The Iranian people took to the streets
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01 July 2009 / International Bulletin / Issue: 83

Since the 10th presidential elections from June 12, the biggest demonstrations for 30 years are shaking Iran and naturally everybody is commenting the events from its own point of view. Even if the elections have been the flash point of the mass protests, they are not limited to the recent elections but first of all the expression of the outrage of the Iranian people accumulated for decades against the brutal oppression and exploitation of the reactionary regime.
The US and European imperialists, first of all Obama, Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy, started again their false show of defending democracy expressing serious concerns about alleged electoral fraud and condemning strongly the repression of the Mullah regime against the opposition. Obviously, they are not concerned about the rights and freedoms of the Iranian people but disappointed that the independent candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi did not won the elections. Regardless of the question in which way the US and European imperialists directly supported Mousavi or not and are now trying to exploit the mass movement for their own interests, Mousavi obviously is their candidate. He stands for rapprochement to the USA and Europe, which means to open the doors for investments of the EU and the USA.
On the contrary, some left forces claim that there were no irregularities at all during the elections and all the protest movement were completely organised by the USA and the European imperialism in order to overthrow the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which does not accept all the impositions of the US and European imperialists. However, this point of view takes not into account the reactionary character of the Iranian regime and its president Ahmadinejad and neglects the progressive character of the people's movement for democratic rights and freedoms. They mistake the opposition of Ahmadinejad against the US and European imperialists for anti-imperialism and forget its close relations with China and Russia, which are also imperialist forces as well as the brutal social and national oppression of the working class and the labouring people, the youth, the women, the Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, Baluchi and other national minorities in Iran.
It is true that Mousavi, who is presented as the man of reforms and democracy in the US and European press, is himself a man of the regime. He was Prime Minister in the 80ties, and is among those responsible for the death of 40.000 people, among them many revolutionaries, during his term. In the years when he played an important political role, every day 10 to 100 oppositional people have been assassinated. His understanding of reforms does not include democracy for the people but only closer cooperation with the EU and US imperialists; to sell out the country to the imperialists. Thus, the conflict between the two candidates for presidency is an internal power struggle and not a conflict between reaction and democracy. The numerous social and political problems in Iran would not have been solved if Mousavi would have won, as the US and European imperialists want to make the world believe. In any event, the elections were not democratic, first of all because the candidates have to be vetted by the Guardian Council and democratic and progressive people were excluded from participation from the beginning.
However, the fact that Mousavi is not very different from Ahmadinejad in terms of the democratic rights and freedoms does not change the democratic character of the recent protest movements against the Iranian regime.
After the results of the elections have been announced (Ahmadinejad 63% and Mousavi 34%) the protests spread quickly from Teheran to the whole country and militant clashes broke out. Despite of many people dying in the ongoing clashes and mass detentions, the labouring people did not shrink back but continued to shout "death to the dictatorship" and other slogans.
Even if Mousavi is for now the leader of the mass protest movement, in fact he already tries to narrow it down and warns the regime of the growing movement, and he is right to be afraid, because besides the irregularities during the elections, there are many more reasons for the current protests in Iran and the social struggle is actually growing for years. The initiative of the workers to celebrate Mayday in Teheran this year, several attempts of trade-unionist organisations and strikes, actions of the growing student's movement as well as the democratic women's movement are some examples of the developing movement in Iran together with the partly armed actions of the national Kurdish movement, the Arab, Azeri and Beluchi movements for democratic and national rights. The international economic crisis made the situation of the labouring people even more difficult and caused protests; unemployment increases as well as prices, especially for food.
It is the duty of the revolutionary forces in Iran and of the international communist movement to support the democratic movement and try to increase its level not leaving the initiative neither to the US and European false defenders of democracy nor to the reactionary Mullah regime. The most essential of the development in Iran is that millions of people took to the streets without being afraid of repression and death protesting against the reactionary Iranian regime demanding democratic rights and freedoms and if this creates better conditions for the struggle this movement doubtlessly has a democratic character.


 

 

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The Iranian people took to the streets
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01 July 2009 / International Bulletin / Issue: 83

Since the 10th presidential elections from June 12, the biggest demonstrations for 30 years are shaking Iran and naturally everybody is commenting the events from its own point of view. Even if the elections have been the flash point of the mass protests, they are not limited to the recent elections but first of all the expression of the outrage of the Iranian people accumulated for decades against the brutal oppression and exploitation of the reactionary regime.
The US and European imperialists, first of all Obama, Brown, Merkel and Sarkozy, started again their false show of defending democracy expressing serious concerns about alleged electoral fraud and condemning strongly the repression of the Mullah regime against the opposition. Obviously, they are not concerned about the rights and freedoms of the Iranian people but disappointed that the independent candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi did not won the elections. Regardless of the question in which way the US and European imperialists directly supported Mousavi or not and are now trying to exploit the mass movement for their own interests, Mousavi obviously is their candidate. He stands for rapprochement to the USA and Europe, which means to open the doors for investments of the EU and the USA.
On the contrary, some left forces claim that there were no irregularities at all during the elections and all the protest movement were completely organised by the USA and the European imperialism in order to overthrow the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which does not accept all the impositions of the US and European imperialists. However, this point of view takes not into account the reactionary character of the Iranian regime and its president Ahmadinejad and neglects the progressive character of the people's movement for democratic rights and freedoms. They mistake the opposition of Ahmadinejad against the US and European imperialists for anti-imperialism and forget its close relations with China and Russia, which are also imperialist forces as well as the brutal social and national oppression of the working class and the labouring people, the youth, the women, the Kurds, Azeris, Arabs, Baluchi and other national minorities in Iran.
It is true that Mousavi, who is presented as the man of reforms and democracy in the US and European press, is himself a man of the regime. He was Prime Minister in the 80ties, and is among those responsible for the death of 40.000 people, among them many revolutionaries, during his term. In the years when he played an important political role, every day 10 to 100 oppositional people have been assassinated. His understanding of reforms does not include democracy for the people but only closer cooperation with the EU and US imperialists; to sell out the country to the imperialists. Thus, the conflict between the two candidates for presidency is an internal power struggle and not a conflict between reaction and democracy. The numerous social and political problems in Iran would not have been solved if Mousavi would have won, as the US and European imperialists want to make the world believe. In any event, the elections were not democratic, first of all because the candidates have to be vetted by the Guardian Council and democratic and progressive people were excluded from participation from the beginning.
However, the fact that Mousavi is not very different from Ahmadinejad in terms of the democratic rights and freedoms does not change the democratic character of the recent protest movements against the Iranian regime.
After the results of the elections have been announced (Ahmadinejad 63% and Mousavi 34%) the protests spread quickly from Teheran to the whole country and militant clashes broke out. Despite of many people dying in the ongoing clashes and mass detentions, the labouring people did not shrink back but continued to shout "death to the dictatorship" and other slogans.
Even if Mousavi is for now the leader of the mass protest movement, in fact he already tries to narrow it down and warns the regime of the growing movement, and he is right to be afraid, because besides the irregularities during the elections, there are many more reasons for the current protests in Iran and the social struggle is actually growing for years. The initiative of the workers to celebrate Mayday in Teheran this year, several attempts of trade-unionist organisations and strikes, actions of the growing student's movement as well as the democratic women's movement are some examples of the developing movement in Iran together with the partly armed actions of the national Kurdish movement, the Arab, Azeri and Beluchi movements for democratic and national rights. The international economic crisis made the situation of the labouring people even more difficult and caused protests; unemployment increases as well as prices, especially for food.
It is the duty of the revolutionary forces in Iran and of the international communist movement to support the democratic movement and try to increase its level not leaving the initiative neither to the US and European false defenders of democracy nor to the reactionary Mullah regime. The most essential of the development in Iran is that millions of people took to the streets without being afraid of repression and death protesting against the reactionary Iranian regime demanding democratic rights and freedoms and if this creates better conditions for the struggle this movement doubtlessly has a democratic character.