Saturday, September 7, 2013

First They Came For The … "Updated"

Do you remember when I told you that there were not so good news on Thursday other than the bomb targeting the minister of interior and the arrest of Sinai journalist Ahmed Abu Daraa ??
Well the other bad news is the arrest of leading Revolutionary Socialists member and labour rights lawyer Haitham Mohamadein on Thursday afternoon in Suez. According to tweep Gharib , he was forced to leave the bus he was taking at a police checkpoint because he is a bearded man at first.
Mohamadein in a public meeting for Revolutionary socialists
After inspection , he was detained because they found with him so-called political pamphlets aka “The Socialist” Newspaper !! It is worth to mention that according to law , lawyers can not be inspected except by a permission from the prosecution.
Mohamadein was in Suez in order to solve some labor problem in some steel factory. Later the lawyers and activists in Suez said that Mohamadein was being accused of belonging to a secret organization aka the Revolutionary Socialists.
Today Haitham Mohameden was interrogated by a district attorney in Suez who revealed to Mohamadein and his  lawyers that the socialist lawyer was being interrogated by a state security court !!!!!! Yes it seems that Mohamadein is facing a state security trial !!
Lawyer Ramy Ghanem was tweeting from there.
Here are the accusations Mohamadein are facing :
  • Founding and managing the secret organization of the Revolutionary socialists which incites to empower a particular social class over the whole of society and subvert the social systems of the states. “Its headquarter is well known in Giza and its members are also well known. ”
  • Having pamphlets that incite violence. “Their statements and their newspapers.”
  • Attempting to overthrow the government through terrorist acts committed through Revolutionary socialists.
  • Attempting to occupy governmental institutions.
  • Attempting to destroy the state’s properties in order to harm the national security.
Yup we are in 2013 and this is what political activists and labor activists are accused of after June 30 Revolution to end political dictatorship. By the way Mohamadein , a hardcore socialist who was against the Muslim brotherhood was asked if he were a Muslim brotherhood member. 
Updated : Haitham Mohamadein is released on bail , the charges have not been dropped though. 
Yes the Pro-Military Facebook pages and twitter accounts are claiming that the Revolutionary socialists are just another secret branch of the Muslim brotherhood !!!
You must know that there are educated people who believe this crap.
You also must know that the Revolutionary socialists used to collect Tamaroud petitions for God sake. 
Yesterday Army officers on twitter claimed that he had a fight with an army officer for refusing to let the army checkpoint to inspect his car and insulted him !! FYI Haitham Mohamadein is extremely polite person and does not get in to fights in general.
Ironically the tale of the twitter Army officers contradicts with the facts I mentioned above and enforced by the official legal reports in the police station not to mention Haitham Mohamadein does not own a car in the first place.
Anyhow some people online are buying the army officers’ tale including friends because activists are bad and Haitham is from the useless revolutionary socialists as they say. Yes some people got a huge problem with the revolutionary socialists.
Some people want Haitham and other revolutionary socialists to be sent to jail because  they do not like them and because they are socialists.
Unlike those people from twitter activists , Haitham is from the real activists that truly work on the ground with the true Egyptian working class from farmers and workers regardless of their ideologies and regardless of what you think about him. 
Some believe that Haitham Mohamadein was being targeted after appearing Al Jazeera Mubshar Misr earlier Thursday in a recorded video where he criticized General Abdel Fatah and described him as the leader of the counter of revolution.
Of course some also believe that Mohamadein should be sent right away to jail for this and for defending the detainees who were arrested following Rabaa sit in dispersal.
Today the revolutionary socialists and other activists as well protesters had a small protest at the Supreme court in Cairo and they had to move it to the small staircase of journalists syndication after they were attacked by honorable citizens who called them traitors !!
Yes political activists and protesters in Egypt are back to the staircase of journalists syndicate after rocking Tahrir square.
By the way yesterday the security forces arrested a man that makes Yellow T-Shirts with Rabaa’s logo and today the security forces announced that they arrested a dozen MB members and confiscated a laptop. They found anti-El Sisi songs on that laptop.
Today also I found that the prosecutor general has ordered the state security prosecution to investigate a bunch of public and political figures “mostly from the Pro 25 January revolution icons and activists like Wael Ghonim, Amr Hamzawy , Nawara Negm , Wael Abbas, Ahmed Maher , Wael Nawara and Ghada Shabander ” for US direct funding based on deliberate mistranslated Wikileaks cables.
The original Wikileaks cables speak about tea parties and talks between the embassy officials with those figures but Egyptian News websites are speaking about direct funding !!
Ironically the Tamaroud Nasserite boys told the German minister of foreign affairs that they did what Germany should had done from stopping the Nazism , well I am afraid they do not realize that we are on the verge of having another Nazism. “Of course they do not mind as long as Nasser is back in a new reincarnation. Damn Nasser did not allow political or expression’s freedom except cheap nationalism and presidential cult to flourish that led to a defeat in 1967. This is what the Nasserites actually want.”
In the end the words of Martin Niemöller echo in my mind nowadays.
First they came for the communists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.Then they came for the socialists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists,and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.Then they came for me,and there was no one left to speak for me.

20 comments:

  1. It seems highly probable that Haitham Mohamadein was arrested to stop him from helping the Suez Steel workers in their strikes and ongoing issues.

    The interim gov and the military are making a serious mistake by disregarding Egypt's history of strikes and labor activisim in causing political change. Recall 2008 and 2011.

    Probably also some don't like the way the RS have challenged the graven image known as al-Sisi.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the way things appear to go , Zeinobia you should be very careful. The quote of Neimoller might not be that far fetched If they are going after true brave people like Nawara, I think we are going into a very dark tunnel. As much as I hate the MB and any faction that talks in the name of God, will the time come when I regret that I supported the ousting of Morsi ? I wonder.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pastor Neimuller was very correct that if we do not stand up against evil then evil will come and get us and indeed in the case of the MB they went after the Jews and their properties and remember the 1952 Cairo fire? and now they are trying to get rid of the Egyptian Church and the Copts and who will me next? let me help you it would be the Shia then the Sufis and then women and guess who will be next? Moderate, liberal and secular Muslims

      And when the MB is done with all these groups they will turn against each other

      Morsi was a liar a terrorist and criminal and he had to go

      So what is the way out? Egypt must have a man made constitution and not a 7th century constitution that will enshrine equality of all Egyptians believers and non believers, men and women and allows every one to have his day in court and get religion 100% out of politics. There should be an effective police force and justice system to protect every Egyptian and until this happens do not expect that the military will not go after even you

      Delete
    2. I don't know where you get your info from but I believe you are a total baka.

      Delete
    3. Ahmad who really has nothing better to say wrote

      >I don't know where you get your info from

      What "info" (sic)? Oh that Morsi is a liar and a terrorist and a criminal? or is it that Neimuller was very correct? Now you tell me as in proving me wrong

      >but I believe you are a total baka.

      I read this as you either cannot prove me wrong or you have no clue about what i really meant right? so which one is it? you tell me

      And what is a total baka? I'm just curious

      For the readers: Neimuller eternal words are very true that we all have to stand up for evil and case in point in the terrorist Assem abd el-Maged and his gang of el-ikhwan el-mugrimeen (I do not call them the Muslim Brotherhood any more because they have nothing to do with Islam) that are terrorizing the Copts of Delga this is what you need to do Ahmad

      Delete
  3. When so many soldiers are dying every day fighting for our daily freedoms, and the armed forces are the only shield defending us all patriots must support them. Those attacking them publically are nothing but fifth columnists and traitors.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where did I hear this words before?!
      Ah, this was pro-coup slaves in syria, iraq, ...

      Delete
    2. So do you support terrorists yousf that killed policemen and military recruits? A yes or no answer would do

      Delete
  4. So, how are the current policies supposed to be enhancing security? It seems that the threat of violence from both state terrorism and al Qaida style attacks are as bad as ever for recent years. The more “security” is used as a catch-all to halt and reverse everything else, the less security their actually appears to be. Perhaps this is because some of those in power are using circular reasoning as to the relation between cause and effect.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Let me fix what you are saying; circular reasoning really means as an example: the Bible and the Qur'an say that God is one therefore God must be one because the Bible and the Qur'an say so and now you have the circle

    Cause and effect really means: I have streptococci bacteria in my throat (cause) and therefore I have sore throat (effect)

    Now would you like to tell us again what you wanted to say?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Going to have to split this reply into two parts. Part 1:

      That isn’t fixing it; it is just shifting to another topic. The circular reasoning of militarist and dictatorial scam artists is to inflame a given problem and then to step in as the supposed solution to that problem. It is circular reasoning since the rhetoric of such individuals assumes that the only solution to the problem is found in those who do everything possible to sustain and perpetuate the existence of the issue. They continuously argue that policies which worsen the problem must never be abandoned because to do so allegedly will allow the problem to expand unchecked.

      Patriotic and nationalist fairy tales and conspiracy theories are another staple of such behavior. Funnily, many who have moved out of religion will buy into patriotism, nationalism, or militarism.

      Some examples of autocrats, military true believers, and even politicians in democratic states selling themselves and their policies and being permanently necessary to maintain in the face of some boogie man.

      I will start with the most recent and sickening:

      1. Egypt: “Haitham Mohamadein is a terrorist, a lover of the Muslim Brotherhood, a foreign agent of the communist USA (LOL – can religion match that?), a secret conspirator of the Judeo-Muslim alliance against Egypt to perpetuate Zionism, Judaism, Islam, and Americanism.”

      To those who believe that Haitham Mohamadein deserves arrest: grow up. The charges against him are like a litany of ideas put forward by people that refuse to take responsibility for their own actions.

      “Elbaradei is a secret member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He could not possibly have objected to the August massacres out of a belief that violence begets violence because those at the sit-ins are terrorists, evil, and condemned to hell. He was sent by the USA, Germany, and others to divide Egypt and promote the secession other various provinces.”

      Never mind the fact that Elbaradei clearly has a long record of being one of the MB’s most vocal critics. Never mind the fact that he clearly does not hate his country and has had a history of supporting the revolution.

      2. North Korea: Invade South Korea, establish a militarized totalitarian system, constantly provoke other states, and then proceed to use the internal tension to claim:

      “If you don’t support the glorious Dear Leader and the Party, your traitorous actions will enable the evil capitalists to destroy the country! Honest citizens have a duty to accept and endorse the gulags, as well as the utter absence of any semblance of civil liberties.”

      3. The invasion of Iraq:

      “We must invade Iraq. Saddam Hussein’s WMD poses an intolerable threat to world peace.” -> Invasion, followed by insurgency and upswing in terrorist recruitment.

      “We must maintain military forces in Iraq. Cut and run, surrender, and retreat will all embolden the terrorists! You want them to win?!?”

      4. Snowden/NSA issue:
      -> The actions of the NSA are increasingly exposed, it is increasingly revealed that an effort to establish a system of massive, unconstitutional global surveillance has been underway for many years, and Snowden flees to Hong Kong and then to Russia.

      “The NSA wasn’t spying on Americans! Don’t believe the evidence proving that it did! Other countries do it too! Snowden committed treason, loves Russia, loves Venezuela, loves Cuba!”

      5. Obama’s origins:
      “Obama is a Kenyan Muslim. He is a Manchurian candidate tasked with tearing out the core of the United States.” It is hilarious that some in Egypt actually believe that the people who peddle that idea somehow like them. The reality: those who argue Obama is a Muslim absolutely despise Egypt and hate most people in the region, be they Muslim or atheist. It is not logical to imbibe their junk and act like it is somehow helpful to Egypt or to liberal Muslims.

      Delete
    2. Part II:

      Whether religion is useful or useless does not change the fact that modern military and especially intelligence establishments have, to a great extent, became pawns and tools in the con game for enriching particular elites.

      Religious fanaticism and stone age militarism are simply closely related manifestations of the same general mentality. If you believe the charges against Haitham Mohamadein, you can be made to believe anything. The two aspects of this mentality often overlap. A great many of these military and “intelligence” leaders are themselves religious fanatics.

      The idea that violence can be a tool of progress is a fantasy.

      Conformist worship of militarism based on “patriotism” is even more pathetic than extreme religious fanaticism.

      It is not the case that the Revolutionary Socialist movement is a clandestine ally of the MB.

      It is not the case that those who want to keep a backwards army out of politics and judicial proceedings must invariably like the MB.

      Arguing that any critic of these developments is a religionist is akin to a fundamentalist claiming that everyone outside of his sect is a not a member of his religion.

      It is basically the fundamentalist religious mentality transferred to a secular cause. We have, of course, seen so many times where that leads.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous: all i did is I explained to you what circular reasoning and cause and effect really mean and I did ask you to restate what you wanted to say because you did not make any sense so we mortals can understand what you are trying to say and all we readers got is a long winded answer that got us mortals no where so i would say to you:

      Wa minkum nastafeed

      I rest my case

      Delete
    4. Quick version then:

      There are still some in positions of considerable influence and power that refuse to employ any kind of self-reflection as to why the security situation is problematic. They keep wanting to push policies that have in the past been seen to deterioriate security rather than increase it. However, this very deterioration is then used as a rationale to tighten the original repressive policies further. That is a deliberately created cycle.

      Circle reasoning involves using a conclusion or premise to "prove" arguments in favor of the conclusion. By disingenously trying to heat up security threats beyond their normal form (in this case, the conclusion), they proceed to argue that accepting high levels of collateral damage and implementing arbitrary and irregular judicial procedures is a must (the arguments which pertain to the conclusion which, incidentally, can encourage militancy).

      Perhaps it doesn't perfectly fit how the phrase is used by philsophers and logicians but the tactic clearly exists. Many governments do employ such techniques to deliberate create a climate of panic among their citizenry.

      It is not necessary to accept enormous amounts of collateral damage to tackle the challenge of terrorism. And it definitely is not good to use the issue of terrorism as a means of restricting labor activism.

      My main original point, regardless of whether those phrases fit or not, is that some actions have recently been taken which at best replace the danger of non-state terrorism with a form of dangerous threat emanating from the state itself. Basically, the arrests mentioned in the blog post are cases of that.

      Delete
    5. "we"? You seem to believe that you occupy more space than you actually do, Lukey boy. Still doesn't give any more weight to your pseudo-intellectual and orientalist ramblings on religion though. You might get the hang of it eventually

      Delete
    6. Anonymous wrote

      >Quick version then:

      Thank God

      >There are still some in positions of considerable influence and power that refuse to employ any kind of self-reflection as to why the security situation is problematic. They keep wanting to push policies that have in the past been seen to deterioriate (sic) security rather than increase it. However, this very deterioration is then used as a rationale to tighten the original repressive policies further. That is a deliberately created cycle.

      No this is in Latin ad hoc (look this one up) but this speaks volumes for the quality of the present leadership in Egypt which is not good

      Now do you get it?

      And sure state terrorism in the long term is more dangerous than terrorism committed by the likes of the terrorist Assem Abd el-Maged so you make a good point here

      Delete
    7. Anonymous who seems to have a fragile ego wrote

      >we"? You seem to believe that you occupy more space than you actually do, Lukey boy. Still doesn't give any more weight to your pseudo-intellectual and orientalist ramblings on religion though. You might get the hang of it eventually

      I read this as you really have no answer and this is what ad hoc response is all about

      Now do you get it?

      Delete
    8. Much is ad hoc but the more problematic policies might be more accurately described as having been designed with certain scenarios foreseen in advance, like envisioning potential chess moves. Yet the intended reaction to these scenarios is not positive as it helps the wrong forces to gain strength.

      I maintain that the examples given in the earlier reply, though lengthy, bear similarities to the kind of climate that certain forces are working to try to create and show precedents for the patter, whatever it may be called.

      Seems that there is some room for cautious optimism about the constitution, though. Some potential appears to exist that liberty rather than the false kind of security will be focused on.

      I posted the reply that starts with “Quick version then” but not the following one.

      Delete
    9. I agree. However, if Egyptians did not learn some thing from their disastrous experience with the el-Ikhwan el-Mugrimeen (which should be declared as a terrorist group) then I have no hope for the future in Egypt.

      The moral of the story here is never mix religion with politics

      Delete
    10. Moral of the story here is that you, a white foreigner with no relation to the region, has no place to dictate what amount of religion the natives should or shouldn't have in their politics. Like I said before, you seem to think you occupy more space than you actually do. And your ramblings about ikhwan and islamism are indicative of your orientalism and racism. Of course this isn't about Egyptians at the end of the day, it's just about your savior complex. Sorry, but nice try.

      Delete

Thank You for your comment
Please keep it civilized here, racist and hateful comments are not accepted
The Comments in this blog with exclusion of the blog's owner does not represent the views of the blog's owner.