Title
Interview Transcript
Interviewer:
Guest:
Dates:
Place:
University:
Hassan Labib
Gihan Shaaban
March 8, 2011
Headquarter. Downtown, Cairo
The American University in Cairo
Hassan Labib
Gihan Shaaban Interview
Date: March 8, 2011
Gihan : My name is Gihan Shaaban. I am a membe of the New Communist Wave. It is a
communist group that started a year ago
Hassan: Were you one of those in the field on January 25th?
Gihan: Actually I am a bit old, so I did not join on the 25th. On the days we have
demonstrations I don’t usually go down to the field in the beginning as I expect my
younger colleagues get caught so
Hassan: When did you go to Tahrir Square
Gihan: Starting 28th
Hassan: 28th during the beatings or after the army intervened and the police vanished
Gihan: the only fights and beatings I attended was during the trials to break into the ministry of
Interior, and on that event I saw people dying in front of my eyes.
Hassan: You and your colleagues were among the first to establish a political party after the
Tahrir revolution; or had an idea for a party; and the party…
Gihan: Issued papers
Hassan: Who initiated the call for January 25, who set its start date
Gihan: “the justice and freedom” participated in organizing this day. They were coordinating
with other political youth groups a number of
before January 25. They were the
ones who initiated the invitation for that day; they collaborated with Wael Ghoniem,
the admin of “We are all Khaled Saied”; and that invitation spread across “we are all
Khaleed Saied” site
Hassan: Where were the Leftist party during all these events
Gihan : They were attending in groups and individuals all the events during this month. Some
people were convinced that this revolution has to continue because it has not yet
achieved its goals. Anti-calls of “go home”, “what do you want more than that” were
all around us - even before the president stepped down and until the day of February
11- when the call became “we have finished what we came for and achieved what we
wanted.” Many people from different political backgrounds however thought that the
revolution has to continue further because it has not achieved all its demands. The Left
also believed in continuing but they saw that for the revolution to continue the people
pressure should continue; and this people pressure needed a political mechanism that
would combine the struggle of those people.. and from here came the idea of this Party.
Hassan: What is the mission and vision of the Party
Gihan: This party is a leftist party that has a place for any one who struggles against abuse,
slavery and
‫ تبعية‬. The party emerged amid this revolution which should continue to
achieve its goals yet it would not be able to achieve that without public struggle. The
objectives of this party are; removal of emergency laws; releasing all political
prisoners; restructuring of the Ministry of Interior which would include placing a civil
Minister for this ministry; Dismissal of the National Security; and not directing the
army recruits to the police; have a judicial committee that includes human rights
organizations to investigates what happened on January 25th; dismissal of the National
Democratic Party; Sue the icons of the system and confiscation of their money
Hassan: Changing the consistution was a big dream. Is the procedure carried out satisfactory to
you?
Gihan: As to Constitution Modification, and I am not talking about that the first adjustment
are good or the second was good. We have a problem in the methodology used .
Revolutions do not change constitution in that style. We need a temporary constitution
that includes general principals which would allow the country to function during this
period then we elect constitutional assembly – like a parliament – which would change
the constitution.
Hassan: What are your social demands?
Gihan: We demand the same social demands that people ask for: minimum and maximum
wages; hiring part-timers permanently; refuse the privatization of the health sector;
returning the insurance money; From a national point of view we are for struggling
with other struggle movements ; we are for people to choose their destiny; against
imperialism or the Neo colonialism; we are for the right of the Palestinians and against
Normalization.
Hassan: How do you see the situation now when individuals, groups and companies, revolt for
personal rewards not for Egypt as in the case of the January 25 revolution
Gihan: Truly I am against this speech all the way. This speech is being said from the moment
when employees and workers came to the square on the basis that they are people asking
for personal goals and that this will stop the revolution. That there are big and small
demands. No I believe that the twenty million pleope who took to the streets had two
slogans which shaked the world: They demanded down with the regime or the system.
This system is not Hosney Mubarak. This system is the method by which this country is
run by; the method by which the fortune of this country is divided.. this is my
understanding of down with the system.
The second slogan they chanted was “change, freedom and social justice”. This they
called for from day one from January 25 and people call for “change, freedom and social
justice”, why when we say social justice now people say this is private demands?
If we think that twenty million people went down to the streets only for Hosney Mubarak,
then there is a misfunction in the way we think. These people went to the streets for they
face injustice; they were tortured in the police stations; because the policemen took
money from them; they would confiscate food carts and street stands; because there was
unemployment and couldn’t find work; because they worked for EGP 300 or because
they have been working for ten years without being fulltimed; sick and could not find
health service.
These people went to the streets because they were against the system. Today I cannot
say that people in a company or the Egyptian post or in a certain factory take 300
monthly and have no services such as health and insurance are calling for private
individual requests. No these are not personal demands they are political demands. I see
them political demands. They only need to be organized, their demands need to be
written as general demands. For example, instead of people in a certain organization say
that they want such increase or cadre; they should say: all people should demand
minimum set of wages; all people to demand allowing people in fulltime status. They all
demand the removal of the labor law which makes them loose their homes and allows
business owners to fire them and escape with it. If there are ever fair demands, these are
the fair demands and they are called for from day one.
The anti revolution that wishes to stop the revolution from requesting democratic
demands is a week one. Even Meager democratic demands need people to struggle for
them. You cannot ask someone who takes only 300 pounds; a jobless person; someone
who needs an apartment … etc. tell such a guy “no please don’t talk about these private
needs, they are personal requests, talk about general requests, speak about freedom, speak
about the right to have political parties – no – if we had a big dictator called Hosney
Mubarak, in every organization in this country there is a small dictator and every one has
the right to remove his dictator, that he calls for the change of the wrong system in every
organization
Hassan: can you give me examples of such organizations
Gihan: In Ghazl Shebeen factory, an Indian business man bought it and fired the workers. When
their colleagues defend them he fires them too. Do these people have the right to object?
Yes they have the right to object.
Mahallah Spinning, an industrial citidal, the system that used to rule this country was
anti- national industry. They wished to privatize the whole world. They killed the
factories. He put a thief as a negotiator for this company, the people there went on strike
to remove that negotiator, when he was changed they all returned to work.
Hassan: Do you think peace will return to the street while the citizens and the police are still at
dispute?
Gihan: During the first days of the revolution we saw that no one safe guards this country except
its people. The police withdrew in single day and night and the people protected their
country. People committees were formed with being ordered to do so. The ministry of
interior are trying to force the hands of the people and the system by being absent from
the streets. They want to return to how they were before. We have to struggle for them
to return, but not like before. We will not accept again that police officers put their shoes
on our necks. We will not accept that. People of this country were minced and for 30
years, they will not take it again.
If People commited any violence it was only against police staions and national security.
People have personal against this ministry.
Hassan: What do you think is the solution
Gihan: this ministry should be redesigned to be similar to its counterparts in the world. There is
no such ministry like it in the world. There is nothing like our National Security whose
job is to follow political opponents. This National Security organization number one
should be cancelled. Directing the recruits to the police as central forces is unheard. No
one should be recruited to hit the people; thirdly we have to have a civil minister of
interior; we should purify the ministry from all the corrupt officers who take
commissions in drugs and smuggling weapons and artifacts, people who torture others
have to be eliminated, tried and imprisoned.
Hassan: The People’s Party, when and how did it emerge
Gihan: there were discussions between different Leftist groups and it emerged from inside the
revelation.
Hassan: What parties constitute it?
Gihan: a coalition of organized groups such as democratic leftist, Renewed Socialists, el
tagamo leftist or those against Refat el saied politics,