(Photo By Aaron T. Rose / DNE)
The Way of the Revolution Front (Thuwwar-Revolutionists) held a press conference on Tuesday to announce its establishment at the Traders Syndicate. The front aims to “recover the revolution, put a stop to the counter-revolution by resisting the suppressive military authority and the violent, sectarian Muslim Brotherhood,” according to the front’s launching statement.
The statement also read: “Conflicts between the transitional authorities and pro-ousted president [Mohamed Morsi] supporters opened the way once again for the return of a suppressive state.”
Economics journalist Wael Gamal, who is a founding member of the Thuwwar Front, said: “[It] is not a front to issue statements, but to work to accomplish the goals of [the] 25 January Revolution.”
Prominent political activist, Alaa Abd El Fattah, said that similar fronts founded on the same basis were “found as a quick response for a timely issue, unlike this front, which will work on long-term projects.” He also added that the front is “an area of political discussions and arguments, because the members of the front are individuals affiliated to entities, not entities by themselves.”
Activist and novelist Ahdaf Soueif affirmed the same point, saying that the entities are not under the front’s umbrella, but reserve a “flexible affiliation, while retaining their autonomy, and gaining an added value by being in the front.”
When asked whether the ultimate goal of the front is inciting a revolutionary movement or pushing the government to reform, Soueif said that the both will happen simultaneously: “The decentralism of the front will incite both paths, some members will decide that a grassroots movement to incite revolution is the right path, while other members will decide that pushing the government to reform is the suitable path.”
Revolutionary Socialists member, Haitham Mohamedein, who is also a founding member of the front, presented the front’s first document “The Egyptian People’s rights,” which is a document aimed at guaranteeing equality in the rights and duties of all citizens and the importance of considering the rights of “the marginalized groups in society.” The document included procedures to guarantee the people’s rights in decent living, health, education, work, banning torture, just trials, personal freedoms, freedom of speech and expression, freedom to information and political participation. The document is one of three campaigns the front will issue shortly: one regarding social and economic rights and the other is entitled “Don’t borrow money in our [the Egyptian people’s] name.” Mohamadein was recently accused by the Suez prosecutor general’s office on Saturday of belonging to a secret organisation that is “inciting to empower a particular social class and attempts at changing the state’s social systems.” He was later released.
6 April Youth Movement co-founder Ahmed Maher, said that the front will communicate with the constituent assembly on the basis of the 25 January revolution goals, adding that talking about the front’s plans regarding presidential and parliamentary elections “is too early.”
Gamal denied that the Thuwwar front has any affiliation with the Brotherhood, saying that the front is originally anti-Brotherhood because they “betrayed the revolution [when] in power,” affirming that there is no place for the Brotherhood in the front. Founding member Aly Fekry added that there is a place for the Brotherhood youth, who dismissed the Brotherhood’s rule.
Political activist, Khaled Abdel Hamid, made clear the front’s position regarding the Army and the Brotherhood: “The Military authority and the Brotherhood are the two wings of [the] counter-revolution; we will not ally with Army against the Brotherhood, and we will not ally with the Brotherhood against the Army.”
Commenting on the expected accusations that the front is a “fifth column” or infiltrators for the Brotherhood, Gamal said: “These accusations were charged against everybody who tried to do something good for the country, including January revolutionaries; it will not stop us.” Abdel Fatah added: “We will not pay attention to such accusations, we will pay attention to those who support us.”
The front issued the names of its founding 152 members, most notable being leftist activist Wael Khalil, Revolutionary Socialists prominent member Hossam Al-Hamalawy, journalist Khaled Al-Belshy and rights lawyer Gamal Eid.
