I spoke to al-Messiri briefly a few minutes ago — he confirmed the appointment but declined to give me an interview before Kifaya drafts its new policy next week. (Watch this space.) I haven’t been reading a lot of Arabic newspapers for the past week so it’s quite possible I missed coverage in Arabic, but the Daily Star and other English-language outlets have not really grasped the potential significance of al-Messiri’s appointment.
Last month, Kifaya, a rag-tag collection of socialist, Nasserist, anti-globalisation and human rights activists, held a protest on to celebrate its two-year anniversary. As per usual, a small number of demonstrators were pinned down to the Press Syndicate building, outnumbered by Central Security Forces by at least five to one. The protest was a far cry from the founding outing of Kifaya, on 12 December 2004, which marked the birth of the first overtly anti-Mubarak non-violent movement. Although that protest was even smaller, it was groundbreaking in that it was Egypt’s first movement that overtly campaigned against President Hosni Mubarak’s re-election and against the prospect of an inheritance of power scenario for his son Gamal.
Over the next year, Kifaya jolted the Egyptian political class out of its complacency and pushed back the margins for political activity. Its message, that Egyptians had enough (“kifaya” in Arabic) of poor governance and one-man rule, reverberated across the country and was partly embraced by Egypt’s traditionally cautious opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood and liberal parties such as al-Ghad.
Fast forward two years later and Kifaya seems to be heading nowhere. Its primary goal, preventing Mubarak’s re-election, has clearly failed and Gamal Mubarak’s ascendancy continues. Kifaya never reached enough critical mass to become a genuine popular movement, with the same activist faces seen at most protests. It has tried to widen its campaign to include social issues such as rising prices, unemployment and poverty, but to no avail. Neither political party nor underground revolutionary movement, Kifaya has stagnated.
In early December, Egyptian newspapers reported that at least seven senior figures in the movement quit over what they say is the dominance of Kifaya by a few personalities. While this will have a negative impact on its organisational efforts, core Kifaya members are frequently members of several groups and may redirect their efforts towards other activities, such as supporting activists or taking an interest in opposition party politics, since several left-wing parties are expected to undergo a change of leadership early next year. Another alternative is the establishment of new specialized institutions, such as the “Union of the Unemployed” created in mid-December, that campaign on specific issues.
It will be interesting to see what al-Messiri’s leadership brings to Kifaya.
Also read: a 1999 profile of al-Messiri by Fayza Hassan.
this is good news.
I know that al-Messeri is one of the leaders of the (still unrecognized) Wasat Party, and played a role in drafting its impressive and detailed platform, and that the Wasat guys are on good terms with Karama. Just curious if anyone knows how the Nasserists see al-Messeri because of his scholarly interests?
Issandr This is a good overview of Kefaya since its inception in 2004; unfortunately kefaya is ceasing to be as effective as its initial promise held out to be because it is right now operating on a one-point agenda namely, Mubarak’s ouster.I liked its anti-Zionist program but its charter says nothing beyond that, and unless Kefaya come up with a definite social and political program seeking to reverse more than a quarter of a century’s failures of infitah and toadying to the US imperialism-Zionism nexus, there will be nothing to distinguish between kefaya and say, the Nasserists and Karama.Also, it is very important to connect with other movements like the trade-unions and fellahin.And to involve young people, including women in its ranks as well as leadership, in order to revive the left in Egypt.I get the feeling kefaya has not yet decided whether to become a movement or just another political party.
There is no lack of inspiration though.I have wanted to comment before on this, and I will take the liberty to do so now, but posts on the remarkable transformations in Latin America are surprisingly missing here.Given the fact that Hugo Chavez has achieved so much for his people in the last 7 years, as well as making the Cuban Revolution relevant once again, and the recent elections of socialists Evo Morales in Bolivia and Rafael Correa in Ecuador, such amnesia is uncalled for.And Latin America is the only region – apart from post-communist Eastern Europe of course – which was the laboratory for the neoliberal dcotrines of Milton Friedman and brought nothing but the dictatorship of capital for almost 2 decades…and now, finally, the people of Latin America are asserting themselves once again, especially the indigenous people, and challenging imperialism’s attempts to destroy their new-found freedom.
So I think if Kefaya is to make itself – and left-wing politics by extension – relevant to Egypt and the larger Arab world again, they will have to make links with other social movements, sections of the dispossessed as well as the communists, who are weak but have a history of working with trade unions.One should also look at how Hezbollah and the Lebanese Communist Party are working together to challenge the regime of the US stooge Fuad Siniora in Lebanon.These shoud be very educative experiences for newly emerging social movements who want to challenge the status quo and move towards a secular, people’s alternative.
Hello,
That Kefaya has no publicised agenda is a myth that doesn’t stop circulating no matter how many times it is challenged. Personally, I aduce this persistence to a deeply entrenched feeling of terror of confrontation with the regime widespread in Egyptian society, which is understandable enough, but this means that often those who can’t confront that truth about themselves, need face-saving excuses – such as ‘Kefaya has no clear agenda’, and a dozen others in a similar vein – to explain their non-action/participation.
In any case, Kefaya’s political agenda is posted on their website for anyone who bothers to look, (in English too! http://www.harakamasria.org/node/2944). Basically this ‘manifesto’ boils down to calling for action to achieve political reforms, particularly those related to democracy, political freedoms and virtually unlimited Presidential power, culminating in the “Conduct[ing of] fair and real parliamentary elections under the supervision of the Supreme Judicial Council and State Council for all steps, from citizen registration to the publication of the election results.”
As a coalition of activists stemming from widely differing parties and movements (including liberals, nasserists, communists and Islamists) who came together to fight for democracy, I find this a solid-enough platform from which to work. They are NOT a political party and so don’t need a party-style program.
Issandr, I agree completely that Kefaya needs a boost of some sort, otherwise it will simply dissolve; it’ll be interesting to see whether or not Messiry is the ticket.
Ihab
just a quick note on Chavez: I long was ambivalent about him, but unless the stories I’m reading are extremely biased, I’m tempted to say he’s pulling a Mubarak with his constitutional amendments. Just because he’s anti-Bush doesn’t mean he’s one of the good guys.
Issandr, depending upon what sources you read, Chavez has done some extremely laudable things for the ordinary Venezuelan people.And he is no dictator, because he has won 3 referendums, and has been re-elected a second time by a greater percentage of the vote than the first time in 1999.Obviously the NY Times has an agenda in distorting the truth in what the ordinary man has acheieved in Venezuela.For example, Venezuela is the only developing country certified by the UN as having met its Millennium Development Goal of eradicating illiteracy by 2012.And what do you make of the fact that Chavez’s accomplishments have made the Cuban Revolution relevant again to the vast majority of Latin America’s oppressed???
Having lived so many years under the vile dictatorship of Mubarak has understandeably clouded your judgement to an extent that you now compare a hideous dictator like Mubarak to a democrat like Chavez, who has been repeatedly elected by his people and even survived a failed coup attempt organized by Caracas’ oligarchy in collusion with Washington.
And by the way, WHAT is YOUR definition of a “good guy”?people like Ayman Nour and Saadeddin Ibrahim, who merely want to continue the same policies that have brought disaster to the poor in Egypt, under a different mask????
PS Chavez’s achievements have been meticulously documented by long-time observers Richard Gott and Steve Ellner but if you are looking for a potted history and don’t have time for academic tomes, check out Tariq Ali’s recently launched PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN.
I’m not denying his achievements (made possible with oil money), the coup attempt or the fact that he’s been popularly elected, but this business about lifting term limits on the presidency stinks. Is that worth the real benefits he has brought low-income Venezuelans? Not so sure.