Aktionen

Von: "A. Wosni" <>

Betreff: THE WORKING CLASS

AND EMANCIPATORY

STRUGGLES OF

PEOPLE IN IRAN

Datum: Montag, 25. Januar 2010 12:03

 

· THE WORKING CLASS AND EMANCIPATORY STRUGGLES OF PEOPLE IN IRAN

· Stop killings and torture!

· Farzad Kamangar in Imminent danger of execution!

· Free Haft Tapeh labour leaders!

· Free Osanloo and Madadi now!

· The last of May Day 2009 detainees still in jail! Free Mehdi

Farahi Shandiz now!

· Free Majid Hamidi now!

· Please use the Sample Protest letter!

 

THE WORKING CLASS AND EMANCIPATORY STRUGGLES OF PEOPLE IN IRAN

 

As Islamic Republic (IR) continues its naked repression of Iranian

people with full force, people’s protest movement has demonstrated

beyond any doubt that it will settle for nothing less than true

unconditional freedom. Workers and liberated people of Iran and world

strongly condemn the vile repression, prosecution and incarceration of

protesters and social and political activists and absolutely despise and

denounce their torture, rape and execution by IR.

 

As far as the working class is concerned, the independent labour

movement in Iran did not participate in the sham presidential

"election," since this movement had had no illusions about either

faction of the ruling class. All four "candidate" fully supported

capitalist and neo-liberal policies. Labour activists clearly recall the

period from 1979 to 1988 during which every single genuine, autonomous

workers’ council and independent syndicates created during the 79’

Revolution were most violently crushed. These autonomous workers’

organizations were forcibly replaced by sham state, management sponsored

so called "Islamic Labour Councils."

 

During 8 years of Khatemi’s "reformist" reign repression of workers was

in full throttle. Khatoon Abad workers getting shot to death on the

picket line, for merely demanding permanent job contracts, was the most

brazen instance; a slaughter which led to a number of other protests.

Ahmadinejad has elevated repression and lawlessness towards workers,

students, women… to unprecedented levels.

 

What labour activists have encountered in the past 7 months is not only

a struggle between factions of the ruling class, but an extensive and

distinguishable social struggle against the entire establishment, a

struggle in which workers and their families are fully participating,

especially after December 27, 2009 with large-scale participation of

working class neighborhoods in street demonstrations. This is a point

fully understood even by both factions of the ruling class.

 

Though not all anti-government struggles are necessarily in line with

class interests of working people, it must be noted that the despotic

rule of IR is a Capitalist repressive order, combined with religious

features and a thorough insertion of Islam in daily functions of

government. In such a context even the most minuscule, basic democratic

rights are nor tolerated and crushed. IR has been able to impose an

astonishing level of poverty, insecurity, and general lawlessness upon

workers, toiling masses and people.

 

Relentless repression of labour activists, especially in the past 5

years has clearly demonstrated IR’s hostility towards workers and its

allegiance to Capitalism and capitalists. Less than two months after

"election," Ahmadinejad’s administration passed a bill in parliament to

cut all state subsidies thus forcing more people living in poverty.

Let’s not forget this has been an old demand of IMF, World Bank and WTO

for more than two decades. IR has had nothing but harshest harassments,

prosecution, incarceration, floggings, torture and execution for labour

activists in Iran; many of whom are currently incarcerated under some of

the worst unbearable conditions, suffering from premeditated homicidal

neglect, while many others face pending bogus jail sentences.

 

Experience has shown that other than progressive sectors of students’

and women’s movement no other segment of society has seriously defended

the rights and interests of the working class. It’s crystal clear for

workers that only by a reliance on their own power of class unity they

could ensure that their struggles will not be misused for the benefit of

other classes.

 

Iran’s labour activists’ total lack of trust towards what is called

"Green Movement" of Mousavi, Karoubi, Khatami and Rafsanjani stems from

such cognition. Not only their " Green Movement" doesn’t belong to

workers, but it is only an attempt by a fraction of the ruling class to

force some very limited reforms within parameters of maintaining and

augmenting the entire Islamic regime, which at best could lead to

another round of presidential "elections." However, there are profound

differences between freedom-seeking struggles of the people and

reformers’ "Green Movement." The anti-government struggles of Iranian

people is endowed with a distinct justice-seeking, freedom-seeking

essence, which makes it incommensurable with any faction of the

capitalist Islamic regime, be it "reformers" or "principalists."

 

Consequently within the sphere of people’s struggle, propagation of

unconditional freedoms of speech, thought, protests, assembly, strike

and organizing; comprehensive equality between women and men in every

and all spheres of life; a living standard worthy of human life, are all

of high import. Actualization of comprehensive social and political

freedoms for the working class is supremely significant. In the current

context workers could organize more effectively and comprehensively

against Capitalism and its state. Through creation and expansion of all

types of autonomous workers’ councils, committees, syndicates and local,

regional and national federations, workers could more preparedly fight

towards realization of freedom and equality. Current struggles of people

in Iran provide workers with the possibility of announcing their demands

on a macro scale; thus attracting students’, women’s, and the youth

movements towards collaborating with the labor movement. To the extent

that workers are successful in this endeavor, path will be cleared for

workers to express themselves as a powerful, organized and autonomous

class. Such success would also ensure Iranian people’s struggle are

directed towards a progressive, vanguard position, and minimizes the

influences of the ruling classes, and reduces the possibility of

workers’ movement becoming subservient of other classes.

 

On numerous occasions, freedom-seeking people of Iran have been calling

for a greater involvement of the organized labour movement in the

current struggles in Iran; yet, we all need to recognize that defending

workers’ rights and the independent workers’ movement across the country

is perhaps one of the most effective ways to achieve this objective. It

is absolutely crucial to support workers’ struggles and demands and

stand in defense of jailed workers and labour activists and their

organizations. What the repressive, anti-worker and capitalist Islamic

Republic must see is that the labour movement is a staunch defender of

the freedom-seeking people of Iran, and similarly the main allies of

Iranian labour movement are the freedom-loving and equality seeking

people of Iran and other countries around the world.

International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI)—January 2010

 

info@workers-iran.org

www.etehadbinalmelali.com

www.workers-iran.org

 

Please use any part or the entire Sample Protest Letter: Updated January

21, 2010

 

I (we) am (are) writing this protest letter in support of workers’ and

human rights in Iran.

· Firstly, I (we) strongly protest against the extreme use of

violence and force against freedom and justice seeking people of Iran in

recent months. All acts of violence by security and other government

forces against people must stop immediately. I (we) demand justice for

people who have been killed and injured by security forces in recent months.

All attacks on the labour movement in Iran must stop immediately:

 

 

· Five members of the board of directors of "Haft Tapeh

Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate" by names of Feridoun Nikoufard, Jalil

Ahmadi, Ghorban Alipour, Mohammad Haydari Mehr and Ali Nejati have been

sent to jail and are currently incarcerated in Dezfol prison. Feriadon

Nikofard, Jalil Ahmadi, Ghorban Alipour and Ali Nejati were charged and

condemned to six months imprisonment and six months suspended sentences

and Mohammad Heydari Mehr has received four months prison and eight

months suspended sentence; they have also been banned from involvement

in any labour activities including running for any elected union

positions for three years. All this only because of their efforts to

form an independent labour organization.

 

· Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, president and vice

president of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus

Company, continue to be in jail and have been sentenced to 5 years and

3.5 years jail respectively.

 

· Mr. Farzad Kamangar, a teacher and human rights activist, has

been sentenced to death, and there is a growing fear that he might get

executed given the current repressive climate. See this link:

http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=1170&theme=rights&country=iran

 

· Mr. Reza Rakhshan, a board member of the Haft Tapeh Workers’

Syndicate, was arrested on January 4, 2010 at his work and taken to the

custody. He was released on January 20, 2010 after putting a very heavy

bail (150 million toman). He will face a number of charges including

"propaganda against the system".

 

· The last of May Day 2009 detainees still in jail: According to

his mother and a number of radio interviews as well as a report by the

Laborer’s unit of HRA, Mr. Mehdi Farahi Shandiz, a labour activist

imprisoned in Evin prison (Evin House of Detention), has been convicted

of offending the supreme leader and sentenced to eight months in prison.

Mr. Farahi Shandiz will be tried again for participating in a gathering

on International Workers’ Day at the Laleh Park of Tehran on May 1,

2009. This would happen at the end of his sentence which means he may be

kept in jail. This labour activist’s sentence will end on January 23rd,

2010 and thereafter Mr. Shandiz will again be tried for his

participation in the gathering in Laleh Park. In addition, according to

the Human Rights Activists (HRA), Mr. Shandiz is scheduled to be tried

for another case on February 3rd by Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court

for gathering signatures in Khavaran Terminal to free Mansour Osanloo.

 

· Mr. Majid Hamidi, a labour activist and a member of the

Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations, has been

incarcerated since Thursday, January 14, 2010. Mr. Hamidi left his

residence in the afternoon of January 14th but did not return home since

then. At 11 PM, January 15th, agents of the Intelligence Ministry

entered Mr. Hamidi’s home for search and took his notebook computer with

them. Mr. Hamidi, who is a well-known labour activist in City of

Sanandaj, received seven bullets into his body on October 18th, 2007.

Witnesses and Mr. Hamidi himself reported that the assassins fired about

14 shots towards him. After getting the first shot, Mr. Hamidi tried to

rescue himself but they followed him and fired more bullets at him but

some were missed. They then escaped from the scene with a motorcycle.

No one has yet been arrested or identified as the perpetrator of this

crime. Mr. Hamidi’s surgery was not completely done because doctors

were unable to remove one of the bullets that hit him in his neck,

because by removing that bullet there would have been a great risk of

damaging his nervous system around his eyes and mouth. He still has this

bullet in his body. Mr. Hamidi issued a statement after his treatment in

which he condemned the attempted assassination against himself as a

cowardly act by those that are extremely scared of the rise of the

Iranian labour movement. He vowed to continue his activities as a labour

activist for the achievement of the working class demands.

 

· On December 31, 2009, a number of armed men entered in the

residence of Mr. Jamal Karimpour and fired a number of shots at him, as

the result of which he got injured in his left arm. After this terrorist

act, the assassins witnessed the village’s residents and thus they

escaped the scene. Mr. Jamal Karimpour is a member of the Coordinating

Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations.

 

I (we) condemn these continuous attacks on human and workers’ rights in

Iran. I (we) demand the immediate and unconditional freedom of all

political prisoners and the above incarcerated labour activists. We

demand annulment of the death sentence against Farzad Kamangar.

 

I (we) would also like to let the Iranian government know that we stand

in solidarity with people’s struggles in Iran for justice and freedom. I

(we) ask the Iranian government to fully respect workers’ and human

rights including freedom of speech and expression, and the rights to

organize, protest, assemble and strike. We call on the IRI to put an end

to persecution of labour activists and social justice organizations and

not to impede their activities. No one should be persecuted, jailed and

assaulted because of practicing their fundamental human rights. Torture

and executions must be stopped immediately.

 

Name

 

Organization

 

Position

 

Send Copy of your Protest Letters to:

 

info@leader.ir , info@judiciary.ir, iran@un.int ; ijpr@iranjudiciary.org,

info@dadiran.ir, office@justice.ir , ilo@ilo.org ; cabinet@ilo.org ;

eastgulf@amnesty.org ; hrwgva@hrw.org

 

CC: info@workers-iran.org

Kontakt- & Diskussionsmöglichkeit