Egypt court dissolves (Hosni Mubarak's) former ruling party (& orders liquidation of their assets)

[Turborama]

Source: Reuters

CAIRO | Sat Apr 16, 2011 8:51am EDT

An Egyptian court on Saturday ordered the dissolution of the political party of former President Hosni Mubarak, one of the demands of the protesters who ended his 30-year rule.

The Higher Administrative Court in Cairo also ordered the liquidation of the assets of the National Democratic Party (NDP), with the funds to be returned to the state.

The NDP dominated Egyptian politics since it was set up by Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar el-Sadat, in 1978.

The party's headquarters were torched during the protests that led Mubarak to step down in February, and its supporters were blamed for some acts of thuggery during the demonstrations.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/16/us-egypt-politics-idUSTRE73F11X20110416

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(Edited to add Reuters' update)

[koffeekup]

1. I am very concerned over the direction Egypt is going

The military and the judiciary seem to be partnering up to limit the citizens options in almost every matter.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Aka

Animal Farm.

Did you expect otherwise ?

[koffeekup]

3. No, but it appears a lot of people did... NT

[pampango]

4. "meeting one of the key demands of the protest movement that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak."

Egypt dissolves former ruling party

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011416125051889315.html

The Higher Administrative Court announced the decision on Saturday, meeting one of the key demands of the protest movement that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak in February. "The administrative court issued a ruling to dissolve the NDP and seize its money, and its headquarters and buildings will be handed to the government," a judicial source said.

The NDP dominated Egyptian politics since it was set up by Mubarak's predecessor, Anwar el-Sadat, in 1978. Much of its senior leadership is now behind bars on suspicion of embezzlement.

The move to dissolve NDP was the latest concession by Egypt's military rulers to demands of the protest movement, coming days after Mubarak and his sons were put under detention for investigation on allegations of corruption and involvement in the killing of protesters.

The party's headquarters were torched during the protests that led Mubarak to step down, and its supporters were blamed for acts of thuggery during the demonstrations.

[Igel]

5. I'm of two minds.

On the one hand, the party was large, well funded, and this would help it maintain outsized importance.

On the other, many self-styled democrats in the 20th century always had, as one of their demands to ensure dialog and freedom of speech, the requirement that the people they don't like be forced to shut up under threat of state sanction.

It's likely that an unpopular but entrenched party would be reduced in size if it couldn't use the threat of state violence or use state funds. It's also likely that any "democratic" party that insists on the use of state threats and power to shut up those it doesn't like will become exactly what it professed to dislike so--and, when it fails to notice this, make it obvious that it didn't so much want freedom and democracy for all, but freedom for itself to acquire and keep power.

Kto kogo, the old Russian saying. Capitalism is the oppression of man by man, while communism is exactly the reverse--the oppression of man by man. Or, in this case, totalitarianism is the oppression of man by man, while "democracy (tm)" is the oppression of man by man.