"We don't expect anything from Obama, who we regard as a great hypocrite"

[the_future_modernes]

Interview with Hossam el-Hamalawy:Professor Mark LeVine interviews journalist and blogger Hossam el-Hamalawy on the situation in Egypt.

Mark LeVine:

In Tunisia the labour unions played a crucial role in the revolution, as their large and disciplined membership ensured that protests could not be easily quashed and gave an organisational edge. What's the role of the labour movement in Egypt in the current uprising?

Hossam el-Hamalawy:

The Egyptian labour movement was quite under attack in the 1980s and 1990s by police, who used live ammunition against peaceful strikers in 1989 during strikes in the steel mills and in 1994 in the textile mill strikes. But steadily since December 2006 our country has been witnessing the biggest and most sustained waves of strike actions since 1946, triggered by textile strikes in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla, home of largest labour force in the Middle East with over 28,000 workers. It started because of labour issues but spread to every sector in society except the police and military.

As a result of these strikes we've managed to get 2 independent unions, the first of their kind since 1957 property tax collectors, including more than 40,000 civil servants, and then health technicians, more than 30,000 of whom launched a union just last month outside of the state controlled unions.

But it's true that one major distinction between us and Tunisia is that although it was a dictatorship, Tunisia had a semi-independent trade union federation. Even if the leadership was collaborating with the regime, the rank and file were militant trade unionists. So when time came for general strikes, the unions could pull it together. But here in Egypt we have a vacuum that we hope to fill soon. Independent trade unionists have already been subjected to witch hunts since they tried to be established; there are already lawsuits filed against them by state and state-backed unions, but they are getting stronger despite the continued attempts to silence them.

Of course, in the last few days the crackdown has been directed against street protesters, who aren't necessarily trade unionists. These protests have gathered a wide spectrum of Egyptians, including sons and daughters of the elite. So we have a combination of urban poor and youth together with the middle class and the sons and daughters of elite.

I think Mubarak has managed to alienate all sectors of society except his close circle of
cronies.
...

Mark LeVine:

What about the role of the US in this conflict. How do people on the street view its positions?

Hossam el-Hamalawy:

Mubarak is the second largest recipient of US foreign aid aside from Israel. He's known to be America's thug in the region; one of the tools of American foreign policy and implementing its agenda of security for Israel and the smooth flow of oil while keeping Palestinians in line. So it's no secret that this dictatorship has enjoyed the backing of US administrations since day one, even during Bush's phony pro-democracy rhetoric. So one should not be surprised by Clinton's ludicrous statements that were more or less defending the Mubarak regime, since one of the pillars of US foreign policy was to keep regimes stable at expense of freedom and civil liberties.

We don't expect anything from Obama, whom we regard as a great hypocrite. But we hope and expect the American people - trade unions, professors' associations, student unions, activist groups, to come out in support of us. What we want for the US government is to completely get out of the picture. We don't want any sort of backing; just cut aid to Mubarak immediately and withdraw backing from him, withdraw from all Middle Eastern bases, and stop supporting the state of Israel.

Ultimately, Mubarak will do whatever he has to do to protect himself. He will suddenly adopt the most anti-US rhetoric if he thought that would help him save his skin. At the end of the day he's committed to his own interests, and if he thinks the US won't support him, he'll turn somewhere else. The reality is that any really clean government that comes to power in the region will come into open conflict with the US because it will call for radical redistribution of wealth and ending support for Israel or other dictatorships. So we don't expect any help from America, just to leave us alone.MORE

Protestors are back on Egyptian Streets: Crowds mass in major cities calling for President Mubarak to step down, as death toll from protests crosses 50.

Protesters are returning to the streets of Egypt, following violent overnight demonstrations across the country staged in defiance of a curfew.

Demonstrators gathered in Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Saturday morning, shouting "Go away, go away!", the Reuters news agency said.

Similar crowds were gathering in the cities of Alexandria and Suez, Al Jazeera's correspondents reported.

In Alexandria, our correspondent Rawya Rageh reported that dozens of marchers were calling on Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak to step down.

"They are calling for regime change, not cabinet change," Rageh said
MORE

Egypt banished from Chinese twitter

Egyptian cabinet set to resign

Thousands protest in Jordan, requesting that the Prime Minister step down

Thousands of people in Jordan have taken to the streets in protests, demanding the country's prime minister step down, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.

In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".

The crowd denounced Samir Rifai's, the prime minister, and his unpopular policies.MORE

Yemen's gov't is calling for dialogue with the opposition in light of thousands of people protesting and demanding that they go away


BTW:This week, over 20,000 Dutch Students protested cuts to Education by their government

On Friday up to 20,000 students took part in a protest against the reduction of government expenditures on education by the Government of the Netherlands.

The protests took place in The Hague, the capital of the country.

Students are unhappy that the funding cuts will increase their spending on education.

On average, they will have to pay three thousand Euros instead of the current 1,700 per academic year over the first three years.

The government measures will also cut student grants.

After the protest a group of participants numbering about 500, gathered outside the parliamentary-governmental complex downtown, where police had to forcibly disperse them.
MORE