CAIRO, 16 April 2005 — The Political Parties Tribunal postponed indefinitely a lawsuit filed by the Labor Party to resume its legal activities after a 5-year suspension, a move the group’ officials said proved the government’s lack of commitment to political reform.
Members of the party had hoped President Hosni Mubarak’s talk of constitutional amendments and reform of laws governing politics would result in a lifting of the party’s suspension. The Labor Party is the second biggest opposition group in Egypt.
It is a popular Islamist organization that calls for an Islamic state where Islam and Shariah laws are applied in every walk of life. The party is also one of the most active groups in the country despite being banned from any political activities.
“This decision shows that all the latest talks about reforms are nonsense and that the authorities have no intention of reforming the political life in Egypt,” said Muhammad Al-Sherif, a member of the Labor Party.
“You cannot let a committee like the Political Parties Committee, which is controlled by members of the National Democratic Party, to have a say over another party.”
Al-Sherif was among some hundred members of the party who staged a demonstration at the Supreme Court on Thursday protesting the court ruling.
In 2000, the PPC, an affiliate of the Shoura Council, suspended the Labor Party and its mouthpiece Al-Shaab after the paper led a campaign against the Ministry of Culture over publication of a book that contained passages that were supposedly insulting to Islam. Students at Al-Azhar University rioted over the issue.
Editor-in-chief of Al-Shaab, Magdi Hussein, however, said he is not surprised at the court decision. “If you look at the so-called legal political institutions in the country you will find them illegal or established on laws that contradict the constitution,” he said. Hussein said his party will not be revived again until the country lifts the state of emergency and changes its constitution and laws, particularly those that tackle the formation of political parties.
Indeed, 11 of the 19 recognized political parties obtained their licenses after challenging an initial refusal from the PPC through Egypt’s judicial system. Three parties were formed in 1977 and four were authorized by the committee. The PPC has frozen seven parties and refused to extend official recognition to a further 63.
The editors of the Islamist-oriented Al-Shaab have obtained 11 court rulings for its comeback, but the state has declined to implement the rulings. Instead the paper publishes online, though their website is inaccessible inside Egypt.
“What happened is just a warning and a threat by the government for those who are trying to oppose its polices,” said Hussein. “But the government does whatever it pleases and we are also capable of continuing our activities and making our voice heard.”
