Massive strikes by workers have broken out across Egypt, reports Marcus Halaby. This opens up a new phase of the revolution as Egypt heads towards its first post-Mubarak elections in November.
Marcus Halaby looks at how the growing strike wave, mass demonstrations in Tahrir square and Israeli embassy protests herald a new wave of revolution. Eight months after the fall of Mubarak, Egypt’s newly independent trade unions are now gearing up for their first major challenge to the military government that replaced him. Having its origins […]
In the last days a general strike has rocked Egypt. The strike movement illustrates how the Egyptian revolution is entering a new phase, as workers come to the fore of the struggle to dislodge the military junta from power. Here we publish the statement of the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, who have led […]
The Syrian uprising continues despite the murderous violence from the Assad regime, writes Marcus Halaby
Every revolution is at some stage confronted by a counter-revolutionary struggle. Egypt’s Mubarak and Tunisia’s Ben Ali may have been caught by surprise but the other Arab rulers were forewarned and forearmed in the event that their people rose up too. Marcus Halaby takes an analytical view
In the wake of the Arab Spring, many Palestinian activists are discussing the possibility of a third intifada, by Kady Tait
Revolutionaries and anti-imperialists from across the world will be gathering in Cairo between 3-5 June to discuss the next tasks for the growing rebellions across the Middle East and North Africa, writes John Bowman
Fierce fighting continues across Libya as the revolutionaries struggle to bring down Gaddafi’s regime.
The revolution in Egypt has entered a new phase. New independent trade unions are recruiting tens of thousands and demanding an end to starvation wages and sweatshop conditions. Marcus Halaby and Jeremy Drinkall assess where the movement can go from here
SYRIAN security forces shot dead over 80 protesters on 22 April. They killed another 12 the next day, as the democracy movement attempted to bury its dead. President Bashar al-Assad has opened a river of blood between his regime and the people.
The UN decision to intervene in Libya was not a humanitarian measure to “protect civilians”. It was, first of all, a carefully calculated policy to protect Western interests in the country. Secondly, however, it was a major step towards stabilising the entire region, stemming the tide of rebellion while ensuring the continued rule of Western […]
The rebellion against Gadaffi’s dictatorship deserves unconditional support and that is not altered by the UN decision. Those who oppose powerful states have the right to get hold of arms wherever they can and to take advantage of any weaknesses in their oppressors’ situation. That remains true even where the weaknesses are the result of […]
How will the emerging Arab revolutions affect the struggle of the Palestinian people? Will it help their long battle for national liberation? This question is on the minds of millions throughout the Middle East, where solidarity with the Palestinians remains a key component of popular aspirations. There is no sign yet that the revolutions will […]
From credit crunch to global crisis The fightback begins WHAT STARTED as a credit crunch became a worldwide recession. The banks demanded public money to keep their system afloat – now the governments of the world face huge deficits in their budgets and demand the poor pay the cost of this crisis. Mervyn King, head […]
The revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya have sparked off a wave of protests throughout the Middle East, raising demands for democratic change and for improvements in living standards.
The revolutions sweeping North Africa and the mass protest movements across the Middle East are a sign of the times. For too long, people in the world have been living under the boot of western imperialism and authoritarian dictatorships. Now across the globe they are beginning to rise up, writes Simon Hardy
For decades, Hosni Mubarak justified his rule by claiming that democratisation would see Egypt fall into the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, the banned Islamist opposition movement, writes Marcus Halaby
Muammar Abu al-Gadaffi, Libya’s brutal dictator, has used his armed forces to slaughter pro-democracy protesters, a vicious act unseen in Tunisia or Egypt writes Simon Hardy.
Egypt is aflame with revolution. The world has watched with bated breath as millions of Egyptians have shown that they will not be intimidated and coerced any longer. A general strike has been proclaimed and on 1 February two million demonstrators packed the vast Tahrir (Liberation) Square in Cairo demanding Hosni Mubarak’s departure. His dictatorial […]
The flight of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January came as culmination of a month of street mobilisations, starting with young unemployed youth in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, spreading nationwide, drawing in industrial workers, teachers and lawyers. Demonstrations in Tunis calling for Ben Ali to go climaxed into […]
What is a revolutionary situation “… a revolution is impossible without a revolutionary situation; furthermore, it is not every revolutionary situation that leads to revolution. What, generally speaking, are the symptoms of a revolutionary situation? […] (1) when it is impossible for the ruling classes to maintain their rule without any change; when there is […]