Cairo Anti-war Conference

delegates attending the conference

The Cairo Conference (against U.S. hegemony and war on Iraq and in solidarity with Palestine) was an anti-war and anti-neo-liberalism conference held in Egypt. Though the Egyptian government was formally against the Iraq war (See Governments' pre-war positions on invasion of Iraq), relations between it and the conference are strained by the fact that Mubarak's regime receives funding from the U.S.A and that the regime fears popular movements which may grow to challenge its dictatorship. The Cairo Conference set up the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq which helped to coordinate the world wide demonstrations on 15 February.

First Conference

Held on the 17th-19th December, 2002, 400 attended, at the Conrad hotel on the banks of the Nile, Speakers included former United Nations (UN) humanitarian coordinator for Iraq Dr Hans von Sponeck. Popular %u2018freedom fighter%u2019 and former Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella chaired the conference. One out come of the conference was the production of the 'Cairo Declaration', which took a stance against the then looming Iraq war, it also noted the negative affects of Capitalist globalisation and U.S. hegemony on the peoples of the world (including European and American citizens) and in addition it also noted that "In the absence of democracy, and with widespread corruption and oppression constituting significant obstacles along the path of the Arab peoples%u2019 movement towards economic, social, and intellectual progress, adverse consequences are further aggravated within the frame-work of the existing world order of neoliberal globalisation." while firmly rejecting the 'advance of democracy' justification for actacking Iraq. Full text available here [1]

The U.K. Stop the War Coalition, in particular John Rees of the SWP, initiated the signing of the declaration by European lefties, including: Jeremy Corbyn MP, George Galloway MP, Tony Benn, Susan Gerorge (Left-wing activist based in France), Bob Crow, Mick Rix (general secretary, train drivers' Aslef union), Julie Christie, George Monbiot, Harold Pinter, Dr Siddiqui (leader, Muslim Parliament of Great Britain), Tommy Sheridan, Dr Ghada Karmi (research fellow, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter), Tariq Ali. [2]

The conference was followed by a 1,000-strong anti-war demonstration that was surrounded by riot police and armoured cars.

The organising committee decided to attempt solidarity actions with the US demonstrations on 18 January and to organise Egytion demonstarations as part of 15 February global anti-war day.

Second Conference

Held 2003 13th and 14th December, 800 attended, at the Egyptian Journalists' Union headquarters, Conference final declaration available here [3] Anti-war MP George Galloway, Tony Benn, Salma Yaqoob, and former US attorney-general Ramsey Clark were among the international speakers. Prominent Egyptian campaigners taking part included Nasserist MP Hamdeen Sabahy, Galal Aref, head of the Egyptian Journalists' Union, and Ma'mun al-Hodeiby, leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim and human rights activist Aida Seif-al-Dawla were among the conference organisers.

The presence of Muslim Brotherhood leader Ma'mun al-Hodeiby brought a large number of Islamist activists into the conference. The Muslim Brotherhood, although officially banned, is by far Egypt's largest opposition organisation. However, some delegates were critical of the Muslim Brotherhood's cooperation with the government in a series of stage-managed anti-war rallies held before the invasion of Iraq.

German journalist Harold Schuman who attended the conference expressed frustration that most speeches did not analyse the role of Arab governments but rather took the easy way out by placing all the blame on the US. He also expressed his feelings that the conference should defend the people of Iraq but not the regiem. Representatives of the Iraqi government were attending the conference, though also the Iraqi opposition had a presence in the form of Abdel-Amir Al-Rikabi who described himself as a member of "the honest opposition" in contrast with those who met at a US-sponsored event in London.

Third Conference

24-27 March 2005. Political groups, independent activists, and organisations in Egypt were invited to take part in the conference and also to propose their own activities to take place at the same time as the conference.

Before the conference Yehia Fikri, who represents the Centre for Socialist Studies on the organising committee, called for International delegations to come to the conference in order to protect it from state repression. He has said %u2018The more people who come from abroad, the more prominent personalities who sign up for the conference, the more difficult it will be for the Egyptian authorities to shut us down.%u2019 [4]

Eygption organisations supported the third conference

I. Political Groups and parties
20th of March Movement for Change, Egyptian Communist Party, Karama Party, Muslim Brotherhood, Organization of Revolutionary Socialists, Socialist People%u2019s Party, Wasat Party.

II. Unions and Syndicates
Arab Medical Union, Syndicate of Pharmacists of Egypt

IV. Research centers and civil society organizations
A%u2019afak Ishterakeyya Center (Center of Socialist Horizons); Egyptian Center for media, culture and development; Hisham Mubarak Law Center; Sa%u2019ed Center; Socialist Studies Center
Source [5]

criticism

The confernece has been critised by some right-wing groups who are generally hostile to the anti-war movment. For example, Marc Schulman comments on his blog American Future that the conference was "an anti-U.S. hate fest attended by a variety of Islamists". They also see the conference as proof that the anti-war movment is prepared to work with what they describe as Muslim extremists who have a retrogressive social agenda. [6] The organisers counter this argument by pointing out that the conferences have included advocates for the rights of women and minorities as well as being organised by human rights activists. Further they claim that the criticism rests on a racist assumption that lumps all Arabic people together as terrorists.

A further criticism of the first Conference was that it was building solidarity not with ordinary Iraqis, but rather with the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein. This perception was fuelled by the reported presence of a number of Iraqi officials at the conference. According to Al-Ahram Weekly [7], German journalist and author Harald Schuman attracted the ire Nabil Negm, the chief political adviser to the Iraqi president, after comments he made insisting that claims that all the problems of the Arab world could be laid at the door of the US were only half-true and that the conference was not meant to "defend the Iraqi regime and Saddam Hussein in any shape or form". "I am here," he said, "to defend the Iraqi people."

There were also members of the Iraqi opposition present, among them Abdel-Amir Al-Rikabi. He advocated, however, "a reconciliation initiative," which sought to establish a "unity government" that would work to develop a constitutionally-enshrined system which would ensure the right to representation "for all political and national forces including the Ba'athists". Saad Hammoundy, the Iraqi governments ambassador to the Arab League, who was also a speaker, responded favourably to this proposal claiming, "Iraq welcomes any opponent who does not deal with American, British or Israeli intelligence."

Further Information

Article on state represtion of Egyption anti-war movement [8]
Article on the relationship between anti-war movment and movment for democracy in the middle east [9]

References

Counterpunch article on the 1st Conference
Counterpunch article on 1st conference
Socialist Worker article on 1st conference
Socialist Review article on the 2nd conference
Socialist Worker article on the call for a 3rd conference
Video of Report of Conference at Manchester Peace Rally
Report on second conference by Al-Ahram
Report on first conference by Al-Ahram
Swindon delgates report back from Cairo anti-war conference(indymedia)