People are different around the value of July 23rd revolution

By: Dr/ Essam Derballa

Some say: it is an expired medicine, other think it is a bad medicine while some see it is the disease and the medicine at the same time.

As for its supporter, they see that it is the base and chemistry of life, that the people and the country can not live without it in all times and places.

In this article we are not going to evaluate the revolution of July 23rd; but we are going to give answers about one important question which is:

What is left of July 23rd revolution in our real life?

But we should first remember many matters regarding the revolution, because we think that more than 60% of the Egyptian people don’t know much about it, especially those who didn’t live its golden age during the time of Abdul Nasser which extended from 23 July 1952 up to 28th of September 1970 the day of Jamal Abdul Nasser death whose name is related to it and became so important that no one could recall its history except through his situations and choices.

The revolution of July, features and indications, no doubt that the answer to the question of what remains of July 23rd revolution, must go first through the knowledge of most important features and out standing principles and the most famous situation of it, that could be referred at through the following points:

1- The Liberal officers, on the morning of 23July, didn’t have a specific integrated theory, from which they can practice their rulings in the speech of Jamal Abdul-Nasser in the opening of the conference of the national forces in July 1961, he declares that and says: many people say that we don’t have any theory, where is the theory we follow? I am asking what the theory is. I reply that I didn’t have to show up on the 23rd of July with a printed book and say that book is the theory that is impossible if we kept preparing that book before 23rd of July we wouldn’t have done the revolution. That is simply means; the liberal officers learnt policy and the arts of ruling in the Egyptian people according to the theory of experiment and mistake.

2-July revolution inclined towards the eastern camp leaded by the Soviet Union at that time and adopted the communist method increasingly and reached the top in 1961.

3-The revolution chose the estrangement policy with the west and America because they are representing the universal Imperialism supporting colonization which the revolution had its war against, in Egypt, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

4-The revolution adopted the practical communism as a style for ruling the country through the state’s control on all the production tools and forming the public sector and also putting ties on the private sector activity.

5-The revolution fought the idea political plurality so, it cancelled the parties and set the political life on the base of one political organization represented in the liberty board, then the national union lastly the Arabic communist union.

6-The revolution adopted social procedures to make it easy for the poor people through setting some rules and laws like the law of agricultural reform and widen the scale of giving the education freely and others.

7- To put the Arabic nationalism principle higher than any other principle, and to call for the Arabic union as one of its basis.

8 -Adopted the motto of, No negotiation, No forgoing, No surrender in facing Israel and to consider Israel the representative and agent of colonization in the area.

9- To through away all Liberties and to make example of the opponents under the claim of insuring the revolution of its enemies:

Those were the major features that Nasserian experiment carried and seek now to know what is left of it in our political, economical and social life.

What is left for us of July 23rd revolution?

When the late president, Anwar Al Sadat ruled after the death of Jamal Abdul Nasser in 28 September 1970 he announced in a speech for him that he will follow the steps and policies of the late president, then the Egyptians gave their Jokes that he will follow his steps by a rubber!! That was really the start of the change and alteration on all what the 23rd July revolution represents of all policies and choices. That change which almost reached its highest point today, this reality could be realized if we contemplate the following:

A-On the level of general directions, communism was abandoned as a method of political and economic life.

B-On the level of economical direction, the market economy and private business replaced the direct economy and public sector which is still for sale.

C-On the level of political direction, the communist union was dismissed and political life was set up on the basis of registered parties’ plurality.

D-America became the No: 1 Friend for Egypt, while the Soviet Union was cut into pieces, and remained the federal Russia which kept away and had no effect out of its borders.

E-Camp David convention for peace between Egypt and Israel was signed in March 1979 upon which they exchanged ambassadors.

F-The policy of agricultural reform was stopped and some of its laws were cancelled: they stop employing the graduates and commodity support, as well as heavy manufacturing.

G-The regional Arabic regime is lost and became torn, weak, disable to face the Israeli attacks so, on the official and governmental level remains only the call that we belong to the July 23 rd revolution and some politics and decisions that belong to the revolution which are slowly going to be cancelled because they are not logic to continue, like to continue having 50% of the seats of the parliament for laborers and farmers,also some constitutional items which talk about the inevitability of communism solution and waited to be reformed next winter.Some people may say:

There are some people out of the official frame who believe in the23 rd July revolution and its principles:

So we say yes that’s right the supporter of 23rd July have scattered and lost.Some were involved in the new authority and became one of its hypocrites.some other stayed out of the authority but got despair, and frustrated.Some continued holding all of its principles with no revision or correction.

While other still live the problem of organization. Some could solve the problem of organization by forming the Nasserian party, whose few members were scattered in many ways and in forming new party. Through a quick look on the results which belong to July 23rd revolution, and have the Nasserian name in the different elections we can realize the truth that they are not effective and have no audience.

Then we come to the important question why nothing is left of 23rd July revolution except this little weak heritage?

I think we can find the answer in the following:-

First: the big failure faced the revolution whether in achieving union with Syria, or in the war in Yemen or in experience of public sector or on the level of facing Israel which was ended by 1967 defeat: which caused this experience to lose its false brightness within which people lived for long periods.

Second: This big failure revealed the truth of the struggle on ruling Egypt the Nasserian, and the fight for the authority by the two groups, Nasser and his group, and Amer and his group, the struggle reached its top after the defeat of 1967 when the field-marshal Abdul Hakim Amer committed suicide or forced to.

Third: Abdul Nasser failed to form a generation that have his vision and gave the reason for his failure in the experience of public sector that he wanted to set up communism without communists, and he didn’t realize that the wrong thing lies in the communism itself before anything else.

Fourth: Dectatorine ruling and through away freedom as well as torturing all the opponents of the revolution and its leader, all of this helped in the appearance of many opponents.

Fifth: the most important point remains which related to Abul Nasser negative situation from Islam, after getting rid of the Muslims brothers after the incident of 1954, he put the Islamic role aside and gave the suggestions of scientific communism, and Arabic nationalism as substitution of Islamic,religious league, which will never succeed in Egypt.

Sixth: Most of those who belong to the Nasserian thought didn’t revise this experience objectively and confessed of its mistakes exactly as they always mention its contributions.

If we are of those who think that, this experience had many mistakes, so even if we disagree with its means, but we have to say that it achieved many contributions wither on the level of getting rid of colonization and set up some huge projects like the high dam or developing the social standard of farmers and laborers, but still the point of big disagreement with the revolution which is about keeping Islam away of its role in forming the society and facing challenges. The late Nasserian thinker Farid Abdul karim announced in 1985 his support for Islam to be the supreme authority and the Islamic legislation is the main source for setting rules which is a good situation needs everyone who belongs to the Nasserian thought, if we can call it, to think again of this situations and take it as a first step to an objective evaluation for July 23rd revolution, which is a must and a duty that can’t be delayed.

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