12) EGYPTIAN COMMUNISTS BACK ANTI-REGIME PROTESTS

     As this issue of People's Voice goes to press, sharp political struggles continue in Egypt, where the democratic and progressive goals of the uprising against the Mubarak regime are under pressure by the Morsi government.

     The Egyptian Communist Party, which was finally able to function legally after the 2011 uprising, issued a statement on Jan. 31, titled "Continuing the Revolutionary Struggle against Opportunism and Forces of the Fascist Religious Right."

     The Party reconfirms that it will to struggle "within the ranks of the poor, workers, peasants and all the toilers of the Egyptian people, in the heart of which are the revolutionary free youth... and within the ranks of the true revolutionaries who are demanding to complete the march of the revolution until achieving its demands for which it started (Freedom ‑ Dignity ‑ Social Justice)."

     The Communists are taking part in demonstrations, including the huge February 1 rally in Cairo, to oppose the Muslim Brotherhood regime, and to demand early presidential elections and action to achieve the goals of the revolution.

     They oppose calls for "dialogues" with reactionary forces which are responsible for the bloodshed in the streets, and for the new constitution which enshrines social and religious discrimination and robs the working class and the poor of their right to health, education and housing.

     The Egyptian regime, the Communists stress, is responsible for violence, arrests, kidnappings and killings of revolutionaries, and for the economic, social, political and security deterioration of the situation in the country. For this reason, the Party opposes opportunist attempts to save the authority of the ruling class, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is "a brutal authority of a fascist and authoritarian type."

     The statement calls on all civil forces and supporters of the revolution to unite around the demands for "freedom, dignity, social justice, and retribution for the blood of the martyrs."

(The following articles are from the February 15-28, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)