles: The 5th of september "1"

Remember Remember the 5th of September

Today is the 25th anniversary of Egypt's biggest political arrests in the modern history better known in our national political history as Septembers arrests . For those who don't know ,the last couple of years in President Sadaat's life "died or was assassinated on the 6th of October 1973" were very tough on both him and the people.

The majority of the political parties in Egypt were and are still against Camp David Peace treaty with Israel .
Egypt was isolated in the Arab World.
the American administration promised President El-Sadaat with welfare to Egypt as a result of Peace ;a welfare that didn't come.
Israel hit Iraq ,People got more angrier.
There was a ghost of division between Muslims and Christians for the first time appearing and it appeared so ugly and frightened
of course the Jenny that turned on his master , the Islamist groups became a dangerous time bomb that was going to explode sooner especially the Islamic Revolution Mania of Khomeini gave the hope of ruling the state!!

All these factors were tough burden on El-Sadaat , I don't give him an excuse for what he did , but it is good to understand the factors and conditions Egypt or the Egyptian administration was facing those days. Now under all these external and internal pressure El-Sadaat seemed to lose control and patience , it was the real Autumn of Anger like famous writer Hassenuin Haikal described in his famous book. Wise El-Sadaat who was known for his using the suitable words for the suitable moments began to lose his control in public appearance whether in Parliament Speeches where he described an old cleric Muslim man to be in Jail like a dog , or press conferences when he answered an American journalist question that if it hadn't been for democracy that Egypt was having then and President El-Sadaat believed in ,he would have shot him dead !! El-Sadaat was losing his touch , he was going to his end , all the indicators were referring that something big was going to happen ,you know the pressure theory , the pressure that will lead to the explosion ,it is the same way, and it led to the end ,a bloody end in the month of October

Now to the September arrests , El-Sadaat was having enough criticises from the parties inside Egypt ,All parties are against Camp David , the Nassirites can't stand him since very long time and now they got a chance , same thing for the communists who were taking advantage from the terrible economic conditions, the Muslim brotherhood were playing with the fire ,one day with him ,the other day against him , the Egyptian Orthodox Church began to complain , it was so noisy for him and thus someone in the regime I think suggested that all those opponents to be hosted in jails till Sinai would return on the next 25th April then ,I would like to remind now that we are in late August , who suggested this terrible suggestion concerning the hospitality in Jails no one knows ,everyone in the decision making class then is blaming the other , everyone is a saint , Jehan El-Sadaat is blaming El-Nabway Ismail , the interior minister then , and the later yesterday on TV declared his innocence and it was El-Sadaat fault , it is easy for him to say that when El-Sadaat was killed from 25 years
On the night of the 3rd and 4th of September 1981 1351 persons were arrested and sent to jails , the majority was from the Islamist side ,then from the left communist wing , 400 members from "The National Progressive Unionist " party were arrest , 43 women were arrested . Those 1351 were from all social classes ,from all political parties and views ,from all ages and jobs ,it was like that the mini-Egypt was in Jail. The public official announcement was on the 5th of September.To give example here are some names

From The Liberal political parties : Fouad Basha Serg El-Din , the ex-interior minister before the Revolution ,the head of the new Wafad party , already he was very old man , his name was added because in one of his private conversation with a friend which were all recorded ,he described El-Sadaat as Louis the 19th as Nabawy Ismail said

From the Nasserite political parties : Hamadin Sabahi , Fathy Radwan , Husseinein Haikal , the famous writer and journalist ,the close friend to president Nasser ,he was added because he was glorifying the Iranian revolution then as Nabawy Ismail said !!

From the left wing ,most of it , the list included names like Abu El-Ezz El-Hariri, Ahmed Fouad Nagm, Shekih Emam ,Fouad Hadad ,Lotfy El-Kholi,Khalid Mohi El-Din , from the ladies , Nawal El-Sadawy,Raga El-Naksh,Shanda Makld, Amina Rashid , Awtaf Abd El-Rahman and Safinz Kadam despite that she considered herself from the Islamist side

From the Islamist wing "The political peaceful one then " most of the Muslim brother hood members Moktar Noah, Omar El-Talmsany, Mohamed Abd El-Quods ........etc

From the Christian side from the first time ,it included Christian religious men too ,already Pope Shounda was sent to exile by the orders of President Sadaat to El-Natroon Vally monastery ,and another Pope was appointed !! despite the Pope in the Egyptian Orthodox Church is elected by the Church board in Alexandria !!

The problem is most of the 1351 didn't have clue why they were sent to Jail at all , they didn't do anything wrong , in fact many of them hadn't anything with Politics ,it was very random operation , in Assoyt a college student in the faculty of Pharmacy was arrested because his name was the same as the head of an Islamic group in the University of Assoyt ,ironically this kid was the head of acting team !! Imagine what happened to this innocent young man ,I won't be surprised if I found out that he joined the real terrorist group after that mistake

It turned in to a personal vendetta operation , anyone hates another one , this another one will be added to the list ,for example and this was confirmed by both Makram Mohamed Ahmed ,Chief in editor of El-Mosar magazine and El-Nabawy yesterday on Dream TV, the later ,the interior minister gathered the Chief in editors of all the Egyptian official newspapers and magazines and asked them to write down the names of those who they saw as menace to the regime !! It turned out to some sort of personal vendetta operation,innocent journalist and writers names were written down for revenge . You know I think my Grand father's name may have been among those names because at that time he had a great problem with very famous writer then who is still famous till now unfortunately , yet for some reason ,I guess it is God's mercy he was omitted with some other lucky journalists , as Makram Mohamed Ahmed hinted .

Not only that but the Universities and faculties deans did the same dirty job

It was n't something for Egypt or for Sinai ,it turned out to be a vendetta game

Some people died in jail ,it was not a game , Ex-minister Motaa'z Abu El-Wafa died because of the lack of medical care , it wasn't a fine hospitality as El-Sadaat wanted and Ismail claims now , yes there was no torture in El-Sadaat Era as most people from communists like Poet Nagam and Muslim Brotherhood members like Mohamed Habib says but it still considered a jail , ten people were in every room with no newspapers or radio , a complete isolation to 1351. The Women in the arrests remember very well how they knew the news of El-Sadaat assassination , they knew it from the prostitutes cells beside them as the hookers got radio while they got none and they are great ladies from University professors like Amina Rashid "Professor of French lecture in Cairo University and also a grand daughter of Sadky Bahsa , the PM of Egypt before the revolution , Dr. Awtaf Abd El-Rahman , the Professor of Media and press" ,Journalists like "Safinz Kadam" feminists like "Nawal El-Sadawy" , activitist like "Shanda Maklad" those great ladies got no means of communication with the outside world ,while the hookers got radio !! imagine it

But you know one important thing all those political parties understood very well in this black septemeber of 1981 ,they are all Egyptians in the end , and they all want the best of this country despite their believes and way of thinking. In fact it was the surprise when the security guards with orders from above used to put the communist with the MB member thinking that both would kill each other , they didn't , because for a short period they understood they got a common problem to face that regime