Archive for Revolution Youth Coalition

Revolution Youth Coalition dissolved, members continue public work

by admin
July 7th, 2012

The 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition held a press conference on Saturday at El Sawy Culture Wheel to announce the dissolution of the coalition as a coordinating entity formed in Tahrir Square on 1 February 2011.

The coalition’s mission, it said, ended with the realisation of the most important goal of the revolution — the end of the interim period and the hand over of power to an elected civilian authority. 

Members of the coalition’s executive office, including independents and representatives of member revolutionary movements, attended.

Political activist Sally Toma, an executive officer, opened the conference by talking about how the coalition was established and the details of its first meeting on 24 January 2011.

Toma said the coalition's Facebook page will be shut down tomorrow, and denied it had an account on Twitter.

Activist Nasser Abdel Hamid presented the coalition's summary report, explaining its achievements during the past year and a half, and the developments it witnessed.

The report discussed the relationship between the coalition and the state, represented by the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, Essam Sharaf's cabinet and the General Intelligence Services, as well as the details of meetings with them and an evaluation of that relationship.

It also discussed its relationship with other revolutionary forces and its position on the parliamentary and the presidential elections, as well as various initiatives and mass demonstrations that the coalition called for or participated in.

The report concluded with three messages to the revolution youth, the Egyptian people and the three participants in the formation of a national front, Hamdeen Sabbahi, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, and Mohamed ElBaradei.

The coalition said its members will continue to do public work as independents or as members in other entities.

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Abouel Fotouh visits his Qena campaign to discuss forming party

by admin
June 30th, 2012

Former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh is scheduled to visit Qena Governorate on Saturday to discuss the idea of ​​establishing a political party that includes his supporters.

He is expected to hold an extended meeting at the Muslim Youth Association in Qena with members of his presidential campaign.

Mostafa al-Gales, a member of both the Revolution Youth Coalition in Qena and the campaign to support Abouel Fotouh, said the visit is part of Abouel Fotouh’s ongoing communication with members of his campaign in various governorates.

Gales also referred to Abouel Fotouh's decision to not put himself forward for any public office for the time being.

Abouel Fotouh, a physician and former Muslim Brotherhood member, came fourth in the first round of the recent presidential election. He was renowned for his opposition to both the Sadat and Mubarak regimes.

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April 6 Youth Movement and revolutionary figures agree to continue demonstrations

by admin
June 4th, 2012

The April 6 Youth Movement met Monday with certain former presidential candidates and revolutionary figures and agreed to continue with mass demonstrations on Tuesday in order to complete the demands of the revolution.

In a statement made Monday, the group said all parties present at the meeting agreed to work on lobbying for the political isolation law that would ban candidate Ahmed Shafiq from the presidential race.

Other demands include a retrial for Mubarak and his men, cleansing the judicial system and dismissing the attorney general.

The statement said attendees to the meeting included former presidential candidates Hamdeen Sabbahi, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh and Khaled Ali, as well as MP Essam Sultan, Wasat Party head Abul Ela Mady, and film director Khaled Youssef. Representatives for the Ultras Ahlawy and bloggers also attended.

Earlier in the day, the April 6 Youth Movement, the 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition, the Maspero Youth Union and other groups called for mass protests Tuesday to demand the retrial of officers accused of involvement in the killing of protesters during the January 2011 uprising.

The April 6 Youth Movement was one of the main organizations that promoted anti-Mubarak protests at the beginning of 2011. Massive protests on 25 January sparked a wave of demonstrations that ultimately culminated in Mubarak’s resignation on 11 February 2011.

In recent months, April 6 has been highly critical of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which assumed power after Mubarak. In July, the SCAF accused the group of treason following a planned demonstration in front of the Defense Ministry.

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Protests across Egypt denounce SCAF, former regime ‘remnants’

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April 20th, 2012

Protests took place in the main squares in different governorates around Egypt on Friday to support the demands put forth by protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Numerous political forces, including revolutionary youth groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis had called for massive protests against the military council and remnants of the former regime.

In Alexandria, about 100,000 protesters rallied outside Qaed Ibrahim mosque after Friday prayers and chanted slogans against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, including, "Down with military rule, We are the people — the red line," and "It is hard for the military to rule again, we are the power and we are the people."

The protesters marched to the military area in Sidi Gaber to express solidarity with the demands of protesters across the country.

In Red Sea Governorate, dozens of Hurghada residents staged marches after Friday prayers denouncing the presidential candidacy of members of the former regime and demanding that the amendment to the political rights law banning former regime officials from running for office be applied.

They called for the abolishment of Article 28 of the Interim Constitution which grants the Presidential Elections Commission immunity and the formation of a Constituent Assembly that is representative of the entire Egyptian population, not only certain movement.  

In Aswan, members of the 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition, as well as members of Islamic and other political movements, staged a protest.

Wael Refaat, spokesperson for the 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition in Aswan, said that political and revolutionary forces have united in agreement for the first time since Mubarak’s ouster to demand the reconstitution of the constituent assembly and that members of the former regime be excluded from political life and put on trial.

Banha City in Qalyubia Governorate witnessed a number of protests after prayers in which protesters raised several banners decrying the nomination of former regime officials for president. They also demanded that  the presidential election proceed as scheduled whether a constitution is completed or not so that power will be handed over to a civilian executive as scheduled.

In Suez, hundreds of activists from youth movements and Islamic parties staged a protest in Arbaeen Square to demand that the presidential election be held on time and that the revolution be protected.

Dozens staged a protest in Sadat Square in Arish City, North Sinai to demand the prosecution of Mubarak-era officials.

Marches demanding that the military transfer power to civilian forces were stages in Fayoum.

In Qena, revolutionary coalitions staged a march during which they chanted for the completion of the objectives of the revolution and the exclusion of former regime members from the presidential race.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party staged a protest in Marsa Matrouh also demanding that Mubarak cronies be excluded from political life.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Islamists split over Brotherhood call for protest

by admin
April 13th, 2012

Islamists are divided over whether to participate in a demonstration called for by the Muslim Brotherhood to protest Mubarak regime members’ candidacies in the upcoming presidential election.

The call to protest comes after Omar Suleiman, ex-spy chief under Hosni Mubarak, announced his presidential bid Friday.

Jama’a al-Islamiya, the Islamic Legal Body for Rights and Reform, the Salafi Front and the Salafi-led Asala Party decided to participate. However, the Salafi-led Dawa movement and Nour Party, as well the Sufi orders, decided not to.

The Freedom and Justice Party said in a statement that the protest seeks to join a number of political forces to prevent the return of the ousted corrupt regime.

The Salafi Front spokesperson said a meeting with political and revolutionary powers, including the April 6 Youth Movement and the 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition, has failed “because they insisted on demands such as forming a national salvation government chaired by Mohamed ElBaradei.”

Adel Afify, head of the Asala Party, said his party will participate in the protest to face the remnants of the Mubarak regime, calling the demonstration “a kickoff for a series of protests and sit-ins until Suleiman and ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq are removed from the presidential race.”

The spokesperson of Nour Party’s parliamentary bloc, Ahmed Khalil, said his party will not take part because they were not able to mobilize people because of the limited amount of time.

The Sufi orders will not participate and are instead preparing for another protest on 20 April called for by the April 6 Youth Movement, said Essam Mohie, the general secretary of the Sufi-influenced Egyptian Liberation Party.

Islamist movements hurrying to go down to the streets — particularly after Suleiman’s nomination — proves the protest is a conflict over power, Mohie added.

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Forty political powers to protest ‘monopolization’ of constituent assembly

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March 5th, 2012

Some 40 political powers, coalitions and parties refused the “monopolization of certain political powers” in Parliament to choose the members of the constituent assembly, referring to the fact that Parliament is controlled by Islamists.

In a statement released on Monday, the groups dubbed Parliament’s representation in the assembly as “playing with fire.” A member of the National Association for Change, Takadun el-Khatib, said that representatives from the political powers that signed the statement will hand Parliament Speaker Mohammed Saad al-Katatny a copy of the statement and relay their views regarding the assembly.

Among the groups that signed the statement are the National Association for Change, the Socialist Party of Egypt, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Egypt, the Revolution Youth Coalition, the April 6 Youth Movement and the Ghad al-Thawra Party.

A number of leftist and socialist groups said it is necessary to place standards and principles on the constituent assembly, including that single trend cannot control the assembly.

Socialist Popular Alliance Party leader Abdel Ghafour Shoukr said that the first standard is that the 100-member assembly contains 20 members of Parliament and 80 members from all aspects of Egyptian society elected from popular bodies like trade unions, chambers of commerce and industry. It should also include constitutional law professors, thinkers, the handicapped and Muslim and Christian men of religion.

Egypt needs a modern constitution establishing a state with a democratic regime that ensures the freedom of its citizens according to international covenants and that derives its power from the people through free and periodic elections, Shoukr told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

A statement from the Socialist Party of Egypt said that the assembly formation ensures drafting a constitution that achieves all the aspirations of the Egyptian people and should prevent a certain trend from imposing its political will.

The statement also warned that the Islamists may attempt to control the constituent assembly through nominating representatives who are part of Islamist movements, which would produce a constitution that is not representative of wider Egyptian society.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Hundreds outside Syrian Embassy demand Assad’s fall

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February 17th, 2012

Hundreds of Syrian and Egyptian activists gathered outside the Syrian Embassy in Cairo Friday to call for the end of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Protesters chanted, “Go, leave, let Syria see the light.” They demanded that Assad and his associates be prosecuted for what they said are his crimes against humanity and chanted against China and Russia for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian regime. They also raised banners demanding the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador to Cairo Youssef Ahmed and that the embassy be closed.

The demonstrators marched to the embassy after Friday prayers concluded at Omar Makram Mosque, near Tahrir Square, which is also located near the embassy in the neighborhood of Garden City.

The 25 January Revolution Youth Coalition on Thursday called for a march to support Syrians against what they say are massacres by Assad's regime, and called on the Egyptian government to recognize the opposition Syrian National Council and Free Syrian Army as legitimate representatives of the Syrian nation.

On Tuesday, Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's preeminent institution, called for a swift Arab intervention in Syria to end the crisis, saying that Syrian civilians have the right to defend themselves and their families from attacks.

A group of protesters stormed the Syrian Embassy on 3 February, destroying furniture and setting some parts of the building on fire before security forces contained the situation. The embassy was also broken into on 28 January.

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Revolutionary movements: Accusations against Mamdouh Hamza aim to demonize the revolution

by admin
February 15th, 2012

The accusations directed against engineer Mamdouh Hamza and a number of revolutionaries of incitement and working on bringing down the state are nothing but a smear campaign against revolutionary and patriotic icons, movements and coalitions aiming to demonize the revolution, said the National Association for Change (NAC) and the National Council (NC) on Wednesday.

In a joint statement read against a background of recordings of Hamza calling for people to participate in civil disobedience, the NAC and NC said the accusations were alarming and that those being targeted are only ‘guilty’ of calling for the continuation of the revolution and the completion of its goals.

The statement described the accusations as a “deliberate political and social assassination, aimed at quashing people’s rights to express their opinion and protest against the ongoing security vacuum and the delay in bringing corrupt individuals and killers of protesters to justice.”

The statement continued: “These suspicious campaigns are similar to the tactics of the former regime, as lies are mobilized in the media and through public campaigns in order to turn public opinion against those who called for the revolution and who supported and continue to support revolutionaries.”

The statement noted that this systematic and recurring strategy of “demonizing the revolution and criminalizing the revolutionaries is being used to defame these citizens and paralyze their ability to impact change.”  

The revolution has not yet exhausted all of its options, but there will come a time when civil disobedience is inevitable, as long as there is national support for it, the statement said, adding that the effects of civil disobedience are limited without national consensus.

The NAC and NC accused Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, of “ pitting the people against each other with his statements following the Port Said football massacre.”

The April 6 Youth Movement, Democratic Front, Revolution Youth Coalition, Free Front for Peaceful Change, Youth for Justice and Freedom, Free Egyptians, the Second Revolution of Anger and a number of other movements announced their support and solidarity with Hamza and Kamal Fayoumi, a leading labor activist in Mahalla. They say these figures are being targeted by a smear campaign and fabricated charges as part of a plot to tarnish the reputations of all of those who supported the revolution and continue to fight for its continuation.

The movements accused the SCAF of attempting to abort the revolution, eliminate the revolutionaries and punish the Egyptian people for revolting. 

The movements released a joint statement saying: “The security and media services currently controlled by the SCAF are more oppressive and deceptive than those of the former regime.”

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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