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Egypt's Black Bloc Doesn't Want to Be Your Friend

Wed, 02/13/2013 - 02:52 -- worker

From Vice

Anarchists in the West get pretty touchy about the usage of the phrase "black bloc." While the mainstream media has co-opted the term to christen a new movement of furious, state-destroying bank smashers, the anarchists gripe that all it really refers to is the tactic of wearing all black to help preserve your anonymity at a protest or riot.

In Egypt, however, they seem less concerned with the terminology. Modeling themselves on the anti-establishment ideals of their Western counterparts, the Egyptian Black Bloc share the same tactics and uniform, but have adopted the name with its capital letters intact: Black Bloc as anti-Islamist movement, rather than lowercase anti-CCTV strategy.

Young Egyptians claiming affiliation with the group have been turning up to protests in the hundreds to skirmish with progovernment forces. They have no qualms about using violence and have claimed responsibility for the recent firebomb attack on the Muslim Brotherhood’s HQ and the temporary closure of Alexandria’s tramway.

Understandably, this has terrified the Muslim Brotherhood. President Morsi has vowed to crack down on the Black Bloc. Attorney General Talaat Ibrahim has cited them as a terrorist organization, ordering the police and army to arrest anyone suspected of being a member.

Islamist groups such as Jama’a al-Islamiya haven't taken their emergence too well either, releasing bafflingly vague statements like “the Black Bloc must die.” A countermovement of Islamists calling themselves the White Bloc has also been initiated, but despite all this, the group is growing quickly in numbers, its ranks swollen with plenty of young people who talk about their own deaths in collateral terms.

I managed to get an interview with one of the guys running Egypt's Black Bloc. He wasn't exactly chatty, but I guess he's got more important business to attend to.

VICE: What does the Egyptian Black Bloc represent, ideologically?
Anonymous: The Egyptian Black Bloc holds several different views and doesn't adhere to one specific ideology. There's obviously a resemblance in appearance with the European black blocs, though, and we share some of their basic ideas.

Do you guys have any kind of relationship with Anonymous?
There isn't one, no.

Does the group have any desire for future involvement in Egyptian politics?
We are indeed already involved in Egyptian political life because we are the youth of the revolution.

How did the group form?
It was formed after one of the attacks that took place against people holding a sit-in at the El-Ettihadia Palace, in which activists were targeted.

How has the general public reacted to the group?
In the beginning, the public was afraid of us. But after we protected and defended them our intentions became clearer and people who liked us started appearing. It's gotten to the point where people have started defending us.

What is your relationship like with the Egyptian media?
There is no relationship or communication between the Egyptian media and us.

How is the group structured?
We have a general leader named Cabo Zero, as well as a few leaders of smaller branches.

Egyptian state media is claiming you are an armed rebel group, what is your response to that?
These are the same accusations that every fascist regime accuses people of. We wonder what the official state media's current stance is on the Hazzimoon Group, or the Muslim Brotherhood militias, or other extreme Islamic right-wing movements.

What is your relationship like with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists?
They are our enemies.

How far are you willing to go to reach your objectives?
We are willing to go to the furthest extents, even if it costs us our lives.

What is the group’s ultimate objective?
We seek to overthrow a corrupt and tyrannical government, cleanse the judicial system and the police force, and punish those who have the blood and money of Egyptians on their hands. Beyond that, we also believe in the creation of a minimum and maximum wage and establishing social justice.

What is the relationship between the Black Bloc and general religious ideology? Are you a secular organization?
Our members hold different ideas. There are liberals, there are secularists and there are also moderate Islamists.

What do you have to say to Jama’a al-Islamiya's assertion that "the Black Bloc must die"?
How are we to answer those whose hands have been tarnished with the blood of innocents?

Is there any message you wish us to convey to the public on your behalf?
Our message to the entire world is that we do not seek to make enemies of anyone. We wish to lift the Egyptians out of injustice and corruption and establish social justice and human rights and protect them from religious fascism. Our message to our countrymen is: “We are your children. We do not seek to destroy our nation. We sacrifice our blood for our nation and we will not stay silent in the face of injustice and corruption.”

Who are the White Bloc and what is your relationship with them like?
The White Bloc is an organization created to destroy us, comprised of members from the extreme right.

Is it possible to tell us about some of the things you have done together as a group?
We decline to answer that question.

How do you guys work together at a protest, how does an average day go?
No comment.

How do you plan to enact the changes you want to see in Egypt?
We shall keep on escalating our endeavors.

Can you tell us about your personal pasts and how your experiences motivated you to get involved with Black Bloc?
Some of us were arrested in 2008 and many of us are activists from before the revolution, some who got started during it. We have been involved in many altercations since January 28th, 2011 and we're still keeping up the struggle.

Category: 

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

"the Egyptian Black Bloc share the same tactics and uniform, but have adopted the name with its capital letters intact: Black Bloc as anti-Islamist movement, rather than lowercase anti-CCTV strategy."

There is no difference, you liberal moron. CCTVs and religion are the same, except one is digital and the other analog!

Hey, this could make a decent trade-off joke...

Submitted by Belrazor (not verified) on

There is a difference in intent. The western black blocs' intent is evasion from identification. Some of the "reactionary" black blocs employed here (US) usually have the intent of protecting activists during protests and other events using a diversity of counter-violence tactics.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Your post makes no sense, black blocs from everywhere have played those roles ...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Leaders?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Cue discussion on how this is an interview with one person by Vice magazine and in other news about them they have multiple times identified as anarchists and there are obviously multiple perspectives going on and they have released numerous videos that glorify black blocs in Seattle and Oakland.

Oh I forgot, Vice magazine establishes all truths and every piece of information is always the final definitive piece.

Submitted by Pagan Warrior (not verified) on

Who cares? They seem to be doing a better job than we are doing right now. We cant get past the stupid Ancap vs Ancom divisions. Which I am sure are being perpetuated by agents of the state. I think that the black bloc tactic is perfect for their situation, and I wish them luck in using it.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

LOL!
Ancap Vs Ancom divisions? Mother fucker, are you assuming the two have ANYTHING in common?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

lol you proved his/her point MOTHERFUCKER! Clearly anarchists, I don't give a fuck what Bakunin and Kropotkin associated with, should not identify as either capitalist/communists/feminist/individualist/etc.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Same communist from above.

Motherfucker, I totally agree with you that those labels should be abandoned once they've outlived their usefulness - When ideas turn into ideology and no longer serve people but rather have people serve ideas.
That said, you forgot to add anarchism to that list.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

there will never be a unification between capitalists and communists because we want TOTALLY different things.
Ancaps are enemies of anarchism and should be treated as such whenever encountered.

Submitted by iconoclasta on

I think you might find more love and understanding in a Libertarian Party site.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Communism = political program, methodology, and ideology

communism = a social condition where class relations have been abolished

Anarchism is necessarily one of these and absolutely not the other.
If you aren't a communist, I honestly don't care much of what you have to say cause frankly, you're not an anarchist from my point of view.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

okay so for future reference, ancaps do not exist and are not relevant to anything. there is no need to bring them up, talk about them, or acknowledge their existence in any way, ever.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Sometimes I yell at them on the internet because they're a convenient receptacle for hatred that I would otherwise have no outlet for.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

"hey, we're totally on the same side" says the capitalist, the stalinist, the feminist... etc...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Title exists for VICE page views and assumption that anarchists in the west can't deal with a burgeoning movement that adopts some of our tactics and anti-authoritarian outlook without being completely hegemonic. They might be right, specially when it comes to anarchists in the states, but I think this is rad

Also, it is pretty clear that the first call outs and videos came from Alexandria where actual anarchists exists in larger numbers.

Good luck comrades!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Yeah and there isn't even a single quote from someone backing up their claim that anarchists in the West are offended somehow by Egyptian activities. it's obviously the story they're trying to construct.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

yeah like were all crying "Oh no! Not the global generalization of black bloc tactics to confront power!"
Anarchists or not, this shit is real.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Would have been a better article if vice didn't try to editorialize. "Journalists still don't get black bloc" ain't much of a story.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Egyptian black bloc: "We sacrifice our blood for our nation"

So they are similar to 'national anarchist' black blocs in Russia. The Egyptian BB also marches with national flags.

Why are American anarchists rallying around nationalist militants?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

don't forget that american anarchists' politics and tactics are developed in context to european class society. what's unfolding in egypt is in response to a very different type of society. i'm not saying we should support them without question just because they're not from the 'first world,' which would be a patronizing position reminiscent of the new left's anti-imperialism.

i just think we should keep in mind that anti-authoritarian politics will not unfold around the world the same way that they did here.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

by nation they mean their fellow Egyptians not they're country and hopefully they don't subscribe to racist ideologies like the NatAns do.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

IGTT 2/10

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

IGTT 8/10 ... trolling AS an anti-troll is a good one. Sneaky.

When the fuck are first world anarchists going to start considered the possibility that nation =/= state in all instances... or even nationALISM necessarily?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Oh wait, you weren't responding the the comment immediately above yours, were you? Sorry, this layout sometimes confuses me.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Any links on articles where members of the Egyptian Black Bloc identify themselves as anarchists?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

well they use circle A's and fly black flags in the video above...

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I call BS I've heard much different from other participants, and myself. This GUY should not speak for everyone. - Egyptian (A)narchist

Submitted by your mom (not verified) on

"How is the group structured?
We have a general leader named Cabo Zero, as well as a few leaders of smaller branches."

WAT

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