Two Tactics in Egypt
Laqueur, Walter
While the illegal Communists prepare to take over the moment Nasser falters, 'legal' Communists are operating within the regime itself TWO TACTICS IN EGYPT By Walter Z. Laqueur London For almost...
...This summer, after three long years of bickering, agreement was reached...
...By playing on Arab fears and expectations, admittedly not a difficult task, the Communists can insure against the Aral) nationalists seeing the world as it really is for many years to come...
...Our nation has struggled likewise for centuries for the defense of Moslem countries against the designs of European imperialism...
...Nasser's propaganda sounds almost exactly like Kemal's early messages to Moscow...
...it existed, too, in Venezuela in the mid-'40s and in Cuba in 1952...
...It is not surprising, therefore, that Egypt's Communists have begun to operate on a wider scale than at any time in recent years...
...Whether this is the result of a carefully planned two-pronged attack or due to genuine differences of opinion about the tactics to be followed in the given circumstances, no one can say with certainty...
...Today's Arab world, as some of the more thoughtful spokesmen of Arab nationalism admit, is entirely different...
...But Arab nationalist leaders are living in an unreal world of high-strung emotionalism, of fears that have no basis in fact ("the Jews want to occupy the whole Arab world"), and of equally impossible dreams and ambitions ("we will establish a great Arab empire...
...For the leading Vanguard (Tali'a) members have been active for several years now as Colonel Nasser's spokesmen in the journalistic and literary fields...
...In an unguarded moment, a Soviet cultural attache in Cairo is reliably reported to have said: "In Syria, it is all plain sailing for us, but Egypt is very difficult...
...How can we compete with Marilyn Monroe...
...Our hope of realizing this unity in the near future is great...
...While he recognizes the danger of this situation, however, he sees no way out for the Arabs: "We have to choose between the West, which by strengthening and protecting Israel threatens our very existence, and Communism, which by interfering in our lands and our affairs threatens our freedom...
...Mohammed Mandour...
...The existence of two Communist parties under a dictatorship, with one serving the regime and the other in loyal opposition, is not unique in Communist history...
...Negotiations between the two main factions, the Egyptian Communist party (ECP) and the Egyptian Unified Communist party (EUCP), resumed in 1954...
...In Egypt, things are different...
...The manifesto of the new united group has been published in the British and French Communist press (though, significantly, not in the Soviet press...
...Kemal concluded by stressing the common interests of Russia and Turkey in the struggle against the "criminal colonial policy" of the "Western imperialists...
...But what could we do in the absence of Western economic assistance...
...This was true despite the fact that Kemal did not have 40 years of Soviet foreign policy to learn from and that the balance of world power in 1920 made an alliance with Russia a very different proposition from one today...
...The hard truth, however, is that Western economic aid could not change the Arab world's present political direction...
...Since 1924, when its politburo was arrested, the Egyptian Communist movement has been split three ways...
...After the signing of the most recent Soviet aid agreement, editorials in Cairo's newspapers attempted to forestall Western criticism with this argument: Of course, they say again that we have moved even further into the Soviet orbit...
...Nor are some Egyptian leaders overenthusiastic about their country's ever-growing dependence on the Soviet Union...
...The latter is editor of the new magazine Ash Shark ("The East"), which has been assigned the task of popularizing the Soviet Union in Arab countries...
...Abdul Salam al-Ajili, writing in the November issue of the leading monthly Al Adab, regretfully admits that the reservations and warnings concerning Communist influences are restricted to a few leaders (such as Nasser himself) : "The attitude of the masses has shifted ftrom suspicion to an emotional peak of friendship and admiration...
...While the illegal Communists prepare to take over the moment Nasser falters, 'legal' Communists are operating within the regime itself TWO TACTICS IN EGYPT By Walter Z. Laqueur London For almost two years now, the men in the Kremlin have been wrestling with the problem of formulating a policy for the Communist parties in the Arab countries...
...As a temporary solution to this dilemma, the Kremlin has asked its Arab adherents to be as discreet as possible, to concentrate their activities on inconspicuous front organizations rather than the party proper...
...Those people have been poisoned for many years by decadent influences...
...Secondly, while there were two Communist parties in Kemal's Turkey also, the one associated with the regime was really Kemalist and not subservient to the Comintern...
...Those who ruled Turkey at the time considered the alliance with Russia very convenient and useful, but they did not make any far-reaching concessions to Moscow...
...the current regimes in Egypt and Syria are valuable allies, but they are merely things of the moment...
...Egypt, in addition, is a more sophisticated country than Syria...
...Long live the united national front...
...On the other hand, in Soviet eyes these are the parties that will emerge victorious in the struggle for power in the Arab world...
...Among other things, it declares that news of the reconciliation "cannot but bring rejoicing to all Egyptian revolutionaries who have suffered so much through the division of the Egyptian Communist movement...
...having won the war for independence, he did not go on looking for dangers where none existed...
...For example, the "legal" Communists who enjoy Nasser's confidence can be relied upon to carry out legal propaganda and political work...
...In Syria, from the Communist viewpoint, conditions could not be better...
...The historical parallel between Nasser and Kemal Ataturk, particularly where relations with the Soviet Union and Communist parties are concerned, is also highly instructive...
...International capital is using [the oppressed peoples of Asia and Africa] in order to enslave and destroy them in the interest of their masters, the capitalists...
...But we differ with him on certain questions of internal policy...
...Despite the optimistic tone, the chances of this happening are rather slim...
...the illegal party is still fighting for recognition...
...Perhaps one of the most interesting items in the manifesto, however, is the admission that one faction still remains aloof: "Our party will do all within its power to bring about unity with the Egyptian Communist Party of Workers and Peasants (formerly the Vanguard of the Workers...
...Whatever the case, from Moscow's point of view this kind of setup has unquestionable advantages...
...This was so obviously Communist-inspired that the Indian Congress party would not allow its members to participate...
...To begin with, Kemal was much more farsighted than Nasser...
...The same situation existed in Juan Peron's Argentina, when conditions were similar to those in Egypt today...
...Finally, Turkish public opinion was not affected, either...
...they really have come to like T-shirts, Coca-Cola, detective novels and all that...
...Thus, in a letter to Foreign Minister Chicherin in November 1920, Kemal wrote: "The Turkish people feel admiration for the Russian people, who for over two years have been conducting an unprecedented struggle for the liberation of the whole world...
...Conditions vary, of course, among the different Arab countries...
...Kemal was a realist...
...In a recent statement, it declared: "We support the general orientation of Colonel Nasser's policy because it emanates from a national government pursuing a policy of independence in the interests of the people and of the program of our party...
...But if we lose our existence, we lose everything—our life and our freedom...
...In 1947, a move for unification got under way, but it was stymied by the Arab-Israeli war and subsequent events in the area...
...The document's major emphasis is on the unity of the Arab nation, the necessity for raising the standard of living, and a "parliamentary life of a new type...
...Should something happen to the Nasser regime one day, of course, the illegal Communist party will always be ready to move in...
...This approach reflects the attitude of the more enlightened members of the Arab intelligentsia...
...One of their most recent spectacular achievements was the convocation of an Afro-Asian Soidarity Conference, which was held in Cairo and sponsored by the Egyptian Government...
...comparatively larger sections of the population have been exposed to Western influences...
...All this sounds very much like the Voice of the Arabs in 1957, but there are some important differences...
...As such, it is a clue to why the Turks could retain their independence despite their close association with Moscow, and why countries like Syria and Egypt are— to put it mildly—in danger of losing their independence...
...Moreover, their thinking was in no way influenced by the ideas emanating from Moscow...
...And neither Washington nor London can package a strong, self-confident, realistic national consciousness for shipment to the Middle East...
...Its ending is typical: "Long live our national government headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser...
...On the one hand, pronounced Communist activity in a country like Egypt would jeopardize the present close relations between Moscow and Cairo...
...Long live the struggle of the Egyptian people...
...It is the inner weakness of Arab nationalism, the lack of positive social and political ideas, which makes the Arabs submit so readily to Communist influences...
...We shall choose the second alternative, because if our existence remains secured we shall have the hope to fight for our freedom and get it...
...But how inconspicuous can a Communist party be and still stay alive...
...They consider the Egyptian Communists as the best defenders of our national government, led by valiant President Gamal Abdel Nasser, and as the best fighters for the advancement of our national economy, in which Egyptian capital will play a positive role...
...The Turkish national movement was self-confident and did not feel a need for outside inspiration...
...It goes on to praise Egypt's "national bourgeoisie" and President Gamal Abdel Nasser: "Among our allies are the national bourgeoisie...
...They include such key figures in the regime as the writers Abdur Rahman al Sharwaki, Ab-dur Rahman al Hamisi and Dr...
Vol. 40 • December 1957 • No. 50
