Commonwealth of LibertyBoard

★ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚄𝙽𝙸𝚃𝙴𝙳 𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙱 𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚄𝙱𝙻𝙸𝙲 ★

"𝖥𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗂𝗌, 𝖨 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖾, 𝖺 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖾𝖿𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗈𝗅 𝗂𝗇 𝖽𝖾𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗈𝗒𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝖺𝗇 𝗂𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗏𝗂𝖽𝗎𝖺𝗅 - 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗅 𝗈𝖿 𝖺 𝗉𝖾𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖾."
ANWAR EL-SADAT

_________________

_{𝐓𝐇𝐄 "𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐌" 𝐁𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌: 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝟐
^{1972 - ARAB REVOLUTIONARY FRONT}}
_{The radical student movement had always been a tangible and vocal presence within the political scene of the United Arab Republic, however large scale political action had always been muted out of respect to the political legacy of late President Nasser. Sadat however doesn't have the same leeway or legacy, leading to the student movement - which has grown even more radicalized as of late, flirting with both the Marxist and Islamist movements as both see a resurgence in the wake of the Six-Day War - to come out in full force, demanding change and a different path from Nasser's successor.}

_{The radicalist movement went so far as to stage a week long riot, calling on the president to enact urgent reforms, prepare for war with Israel on an immediate notice, end the hold of the intelligence apparatus on colleges, create a more open and free democratic system, and a host of other demands. The riot targeted mainly many of the U.A.R's casinos and 'upper-class' establishments that light up Cairo like Las Vegas at night. The targeting of casinos and nightclubs also helped the cause of both wings of the student movement, as Islamists viewed them as 'harmful establishments that harm the religious character of the state' while the Socialists viewed them as signs of the still dominant bourgeoise.}

_{In fact the motivations for the riots were diverse and many, the leftist and socialist wing of the student movement criticized the rise of a new bourgeoise class that has flourished thanks to the petrodollar wealth brought on by Libyan oil, while also criticizing the recent influx of foreign products and capital caused by the March 30 reforms. Meanwhile the more conservative, and Islamist elements critizied what they have perceived as moral degeneration due to both western and Soviet influences, calling on the government to pursue greater ties with the 'Islamic' nations of the Middle East such as Saudi Arabia.}

_{Not wishing to deploy the military against the student movement, President Sadat authorized the first deployment of the Popular Forces, the armed wing of the National Progressive Party. The Popular Forces units were created in 1969 under Nasser, as one of his last policies which included the 'militarization' of the party to prevent external challenges, a light paramilitary force based on guerilla warfare, the taskforce was perfect for an operation that required agile and quick operations to forcefully put it down.}

_{The following weeks were full of large-scale government propaganda to attempt to quell the situation, blaming the riots on 'external' forces that 'wished to harm the state', followed by large-scale arrests under new Minister of Interior Kamal Rifa'at (with a specific focus on arresting Islamists).}

_{In order to satisfy the radical movement, Sadat announced two decrees, one which would allow for greater political freedoms for the student unions, and a second that introduced the 'National Dialogue Framework', which is intended to be held between the National Progressive Party and various political entities, from illegal parties to opposition figures, in an attempt to create political reform that under Sadat owns word 'will make way for the establishment for a true democratic, socialist, and free United Arab Republic'.}

_{Capitalizing on the reformist wave, Sadat also inaugurated several small-scale economic reforms, including streamlining and making it easier to privatize state-owned enterprises, lowering the luxury tax, easing imports of foreign products, and cutting some red tape that hampered foreign investment in the United Arab Republic.}