All repressive regimes and those who are subsequent the imperialist powers must go

Labour Party Pakistan statement on mass upsurge in Egypt and Tunisia

The Labour Party Pakistan expresses its solidarity with the masses in Egypt for their daring struggle against authoritarian regimes in Middle East particularly in Egypt which are mostly backed by US-led imperialist powers. We stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people and the mass movement in the streets in these critical moments in their struggle for the ouster of the domineering Mubarak regime.

We salute them for fighting a ferocious regime, which has a notorious reputation for the brutality of its police and security forces that have been responsible for arbitrarily arresting and cruelly torturing government opponents. We support the people’s message that Mubarak must go.

The working people in Egypt have been forced to endure economic hardships and poor living conditions as a result of privatization policies. In Egypt, a devastating IMF program was imposed in 1991 at the height of the Gulf War. It was negotiated in exchange for the annulment of Egypt’s multibillion dollar military debt to the US as well as its participation in the war. The resulting deregulation of food prices, sweeping privatization and massive austerity measures led to the impoverishment of the Egyptian population and the destabilization of its economy.

When Egypt had parliamentary elections only two months ago, they were completely rigged. The party of President Hosni Mubarak left the opposition with only 3 percent of the seats. Now all that is been exposed by the mass upsurge.

The protests have drawn Egyptians from all walks of life, many of whom have never participated in demonstrations and feel that the time has come for them to voice their resentment. In an unprecedented show of civil disobedience and open revolt, young Egyptians have clearly and forcibly delivered a message that is still resonating in the Middle East and North Africa : Authoritarian rule in the region is over.

By calling for the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and unremitting in the face of tear gas, water cannons and baton beatings, young Egyptian men and women have beat back decades of one-party rule, brutal repression against civil liberties, iron-clad control of the media, and corrupt economic policies.

The protesters have been dismantling outmoded forms of governance in which the ruler is considered to be beyond reproach and economic policies are determined by his self-preserving business elite allies.

They are demanding equity in the distribution of wealth, an end to state corruption, greater employment opportunities and a curb to rampant inflation. They are not interested in a change of government – as Mubarak promised on January 28 - and they will not be dissuaded by repeated promises of economic reform and prosperity. They are calling for regime change, not cabinet change. They believe that Egypt’s current socio-economic malaise is rooted in the capitalist political system itself, a system which has not evolved since the first revolution overthrew the King of Egypt in 1952. We are happy that now working class is becoming part of the revolt, a necessary ingredient to overthrow the dictatorship. 1,700 public workers in Suez had gone on an indefinite strike seeking Mubarak’s resignation. We call on the international working class movement to side with the courageous struggle of the working class in Egypt.

The movement is continuing despite all the brutal repressive measures of the regime. Till Sunday 30th January, the number of people killed in protests is reported to be in the scores, with at least 23 deaths confirmed in Alexandria, and at least 27 confirmed in Suez, with a further 22 deaths in Cairo. More than 1,000 were also wounded in Friday’s violent protests, which occurred in Cairo and Suez, in addition to Alexandria.

Both Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali stayed in power because their governments obeyed and effectively enforced the dictates of the IMF. We say that the relationship of « the dictator » to foreign interests must be addressed. We demand on the Egyptian masses that unseat the political puppets but do not forget to target the « real dictators » like IMF, World Bank and American imperialism.

From Pinochet and Videla to Baby Doc, Ben Ali and Mubarak, dictators have been installed by Washington. Historically in Latin America, dictators were instated through a series of US sponsored military coups. In today’s World, they are installed through « free and fair elections » under the surveillance of the « international community ».

No significant political change will occur unless the issue of foreign interference is meaningfully addressed by the protest movement.

We also salute the upsurge of the Tunisian peoples in overthrowing the US backed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, and how their victory has electrified and inspired the people of Egypt and the Middle East, while dictators shake with fear.

Besides Tunisia and Egypt, there are also massive waves of protest sweeping across Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and other parts of the Arab world. These people’s struggles deserve our solidarity.

All repressive regimes and those who are subsequent the imperialist powers must go. The people of Tunisia and Egypt have shown the way and we believe that more nations will follow their footsteps. Like the past revolutions which have brought dramatic change to the world and the ongoing revolutionary struggles in Latin America, the people’s revolution in Tunisia and Egypt will continue to inspire people around the world to revive their fighting tradition and stand up against powerful ruling elites who collude with imperialist powers, and to build a better world from below.

We condemn the conspiracy against struggling masses by the American imperialism to install/ impose again those elements (chips of same stone) having same agenda after the departure of previous corrupt rulers. Urging the masses to continues till the achievement of cherish goal to dislodge the pro imperialist ruling crust and their cronies.

We call on the masses of Pakistan to follow their brothers and sisters of Tunisia and Egypt. We call on the masses of Pakistan to over throw the present pro American imperialist capitalist feudal system and to elect a constituent assembly to do away from pro IMF policies, to separate the state from religion, to dismantle feudalism, end of privatization and a process of re nationalization, to grant right of self determination to the nations, equal rights to the minorities, an end of all discriminatory laws against women and minorities and to demand an end of imperialist occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Labour Party Pakistan calls for :

• No Western interference in Tunisia. The Tunisian people have shown that it is they, and not the Western empires, who know what democracy means.

• The West to stop propping up the Mubarak dictatorship in Egypt, the second largest recipient of US military aid in world (after Israel).

• An end to the ongoing Western military occupation of Iraq, and other Western military interference in the Arab world and the neighboring region, including the occupation of Afghanistan and covert operations in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.

Nisar Shah, general secretary
Farooq Tariq, spokesperson
Labour Party Pakistan