CAIRO: Though the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) still has not answered calls for a general strike on April 6, MB deputy leader Mohamed Habib said the group's participation could weigh heavily on its success. "The Brotherhood is a political entity enjoying widespread popularity and credibility, said Habib, "any action removed from the Brotherhood is pale and weak and does not have much impact. Habib added that the Brotherhood's official position will be announced in a few days. Members of the April 6 Youth Movement had renewed calls for a general strike a year after they had made similar calls on Facebook, the popular social networking website. According to local press reports, several groups have announced their decision to join, including the Islamist Labor Party, the Karama Party, the Kefaya movement and the "No to exporting gas to Israel movement. Meanwhile, the Democratic Front Party (DFP) still has not made a decision. "If there are legitimate demands and an organized strike, we will join, said Margaret Azir, chairperson of the DFP. Examples of legitimate demands include constitutional amendments or an improvement in living standards, she said. However, Azir was opposed to "striking for the sake of striking. This idea of "striking for the sake of striking was echoed by National Democratic Party MP Mohamed Kwaitah, who feels the April 6 strike has no clear agenda. In a statement posted on a Facebook group of over 70,000 members, the April 6 Youth Movement lists several grievances including corruption, poor education in schools, overcrowded public transport and the increasing cost of living. "People have the right to strike and present their problems, but striking isn't a trend, said Kwaitah. According to Diaa Rashwan, analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, the surge in the number of strikes in Egypt is an indication of a degree of political dissidence that cannot be ignored. While Rashwan concedes that the MB's participation would be significant, he sees other indicators of the potential success of the April 6 strike. "As an analyst, I can't ignore that the Muslim Brotherhood are the strongest political [opposition] group and that their participation in the strike would make a positive contribution, he said. However, Rashwan added there were several changes that distinguish the new call to strike from that of last year's. Strikers can draw on their previous experience and have been trying to engage wide participation by a variety of political groups, whereas last year, with the exception of the Mahalla protests, the calls to strike were made "virtually via the internet. More importantly, Egypt now has two precedents of successful strikes. The idea of a successful nation-wide strike was made possible by the example set by the pharmacists and lawyers, who recently succeeded in having their demands met, he said. Opinions were mixed about the success of the 2008 general strike. While some saw empty streets and low turnout in schools as evidence of success, others saw it simply as a desire to avoid clashes between protestors and security. Rashwan says gauging the success of a general strike can be difficult. "Unfortunately, the means of measuring the success of a general strike are less precise than those for sector-related strikes, said Rashwan. However, there are several indicators to look for, like empty streets, participation by different sectors, or people hanging flags from their balconies. "If the strike is successful, it will give an indication that the government has become more isolated [from the people]. But if not, it is not necessarily an indicator that the government is popular.
