In November 2022, the UN climate conference COP 27 will take place in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. We spoke to Egyptian Revolutionary Socialist Hossam el-Hamalawy about the deteriorating political situation in Egypt since the 2013 military coup and why COP 27 needs to be scandalized.
marx21: What is COP 27 and why is it taking place in Egypt?
Hossam el-Hamalawy: It is a UN-sponsored climate change conference (the 27th in this case), where states and NGOs meet to discuss solutions to the environmental crisis. It’s taking place in Egypt, part of its military regime’s effort to greenwash its dismal record in human rights and environmental policies.
When Egyptian head of state Abdel Fattah el Sisi was in Berlin this summer, he met with German chancellor Olaf Scholz to talk about the climate crisis. What have been Sisi’s policies regarding climate change?
Sisi has been actively cutting down trees and massive green areas in Cairo and the provinces, building on top of them asphalt streets and concrete bridges. In Sinai, where the summit is hosted, the state has implemented catastrophic projects, destroying the environment in St Catherine for example, where tourist construction project, ordered by Sisi, will result in home demolitions for the local community. Erecting concrete bridges and roads will have a negative impact on the whole area.
The Egyptian state has been accused of greenwashing. Could you explain what this means and how it manifests itself?
Greenwashing is when a military dictatorship uses environmental issues as a propaganda tool to enhance its dismal human rights record. The Egyptian state does not miss an opportunity for instrumentalizing public relations, and is trying to improve its reputation to cover up for its crimes against its citizens. Inviting foreign officials to summits, held in Sharm (Egypt’s Las Vegas), whether the theme is environment or something else, is a constant policy. And it’s disheartening to see German institutions like the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (which cannot operate in the first place in the country) taking part in such summits and helping to greenwash the military dictatorship, whose fossil fuel consumption is roughly over 97% of its total energy use.
What has been the position of the trade unions regarding climate change?
The independent trade unions have been crushed following the 2013 coup. The current union federation we have in Egypt is run by the state.
The Egyptian state has said that there will be space for opposition at the conference. In a statement the Egyptian Campaign for Climate and Democracy writes however that: »No real Egyptian opposition activists will be allowed near Sharm El-Sheikh during the conference. It would be a shame if genuine global grassroots movements are fooled into taking part in such a state-orchestrated charade.«What would you suggest for organizations who have been invited to COP 27 to do?
They should boycott the conference and not take part in this charade.
Some may argue that because there is no country with a completely clean human rights record, »we« would have to boycott all COP conferences. What would you respond to this?
That’s a pathetic argument. You cannot compare a straightforward military dictatorship, which is locking up at least 60,000 prisoners and leaves zero room for dissent, with a country let’s say like Finland! This argument is simply opportunistic.
There are 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt. Why has the Egyptian state clamped down so hard on the opposition?
Because the current regime emerged following the military coup of 2013, with the aim of crushing the 2011 revolution. Counterrevolutionary regimes resort to unprecedented levels of state violence to destroy any prospects of another uprising.
Could you tell us about the situation of some of these prisoners and what the pretext of their arrests are?
Overcrowded prison cells, no medical treatment, torture is systematic, dozens die in prison facilities each year.
You are a member of the Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists, an organization that has been hit with heavy repressions by the Egyptian state. What is the situation like for opposition groups in Egypt since the military coup of Abdel Fattah el Sisi in 2013?
Revolutionary groups have been crushed by the security services, by either mass arrests, confiscation of assets, listing the leaders and members on terror lists, and targeting any attempt at running in elections or organizing in the streets.
The socialist journalist Hisham Fouad and the lawyer for workers rights Haitham Mohamedain were recently released from prison. What were the circumstances of their imprisonment?
Hisham Fouad and Haitham Mohamedain were held as part of targeting the opposition left. They were kept in dismal conditions and hardly given the medical care they needed. They are currently in poor health and trying to recover. Both Revolutionary Socialist leaders were also put on a terror list following the coup so as to sequestrate their bank accounts and any possessions.
The campaign to free the imprisoned human rights activist Alaa Abdel Fattah has spoken of »No COP 27 until Alaa is free«. How can activists in Germany and elsewhere show solidarity and put forward the campaign for freeing Alaa and political prisoners in Egypt in general in light of COP 27?
They should use the opportunity as Egypt under the spotlight, and pressure their German government into stopping the arms sales and security cooperation with the Egyptian military regime.
Thank you for the interview, Hossam.
Zur deutschen Version des Interviews.
Photo: Alisdare Hickson
Schlagwörter: Ägypten, Klima, Militärdiktatur
