[This issue of Peking Review is from massline.org. Massline.org has kindly given us permission to to place these documents on the MIA. We made only some formatting changes to make them congruent with our style sheets.]
[This article is reprinted from Peking Review, #13, March 26, 1976, pp. 11-12.]
THE Egyptian People’s Assembly on March 15 approved a bill, officially abrogating the Egyptian-Soviet “treaty of friendship-and co-operation” which was signed in May 1971 to be valid for 15 years. This resolute decision of great significance demonstrates the Egyptian people’s fervent aspirations and firm determination to safeguard their national independence, state sovereignty and dignity, and shows that the Egyptian people are a heroic people with strong backbone who cannot be intimidated or subdued by any force. The decision has greatly heightened the morale of the Egyptian people and other Arab people as well as the people of the third world as a whole and greatly deflated the arrogance of the Soviet social-imperialists. It is acclaimed by justice-upholding people throughout the world. The Chinese people resolutely support the Egyptian people’s just struggle and firmly believe that their struggle is bound to win new victories continually.
People still remember that the Soviet revisionist authorities had extolled the Soviet-Egyptian “treaty of friendship and co-operation” and Soviet-Egyptian relations to the skies saying that the treaty “was a vivid example of genuine equality, full mutual understanding and fraternal solidarity,” that it had “laid a permanent foundation for the development of the relations between the two countries” and “had strong vitalities,” and so on and so forth. Now, in less than five years after the signing of the treaty, Egypt which has been driven beyond the limits of its forbearance is compelled to abrogate it. This serves to reveal the true features of the Soviet revisionists who, in their dealings with Egypt, have honey on their lips but murder in their hearts. The abrogation has given them a sound slap in the face.
Egypt’s abrogation of the treaty is a move enjoying popular support and it marks a new development in the Egyptian people’s struggle against hegemonism. The crimes committed against Egypt by the Soviet revisionists before and after the signing of the treaty are “disgusting” as President Sadat said. Twenty years have elapsed from the mid-50s, when the Soviet revisionists began infiltrating into Egypt by taking advantage of the Egyptian people’s aspiration to resist Israeli aggression and develop their national economy, to the abrogation of the treaty today. During these years, the Soviet revisionists have resorted to all kinds of vile and vicious tricks to cruelly exploit and blackmail the Egyptian people and unscrupulously intervene in Egypt’s internal affairs in an attempt to establish a hegemonic rule in Egypt with the Soviet Union dominating and controlling everything there. The Egyptian people have suffered bitterly from Soviet aggression and expansion and they have risen time and again in resistance. Angrily denouncing the Soviet revisionists for raising unreasonable demands, former Egyptian President Nasser said it was an act of “imperialism, pure and simple!” The Egyptian people have come to know thoroughly from the experience of 20 years’ struggle that no “friendship” or “co-operation” whatever can be expected of Soviet social-imperialism. They have come to see its reactionary features more and more clearly. President Sadat’s firm decision to abrogate the Egyptian-Soviet treaty is yet another tremendous victory in their anti-hegemonic struggle following the Egyptian people’s expulsion of Soviet military personnel in 1972. For all countries and people subjected to bullying, interference and control by Soviet social-imperialism, it is an example to follow in rising and resisting superpower hegemonism and safeguard national independence and state sovereignty.
The decision of the Egyptian people to abrogate the Egyptian-Soviet treaty is of great significance and it gives the people profound education and enlightenment.
It shows that the Soviet revisionists’ panegyric about “friendship and co-operation” is only a cloak for covering up their aggression and expansion against other countries and their plunder and control of them. Their so-called “respect for sovereignty,” “equality and mutual benefit,” “co-ordinated action,” “strengthening” of Egypt’s “defence capability” are all sheer deception! In recent years the Soviet Union has committed numerous crimes against Egypt, interfering in its internal affairs, withholding the shipment of munitions, ferociously pressing for payment of debts and interest, sowing discord among Arab countries, trying hard to isolate Egypt and even conspiring to subvert the Egyptian Government. The people of the whole world have witnessed all this and the Kremlin can never deny the facts.
It also shows: “There are true and false friends. But through practice one can tell the true from the false.” It is understandable that the Egyptian people placed their hopes on Moscow’s “aid” when they had before them the serious task of fighting against imperialism and colonialism and liberating their homeland. However, what this “natural ally” did has given the Egyptian people a deep education by negative example. It gave a little amount of arms in order to control Egypt, and it withheld supplying arms in order to force Egypt into submission. It provided some so-called military and economic aid in order to infiltrate into Egypt and expand its own spheres of influence; it took advantage of Egypt’s difficulties to madly press for payment of debts in order to force the country to surrender its independent stand. What kind of “ally” is this! It fully reveals the vicious features of social-imperialism.
The abrogation of the treaty also shows that one should not put blind faith in the social-imperialists. They brag so much about their “aid” as if the liberation of oppressed nations, and their national construction would be out of the question without it. The Egyptian people have come to know from their own experience that to control Egypt is the real aim of the Soviet revisionists, whereas their aid is fraudulent. In recent years, the Egyptian people under the leadership of President Sadat have taken a series of measures to shake off Soviet control and safeguard state sovereignty. This enraged the Soviet revisionists who, bent on bringing Egypt to its knees, resorted to the stick and the carrot. But the Egyptian people refused to submit to threat or be misled by honeyed words. They courageously withstood all pressures and were firmly determined to be masters of their own destiny. Facts have fully proved that confronted by a united people daring to struggle, Soviet social-imperialism is but a paper tiger and there is nothing to be afraid of. On the contrary, it is social-imperialism that fears the awakened people of the third world countries and the people of small countries who have stood up.
After Egypt decided to abrogate the treaty, the Soviet revisionist authorities immediately issued a statement through their mouthpiece TASS, declaring that the responsibility for the consequences of “the abrogation of the U.S.S.R.-A.R.E. treaty of friendship and co-operation rests entirely with the Egyptian side.” In this statement the Soviet social-imperialists not only try to wriggle out of the responsibility for their treacherous acts but also to blackmail the Egptian people. A11 this, however, is futile. With the abrogation of the treaty, the Egyptian people have cast off another shackle placed on them by the Soviet social-imperialists and taken their destiny into their own hands. Such “consequences” are excellent. Of course, this most vicious social-imperialism will never be reconciled to its defeat and will commit all manner of outrageous evil deeds. By “consequences,” the Soviet social-imperialists mean that they will resort to more despicable tactics as a reprisal against Egypt. But the great Egyptian people are on their guard. An Egyptian leader announced that his country has prepared “contingency plans” to meet possible Soviet hostile measures in various fields. We believe that the Egyptian people, with the support of other Arab people and the people of the whole world, will certainly smash all Soviet social-imperialist plots of sabotage and trouble-making.
Hegemonism itself determines its inevitable failure and doom. All acts of aggression, expansion and hegemonism produce the reverse of what they are intended to achieve. There was no exception to this rule in ancient times; nor is there in modern times. To contend for world domination, the Soviet social-imperialists have stretched their tentacles to every corner of the world in their desperate expansionist activities, thinking that things were made to their order. But the more places they reach out for, the greater will be the number of people who clearly see their true features as imperialists and the greater will be the number of people who rise to oppose them. The thunderous roar of the Egyptian people is only a new starting point. The storms of opposition to Soviet hegemonism and expansionism will certainly rise one after another in the third world countries as well as in other small and medium-sized countries.
(March 19)
Foreign Minister Chiao Kuan-hua met and bad a cordial and friendly conversation on March 21 with Salah El-Abd, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to China.
The Chinese Foreign Minister stated that the Chinese Government and people firmly support the Egyptian people in the just struggle they carry on under the leadership of President Anwar El Sadat in defence of national independence and state sovereignty against big-power hegemonism, and that they believe that the Arab people including the Palestinian people, by strengthening their unity and persevering in struggle, will surely win continuous new victories in their struggle against imperialism, hegemonism and Zionism.
Return to Peking Review article list