The Right of organizing and the Party of the Good Ones 

Abu ElSa’ad, the good farmer from ElTayah, was a man concerned about his case and opened his house for the families of his village. They sat talking and discussing and drinking tea.
However nothing remained as it was. Several months ago in one of these meetings someone said to another: “What is going on with the new political parties we hear about each day?”
The other said to him: “This is democracy.”
= What does that mean?
He said to him: “This means a group of people with common interest, gathering and forming a party to solve their problems.”
= How about us making a party for our village guys. As long as no governor or government is asking or caring about our problems
= But parties are for high class people who wear suits, walking in the city beside the Nile, looking beautiful wearing these black suits.
= Let us form a party for the small people. The poor people no one asks about or cares about their problems. We will gather here in Abu ElSa’ad’s house and we will call it The Nations house. Can’t we consider our village as a nation guys?
= And is that possible?
= Why not?
After that they agreed on a specific day to go to a lawyer from AlTayah village and asked him if it is possible for them to make a political party that defends the interests of the village or not and if that is possible how it can be done.
The lawyer said:
“By God it is possible Abu ElSa’ad. The people have the legal and constitutional right to organize.
It is possible to make a association or a political party or a bond, the name is not important. It is your right to do that, all that is possible in the law. But the party is more suitable for solving the problems that you have stated. What will be the name of this political party, men?”
Abu ElSa’ad replied: “The Party of the Good Ones.”
Masoud replied: “By God, the Party of the Poor People.”
The lawyer said: “This is not so easy uncle Abu ElSa’ad. There are a lot of conditions made by the government to make a political party.
= Conditions, why? The men agree and you say this is our right. Why this interference if we all agree?
Uncle Masoud said: “This is our party, not the party of the government. The government can put her conditions on her party, as she wants, but why on us?”
= That is the law, uncle Masoud.
= What then are the conditions of the government, or the legal conditions of the government?
= It is necessary that you have a program. And this program must be different. The difference must be clear from the programs of political parties. And it must not be against the principles of the July revolution of Abdel Nasser, or the correction of 15 May of Sadat, or the opening of the peace with Israel, or the national unity. And that no one of you should seems to be a co-operate with parties against the country. Look, there are many things, which you will know one by one. The most important is that after the preparation of the program it has to be presented to a committee called Committee of Party Affairs, it is called an announcement, so that they can agree on your political party. On the request the names of 50 men from the village who established the party have to be mentioned, as well as the program and all the details. After that Masoud replied: “And what committee is this, by God?”
= This is a committee of 7, 4 of them are from the government and 3 of them are ministers. Especially these 4 men from the government have to accept.
= This means that if the views of our party do not match with those of the committee of the government, we can not make it?
= For sorrow yes, Masoud, that is the law, the law of the government as you say.
= Many thanks sir. As long as it is our right we will try and we will come back to you again inchallah. After that Abu Elsa’ad made a contract with the men and they sat gathering the requested papers so that the government could accept them. Many people did not agree with the politics of Sadat. They refused the peace with Israel and want to make a war. And some of them saw that the program they were making with these conditions would become a program of the government and not a program of the people. When they spoke about the political parties one of them said: “Those are people of high class, father, and all of them think about things, are co-ordinating with each other. The name of the party must be different from the rest.” And they decided that the name of there political party would be “The Party of the Good Ones.” Also this became a thing that was special to them. And every one of them sat and had ideas or suggestions.
“We will demand this and we will demand this.. It will really be a program for the poor people. For example, each year the party presents a list with the names of all people that did not find work in the village or the governate, while the governate is obliged to supply them with such. The government helps families of poor students. All education will be for free, there will not be any education for money, so that the children of all people will learn and be equal to each other.” And an other one said: “We will make a big clinic or pharmacy in the village so that anyone who needs medication or a kidney operation or any woman that has difficulties in her delivery or any child infected with bilharzias gets treated immediately. Even if he is poor and can not afford is. The medication is for free.” Other people talked about the problems of transportation and others talked about telephones and others about water, electricity, high prices and the increasing poverty. Each one had a word or an opinion. Important was, that they went to the lawyer with all things and they made a contract with him to present the demand and follow up on everything that happened. After a while, problems started to fall on their heads, one after the other. They organized a big meeting in the village so they could talk to the people about the political party and about its principles. Policemen and military people from the police station came to the meeting and stopped it and arrested some of them. Abu ElSa’ad said: “Why? We made the Party of the Good Ones and we presented the demands, a different program and every thing as the law of the government says.” He explained the principles to the people and that they did not do anything wrong.
= It is forbidden to act under the name of a party before the government accepts the demands, mister chief of the party.
= What chief my God. How are we supposed to let people know about our party without talking with them about it sir.
And Masoud said: “But the party was formed and we have presented the papers and the rest were just governmental procedures.
= It is forbidden Masoud. That is the law.
After several days of mistreatment by the investigation police and the prosecution, the group of Abu ElSa’ad got out and did not know what to do. Should they talk about their political party or about the case, invite people to share their ideas and participate in the party, or shut up and act as if they did not do anything.
The important thing was that they stayed in their place, waiting for the answer of the committee to arrive. Then the answer came and it was a shock. The request was denied, which means there was no party. What were the reasons for this denial? A lot, but the most important reason of this denial was the name of the party, the Party of the Good Ones.
The lawyer said: “This means that the party is based on discrimination between people and this is forbidden by law. And its aims are against the national unity, because it turns the poor people and the good against rich and powerful people. Abu ElSa’ad asked: “What does all this mean, sir?”
The lawyer replied: “This means, that in stead of inviting for the unity of the whole village and social peace, while your party is inviting for solidarity with your own group. This could separate the national unity.” The lawyer said: “Abu ElSa’ad, this is enough. You are a village searching for problems.”
= Sir, does this mean that the poor people and the good ones don’t exist as the rich and the high class people exist?
= They do exist sir.
= So they can’t form a party that speaks for them and demands their rights?
= Yes they can, but without just ideas and talks about the rights of the good ones. Try to understand, Abu ElSa’ad.
= If the poor and the good ones do not unite with each other, sir, then who do you want them to unite with? Is it with high class people? No one of the rich people in our village asks or cares about anyone of us.
= It is just forbidden Abu ElSa’ad.
Abu ElSa’ad replied: “I don’t know what it means that we have rights? There are a lot of talks in the newspapers about new parties established by the government and other talks about the era of democracy reform and freedom and the American Egyptian initiatives, which encourage participation. What human rights, women rights, development and big projects are they talking about each day, on the radio and on television. After that the committee denies our proposal to form a political party. I wish sir that you could make us understand the meaning of changing, renewing and youth without any livelihood.”
= Calm yourself hag Abu ElSa’ad. Try to change the name and change the programs. Modify it a little bit, so that the committee can accept it. There is no need for meetings for your own sake. Inchallah everything will be ok.
= Let me tell you sir, go in peace and deliver my regards to the committee and the programs of national reform and democracy. Don’t forget the heads of the party.
Do you know, Abu ElSa’ad:
The people’s right in organizing is a right stated in international treaties or agreements for human rights. The Egyptian government is obliged to apply it and here are some texts.
Each person has the right to free participation in peaceful meetings and gatherings. The international announcement for human rights and the international treaty for civil and political rights state the following:
-Each person has the right to form an association with others. This includes the right to establish syndicates and joining them, to protect ones own interests. (subject 22)
The same subject states that, unless necessary, no limitations should be made on practicing these rights in a democratic society in order to maintain social safety and peace, the general system, health, morals, protection of right of freedom of others.
Another clause states that each person has the right to make his own views and thoughts without interference.
Each person has the right to freedom of expression. (Subject 19)
The Egyptian constitution states, Abu ElSa’ad, the rights of citizens in organizing as following:
Citizens have the right to form associations as stated in the law. The constitution forbids the establishment of organizations that practice activities that are against the social system, secret or military.
What happens in all democratic countries is that, when people want to form a political party, they do so without any permission or request. The story of stopping the activity of a party, just waiting for the permission of the government is not considered as democracy.
The story that the party should match with this and that of the government policy, is considered a second disaster. This way the legislation is limiting them in stead of organizing parties. It is defining how they should think and what they should adopt. This means the role of the government has been transferred from organizing the affairs of the parties to forcing their poetical opinion and views upon the parties. It is either or this, or their will not be a political party. So, where are the democracy and political reform and what parties are there after all of this?
Also, Abu ElSa’ad, the story that a party may not be based on social levels is not reforming or democratic. Britain and other countries from the north or the south have parties labourers and farmers. Aren’t they a part of the society and don’t they have interests and the right to unite and defend their interests? There is a strange thing. Our parliament says that 50% of its members should be labourers and farmers. At the same time it prevents laborers and farmers from there right to form a political party. As long as their society has different interests all people who have a common interest has the right to form a party, or are the good ones in particular forbidden to defend their interests.
More strange then this is that the law of the parties is against democracy, reform and initiatives. The following can be mentioned in this regard:
-The Committee of the Party Affairs, of which most people are from the government, has the right to break up a party or stop its activities or prevent its newspapers from being published and close its headquarters and take its money to where ever it likes. The reasons for this are many and all of this was done according to the law. It has this right, if the committee has considered that the party has an activity against the high national interest. (This is a stretching phrase, which the government can explain as its own interests require or use it to object against the founders if they are talking about reform, human rights, farmers, labourers, or improvement of the conditions of the poor). The committee also has the right to deprive any member of the party of his membership or from practicing political works.
-The strange thing, Abu ElSa’ad, is even in the law, as (subject 7) of the law of the parties states that 50% of the founders of the party should be labourers or farmers. The law prevents parties from being established in case they are based on social levels.
-The law of the parties increases the punishment for the members of the parties before and after its establishment. If someone acts like as a member of a party, before the actual establishment or spoke on its behalf he will face a sentence of 5 years of imprisonment (as if he was a dangerous criminal). And after the establishment someone can get punished for several here stretched reasons, like practicing of an activity against the high national interests. This can lead to imprisonment and detention.
-Actually the law has invented a committee, to limit the activities of the parties and force its views and opinions, in stead of organizing their establishment, accept for the party of the government of course.
And it is necessary to make symposia to discuss the problems of the poor and find solutions for them, and file lawsuits against the officials to change the law of the parties and improve their lives. And it is necessary for all civil society foundations to coordinate their efforts. They should start a campaign to achieve a decent life, a free and democratic society for Abu ElSa’ad and all the people from any village, country estate or city either its name is ElTayah or ElGhalban or any other name. This all in order that any group in Egypt has the right to form a political party freely, without any limitations or conditions and enjoy a decent and human life.
Have courage Abu ElSa’ad, so that we can live a decent, free and safe life and we must continue working and demanding according to the following saying:
''a demanded right does not get lost''