The biggest and most
dangerous fallacy - if not a lie – regarding the two islands’ issue is that
some deliberately intend to divide dispute or quarrel parties into two
categories. The first one includes those believing the two islands are Egyptian
and that we should stick to our rights in them shouting out loud that land is
honor, dignity, and homeland itself. The second, meanwhile, includes those believing
the two islands are Saudi and should be returned back. Such differentiation
describes the first group as the patriot one we should listen to and worthy to decide
the nation’s fate while the second was the one including the traitors who
agreed to cede our sovereignty on the two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia;
meaning they agreed to give away our honor and dignity, and hence we should not
listen to them or even let them live on our land.
It’s not the first such incident
in our contemporary history, especially after July 1952 revolution. Although History
does not repeat itself, its incidents sometimes may look alike giving the same
moral. Almost the same false arguments and dissemination took place at the time
of the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 1954 regarding evacuation of English troops,
and even raged after signing and declaring the agreement to the public. Criticism,
attack, and even claims of betrayal were leveled at Gamal Abdel Nasser and his
fellow Free Officers[1]. No one of those
attackers, who behaved as symbols of patriotism and honor and considered
themselves the sage philosophers and genius professors of law and diplomacy of
all times, paid attention to the efforts exerted by Nasser and the experts and
scientists; members of the negotiating delegation, not even to the objective circumstances
governing the negotiation atmosphere along with all the tiny specific details
connected to the case. Nasser was then-Prime minister and head of the Egyptian
delegation in negotiation. He was accompanied by Abdel Hakim Amer[2], Abdel Latif al-Bughdadi[3], Salah Salem[4], and Mahmoud Fawzi[5]. The agreement included
thirteen articles in addition to other annexes and attachments. However article
no. 12, which included three clauses, was the one under heavy attack.
The first clause in
article no. 12 stipulated that: this agreement shall be effective for a period
of seven years as of signing date. The second: the two governments shall
negotiate during the last twelve months of the agreement’s effective period to
decide all necessary measures that should be taken at the end of the agreement.
The third clause: this agreement is rendered ineffective after seven years
starting as of the signing date, and government of the United Kingdom shall
transfer or take action regarding what is left of its proprieties in the Suez
base at that time unless the two governments agree on extending this agreement.
The fourth article also received fierce attack of betrayal claims for it has
stipulated: “in the event of an armed attack by some outside power on any state
member of the common defense pact of the Arab league signed upon in Cairo on
April 13, 1950, or on Turkey at the signing of this agreement, Egypt shall
provide to the United Kingdom all that is necessary to prepare the base for war
and guarantee its effective management. Such facilitating measures include
using the Egyptian ports within limits specified by ultimate urgency for the
purposes before mentioned”. Severe criticism and claims of betrayal were
directed at Nasser and his fellows accusing them of not expelling the English
troops at once and that they gave away Egyptian territory when they agreed to the
return of the English troops to the Suez base and Egyptian ports... Days passed
and Britain was expelled not only from Egypt but also from the history of big
nations after the Tripartite Aggression of the Suez Crisis on 1956 took place,
in addition, the agreement was declared null and void.
Another example of such
incident was when Egypt signed the agreement acknowledging Sudan’s right in
self-determination provided that full self-governance in Sudan should start at
once. It was on November, 1952. At that time, attackers claimed that July 1952
revolution had given away the Egyptian territory as they considered Sudan part
of it, and called Nasser a traitor for he has agreed to give the Sudanese the
right to decide their fate. Until our present time, some still refer any
problem arising between Egypt and Sudan to that so-called giving away by Nasser
and the July revolution.
All those hurling
criticism, now and before, forgot what Nasser and the July revolution did when
they called for the right of people to decide their fate and that freedom of
countries is inseparable of that of people. They forgot that Nasser outshined
in the whole world through two consecutive decades because he was one of the
pioneers calling for national liberation. They also forgot that Egypt stood for
the right of Third World countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to
liberate.
Turning back to Tiran
and Sanafir issue, I stop by those who made such ugly dissemination and say –
ignoring for the first time names and lines written, including someone
pretending to be the philosopher of all times – I think we should now focus on
two issues. First, we should let our parliament fully take up its role as to debating
the accord of outlining the Egyptian-Saudi maritime borders as per all criteria
of precision in order to come out with the right decision. The second is to
avoid any aftermath that may affect our relation with the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia and our brother Arabs in states of the Gulf Cooperation Council for I
believe the siege imposed on our country from all sides; west, east, north, and
south, requires that we should keep good relations with our direct eastern
neighbor who did not hesitate to stand by our side at the darkest moments
because our neighbor believes that Egypt collapse would eventually lead to his,
sooner or later.
In my opinion, it’s not
a matter of sticking to land or giving it away, nor a matter of betrayal or
patriotism, but rather a matter of wrong or right judgment. The first lacks
multi-sided justified causes while the second depends heavily on those
justified causes. Nasser signed the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of evacuation on
1954, and before that al-Nahhas Pasha[6] signed the Anglo-Egyptian
treaty of 1936, and time was enough for Egypt to overcome what was not in her favor.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was
published in Al Ahram newspaper on April 21, 2016.
To see the Arabic
article, go to:
#alahram #ahmed_elgammal
#Egypt #july_23 #1952 #gamal_abdel_nasser #Sudan #Tiran #sanafir
[1] The Free Officers: (Arabic: حركة الضباط الأحرار) were a group of
nationalist officers in the armed forces of Egypt and Sudan that instigated the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. It operated as a clandestine movement of junior
officers during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Muhammad Naguib joined the Free Officers in 1949, after the war, and
became their official leader during the turmoil leading up the revolution
because of the hero status he had earned during the war, and his influence in
the army. (Source: Wikipedia)
[2] Mohamed
Abdel Hakim Amer: (Arabic: محمد عبد الحكيم عامر) (11 December 1919 –
14 September 1967) was an Egyptian general and political leader. (Source:
Wikipedia)
[3] Abdel
Latif Bughdadi: (20 September
1917 – 9 September 1999) (Arabic: عبد اللطيف البغدادي) was an Egyptian politician, senior air force officer,
and judge. An original member of the Free Officers Movement which overthrew the monarchy in Egypt in the 1952
Revolution, Bughdadi later served as Gamal Abdel Nasser's
vice president. The French author Jean
Lacouture called Boghdadi
"a robust manager" who only lacked "stature comparable to
Nasser's. The two leaders had a fallout over Nasser's increasingly socialist
and pro-USSR policies and Bughdadi subsequently withdrew from political life in
1964, although he mended ties with Nasser before the latter's death in 1970.
(Source: Wikipedia)
[4] Salah
Salem: (Arabic: صلاح سالم) (September 25, 1920
– February 18, 1962) was an Egyptian military officer, and politician, and a member of the Free Officers Movement that orchestrated the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. (Source: Wikipedia)
[5] Mahmoud
Fawzi: (Arabic: محمود فوزى) (19 September 1900
– 12 June 1981) was an Egyptian diplomat and political figure of Circassian origin who was Prime Minister of Egypt from 1970-1972 and Vice President of Egypt from 1972-1974. (Source: Wikipedia)
[6] Mustafa
el-Nahhas Pasha or Mustafa Nahhas: (Arabic: مصطفى النحاس باشا; June 15, 1879 – August 23,
1965) was an Egyptian political
figure. (Source: Wikipedia)
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