It is unacceptable for strikes to become pretexts for sabotage and the destruction of public and private facilities, or for protests to turn into chaos ungoverned by any political rules.
What happened on April 6 was clear evidence of a shallow political culture in Egypt and an inability to strike a balance between ends and means.
Most of those who were harmed by the sabotage were citizens who had nothing to do with the government or politics, but they paid the price of an open confrontation between demonstrators and security forces.
The danger of such chaotic strikes is not only economic, but also political, because it makes the community lose one of the important tools in exercising pressure on the government, because violence becomes a justification for security forces to intervene to prevent the spread of chaos, and in turn prevents the recurrence of any possible future strike.
This is exactly what the regime wants, as it seeks to put pressure on opponents to lose their reason and make mistakes that cost them a great many effective tools, including the ability to join demonstrations and strikes.
Therefore, I do not expect the May 4 strike to be successful, not only because it does not reflect an integrated post-strike vision, but also because the State will not allow a repeat of what happened in Mahalla.
I expect a complete block of any moves by activists within the framework of the preemptive strategy to which security agencies will resort.
We want to support a culture of peaceful protest, through teaching activists and the opposition how to express their views in a civilized manner and to know the difference between a strike as a political pressure tool and chaos as an act of barbarism that bedevils any political demands.
What happened in Mahalla was a fragmentation of organized political action, and a violation of the rules of the political game. I know that most of those involved do not have a political project or an agenda for change, but are just ordinary people suffering from hardship and the high cost of living, as well as perhaps lack of proper education, and so their actions were spontaneous and random, thus allowing the security forces to confront them with full force and hindering any popular support for them.
What would happen if people protested in silence? This culture of constructive criticism has yet to take root in the collective Egyptian consciousness because the regime has been marginalizing citizens both intellectually and politically for a quarter-century.
A heavy burden rests on the shoulders of the political regime with regard to the chaos we witness in any protest, because it has not taught people how to express their views and defend their rights peacefully, as is done in most developed countries.
What will happen if citizens are allowed to demonstrate and go to strike? Nothing. On the contrary this will be evidence of a healthy regime capable of listening to and realistically addressing citizens’ complaints.
We want peaceful protests and a civilized, sophisticated treatment of protesters by the security forces in order not to turn political life in Egypt into a boxing arena without rules.
Let’s teach people how to protest without sabotage.
Khalil Al-Anani is an expert on Political Islam and Deputy Editor of Al Siyassa Al Dawliya journal published by Al-Ahram Foundation.
