The Military Council bears responsibility for the attacks in Abbasiyya http://www.e-socialists.net/node/8683 How many martyrs have to fall?

How much blood must be shed? How many people have to fill the field hospitals before the rulers of this country from military and their supporters realize that that stability will not be achieved by thwarting the revolution through imposing laws aimed at the continuation of the military in power and ensuring a constitution, government and parliament which will follow the decisions and policies of the alliance between the military and the bosses (of both the religious and civilian variety). Social justice will not be achieved by the millionaires agreeing to throw crumbs to hardworking people while they busy themselves with looting more of their wealth. Human dignity will not be won through empty slogans about the patriotic army at a time when it is shaming Egyptians inside and outside the country. Freedom will not come through laws criminalizing strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins. The people who rebelled on 25 January have grown self-confident: they have discovered that they are capable of much more than the Mubarak regime could or will ever achieve over the decades. The last few days have sent a strong message to those in power in Egypt that the people will never forget. The people are fully aware of the farce of the constitutions and the elections played out as a struggle between the representatives of the political forces over the composition of the Constitutional Drafting Committee from which the genuine representatives of the revolutionaries among the workers, students, women, poor peasants and professionals have been excluded. On the other hand we have the preparations for the presidential elections overseen by a committee whose decisions cannot be appealed, as agreed by the referendum of March 2011, which was drafted by a committee appointed by the military, with the support of those who are screaming against this system now it has been applied against them. Those who thought they had everything under control after their success in the parliamentary elections have discovered that the Military Council has the final say since it stole the revolution on 12 February 2011. The Military Council is insisting on staying in power. But it is not the only player. The blood of the revolutionaries who confront them is precious: it is the price of their freedom, their dignity and their share in the wealth of this country. The latest of them were injured and killed yesterday in the incident at Abbasiyya where demonstrators once again faced the bullets, gas and knives of the thugs belonging to the military and the Interior Ministry. Dozens were injured, at least one killed, and there are reports of other martyrs in Demerdash Hospital. Although the demonstrations began at with a Tahrir Square sit-in which was largely confined to supporters of excluded presidential candidate Hazem Abu-Ismail (who certainly disagreed with the protests direction) the slogans changed once they reached the Ministry of Defence and revolutionaries of direction tendencies joined in united chants against the military and against Article 28 [giving the electoral commission the right to disqualify candidates without appeal]. The chanting against the military and the sit-in is nothing less than a call to continue the revolution, and all revolutionaries should support it in order to achieve the revolutions goals: 1. Immediate and complete cancellation of the state of emergency, re-trial in civilian courts of all those tried and detained through the military courts.

2. Parliament to issue a law establishing the revolutionary courts for the punishment of the killers of the martyrs and to bring the figureheads of the former regime to justice and not merely to exclude them from political life. 3. Repeal of Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, and the assignment of supervising the elections for an independent judicial body composed of judges not appointed by the former regime. 4. Repeal of article which allows the Military Council to veto laws passed by parliament, and that all laws become effective upon their issuance of the parliament without any authorization by the military. 5. The formation of the Constituent Assembly which genuinely reflects the weight of workers and peasants in society, so that the Constitution contains a chapter with detailed guarantees of their economic and social rights, while giving no special consideration to the Armed Forces, or permits any form of military tutelage, and subjects the institution to civilian authority. 6. Setting the minimum and maximum wage and price controls. 7. Renationalisation of the stolen companies under popular management rather than government corruption. 8. Permanent contracts for all temporary workers. 9. Nationalization of monopolies and progressive taxation Glory to the martyrs, victory of the revolution and power and wealth to the people The Revolutionary Socialists, 29 April 2012