Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor with Youri Smouther, on 1+1 Discussing Modern Egyptian History

Hello everyone.  This is part two of my conversation with Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan-African News Wire on the history and current affairs of Egypt. 

To watch this episode in its entirety just go the following URL:1+1 E362 Youri & Abayomi Azikiwe of Pan African Newswire & Black Agenda Report on Egypt Part 2 of 2 

In this episode we look at the anti-colonial resistance to the Ottomans and the British, Egypt's early years of independence under the Egyptian Monarchy that was still closely tied to British imperialism/colonialism and the rise of Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser and looking at his socioeconomic legacy which was largely left-wing/left leaning and for the first time in Egyptian history arguably since Cleopatra someone who fought for Egyptian sovereignty but for all Egyptians, the vast working class and poor. 

We look at Nasser's legacy also on foreign policy while also looking at the Muslim Brotherhood, the rise of Anwar Sadat and his pivot to the economic right and neoliberalism, the reign and legacy of Hosni Mubarak, what led to his downfall and the rise of Mohamed Morsi whose Freedom and Justice Party was an affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood and what led to his downfall. 

Was the North African Arab Spring a genuine left leaning people power uprising or was it largely a color revolution that Western Imperialism and its proxy Israel largely restructured? 

Or was it both? We then look at the current affairs of Egypt under the leadership of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi a far-right secular military junta now supposedly under civilian clothing. Egypt's relations with BRICS, Egypt's relations with Sudan and Ethiopia and Western Africa which is going through its Anti-French spring/wave.  

We later explore Egypt since Sadat, its amicable relations with Israel, and we talk about how Israel is NOT surrounded by hostile neighbors, it has an ally in Egypt, Jordan, the Gulf monarchs, much of the North African countries, Lebanon even and now sadly Syria. 

Later Abayomi Azikiwe talks of how the Oslo Peace Accords were a fraud in the end and how the Palestinians didn't achieve a "Two State Solution" for Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem, and it continues to be that way with the exception of Gaza in which illegal settlements were removed but Gaza faced a horrendous economic blockade like that of Iraq in the 90s and Cuba presently for simply voting in democratic elections and voting for Hamas. 

Abayomi Azikiwe explains how since the Oslo Accords and the death of Yasser Arafat, the PLO/Fatah have been acting more as a colonial viceroy for Israel, and whenever Palestinians rise up either non-violently or want to escalate sabotage against Israel in the West Bank and East Jerusalem or want unity with those suffering in Gaza, the PLO/Fatah/Palestinian authority kneecaps it, and acts as a colonial contractor to Israel and the West and Israel's allies. Also objects to the democratic/secular one state solution.  

All of this and tons more on this edition of 1+1, looking at the history of Egypt, the demise of British colonialism, independence, the rise of Nasser and secularism and socialism, the rise of Anwar Sadat and reactionary neoliberalism and neocolonialism, Egypt's foreign policy during the Cold War, the 90s, and presently with the attempted rise of BRICS and multipolarity, and Egypt's ongoing struggle with Western Imperialism and an economic system that only helps a tiny rich few but leaves the masses of working class, and tiny precarious middle class suffering and struggling immensely which has always been the struggle of Egyptians.