3rd edition of Salah Montaser’s book on Nasser's era published

CAIRO - 2 January 2020: The third edition of "My Testament on the Era of Abdel Nasser ... Years of Victory and Refraction," was published by journalist Salah Montaser, one of the icons of Egyptian journalism.

In this book, Montaser reveals the outcome of the July Revolution. Alaa Abdel Hadi, the editor of the book, said that the first edition of the book had been sold out as soon as it was published and a number of senior politicians, writers, journalists and media workers celebrated it.

Some have agreed with Montaser regarding his testimony on the era of Abdel Nasser, and others disagreed, but almost everyone referred to the importance of the book, praising the author’s neutral position while stating facts.

Abdel Hadi also pointed out that a second print of the book had been sold out; therefore, a third edition will be published, with a full chapter devoted to the responses of these writers and politicians, so that the book remains documentation of history.

The chapter includes leading writers and politicians' responses and comments on the testimony of Montaser, including Ahmed Abdel-Moaty Hegazy, Hala Mostafa, Farouk Gwaida, Muhammad Salmawi, Abdel-Moneim Al-Saeed, Abdo Mubasher, Abbas el-Tarabili, Ezzat el-Saadani, Suleiman Gouda.

Furthermore, the book consists of five chapters. The first chapter focuses on the beginning of the July movement, the formation of the Free Officers Organization, the end of King Farouk’s reign and the proclamation of the republic, in addition to the agrarian reform movement, the elimination of feudalism and the dissolution of parties.

The author also writes about the years following the 1952 Revolution, affirming that Gamal Abdel Nasser needed four years to be able to completely grasp his power and appear internationally. His election for the first time as President of the Republic in a referendum was held on June 24, 1956.

During these four years, Nasser went through a series of unending battles against the former politicians, especially against President Mohamed Naguib, who was allegedly blamed for wanting to monopolize power.

Moreover, in the second chapter the author sheds light on the July Revolution and its relationship with the Americans to solve the Palestinian issue and end the Arab-Israeli conflicts, in an attempt to achieve peace between the two parties. However, Montaser confirms that Nasser rejected the Americans' attempts in fear that his leadership image would be affected.

In the third chapter, Montaser writes about the unity of Egypt and Syria. The author also sheds light on the problems and conspiracies that Nasser faced after the unity and until the separation took place in 1961.

In the fourth chapter, the author lists the details of the Arab conflicts in the sixties, considered the beginning of the road to the defeat against Israel in June 5, 1967, starting with the war in Yemen and the immediate recognition of the Yemen coup. Cairo did not have enough information about what was happening in Yemen as there were no reliable sources for information.

The author also focuses on Egypt's relationship with Saudi Arabia during the aforementioned period, especially after the unity between Egypt and Syria, where Saudi Arabia accused the Egyptian state of conspiring against it, and the relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia worsened because of the Egyptian approach to the Yemeni cause.

In the last chapter of the book, the author focuses on the harvest of Nasser’s revolution and confirms that before the unity with Syria Nasser was the president of Egypt and that he became the leader of all Arabs after the unity, which exposed him to oppositions from Saudi Arabia.

At the end of his book, Montaser asserts that Nasser and his colleagues did not have true intentions to establish a healthy democratic life.