Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! no. 16, February 1982
The following article was submitted to FRFI by the Moslem Students Society — Supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (MSS — Supporters of PMOI). The views expressed in the article are those of the MSS-Supporters of PMOI. We are however happy to publish it unedited so that British communists and workers can read the views of one of the mass anti-imperialist organisations in Iran. In line with our often stated policy of opening the pages of FRFI to revolutionary anti-imperialist organisations, we have invited and intend to print articles from other, communist, Iranian organisations expressing their views on developments in Iran.
Less than a month is left to the third anniversary of the heroic uprising of 11 February 1979, which overthrew the Shah’s hated regime. This date acts as a reminder of the united, consolidated and armed uprising of the Iranian people and will undoubtedly remain as a great day in the history of the world. On the eve of the Shah’s downfall, we possessed a united and solid popular front and triumph over the bloodthirsty Pahlavi regime was only possible through the continual unity of this front. Unfortunately, however, the Uprising resulted in the creeping power of another reactionary and anti-popular force (ie the criminal Khomeini and his savage gang), who misused the opportunity created by the weakness of the revolutionary forces, caused either by the Shah’s blows or, as in the case of the Mojahedin, by the coup masterminded by the pseudo-left wing opportunists. The revolutionary forces thus lacked the capability to mobilise the masses of the people and did not come to power.
The reactionary regime, owing to its backward and decadent nature (historically and classwise) only cared about the preservation of its own interests and its reactionary reign. Day by day, the regime exerted ever greater pressure upon the Iranian people, the bulk of which was, naturally, being borne by the toiling strata of the society, particularly the workers, the peasants and the toilers in the towns. It deprived the women of their most basic human rights and subjected the ethnic and religious minorities (especially the heroic people of Kurdistan) to the most savage attacks. The criminal Khomeini, realising that the people’s unity is the biggest obstacle on the path of putting his evil plans into action, took steps to destroy this unity from the very first day of his rule. His main tactic consisted of an all-out attack on one group, so as to make it an example for the others. Having dealt with one such group, he would move to the next. Thus, by making the minor contradictions of the society major, Khomeini managed to break up the people’s ranks.
After the dismissal of Dr Bani Sadr, the President, Khomeini managed to consolidate his anti-popular reign. It was then the time for him to close in for the final elimination of the revolutionary and progressive forces threatening his regime.
As a first step he ordered his guards to open fire on the 500,000 strong mass demonstration of the people of Tehran on 20 June 1981. This demonstration was organised by the Mojahedin and because of the ruling repression, the crowds had to assemble at an hour’s notice. Fifty ordinary people and Mojaheds were killed on that day. The next day Khomeini started his criminal executions.
It is worth noting here that the regime and the Western media pretend that the wave of executions by Khomeini’s regime began as a result of bombings by the Mojahedin. This is a lie. The Khomeini regime started to suppress the Iranian people from the very beginning of its rule. He poured bombs and bullets on the Kurdish, Turkman, Baluchi, Arab and Turkish peoples and murdered seventy people belonging to the Mojahedin alone before 20 June 1981.
Khomeini’s savage suppression started at a time when he had become extremely worried by his increasing isolation in society. Truly, how could such a regime possess a social base? A regime which has created more than 5 million unemployed, with no source of income, and 2 million war refugees living in worse circumstances than the prisoners of war: a regime which has brutally suppressed, bombed and massacred many of the four million Kurds, the one million Turkomans and the one million Arabs as well as millions of the ethnic and religious minorities. A regime which has raided the Universities and many schools in order to close them down, killing many students in the pro cess. A regime which has deprived women of their rights, suppressed the striking workers, imprisoned and executed many traders. A regime which has purged, arrested and killed many teachers. A regime which has … how could such a regime have a massive social base? It is only the deceitful propaganda machine which converts the tens or hundreds or at the most thousands of pro-regime demonstrators into ‘hundreds of thousands’ and ‘millions’. The sort of propaganda which is echoed by the Western media.
From 20 June onwards, Khomeini’s repressive machine rolled on in order to violently eliminate all the revolutionary and progressive forces once and for all. It was at that point that the Mojahedin, as the main arm of the people and as the only organised mass organisation, took up arms in defence and began their heroic resistance. Now the battle of fate has started all over Iran.
The execution of more than 4000 of the people’s best offspring, among them many aging men, pregnant women and young children, and the existence of more than 20,000 political prisoners living in the worst possible conditions being subjected to horrendous tor tures are the absolute proof of Khomeini’s determination to annihilate all opposition. The Mojahedin’s armed uprising against the regime was for the sake of saving the Revolution and the people in the face of Khomeini’s massacres.
Today Khomeini is killing the very people whom the Shah wished to murder, but could not do so due to various reasons. The evident example of this fact is embodied in the execution of people like the Mojahed Mother, Massumeh Shadmani, the 50 year old mother of six, who had been sentenced to execution on political charges during the Shah’s rule. This was commuted to a life sentence and she was freed with the triumph of the people’s revolt. In fact Khomeini’s regime is finishing off the traitorous Shah’s unfinished mission. So far he has killed 25 times as many Mojaheds as the Shah had done and holds five times as many political prisoners as there were under the Shah. Steadfastness against such an anti-popular and bloodthirsty regime must be accomplished by the united and consolidated ranks of the people, otherwise victory will be impossible. If the regime gains stability, the Iranian people will have to suffer more years of oppression and poverty under one of the most reactionary regimes in the world.
It was in response to this necessity that the National Council of Resistance was formed as the focal point for all progressive, revolutionary and nationalist, forces and personalities, so as to unite the people’s ranks against Khomeini’s regime. This was a great triumph, for it was the first time in con-temporary Iranian history that, according to the Revolution’s necessities, those forces which together enjoy the greatest political, social and military backing, have laid the foundations of a genuine people’s front in one of the most critical junctions of Iranian history. As the NCR was formed in response to such historical and social necessities, it has become increasingly more organised and consolidated along the path of struggle. So far many progressive and revolutionary forces and personalities have joined it. The Council was originally formed by the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran and the President, Dr Bani Sadr. Gradually, after the publication of the programme of the `Provisional Government’ of the ‘Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran’ (ie the future government formed by the NCR) the Council became more extensive. The affiliation to the NCR of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran as the major organisation and the most genuine representative of the Kurdish people has been an extremely important step on the way to establish the united people’s front and to preserve national unity and integrity as regards the country and the struggle.
The NCR, as a democratic focal point with no goals other than the ‘Freedom and Independence’ of Iran, has, so far, attracted numerous revolutionary, progressive, nationalist and popular forces and personalities such as the various progressive political organisations, labour and student organisations, youth movements, jurists, economists, poets, writers, intellectuals, artists … but unfortunately listing them all is beyond the scope of this article.
Also many progressive political organisations, labour syndicates and unions, student bodies and prominent personalities throughout the world have announced their support for the NCR and the suggested programme of the future ‘Provisional Government’. Their names have been, and will continue to be published in MSS publications.
The programme of the ‘Provisional Government’ of the ‘Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran’ is a comprehensive, progressive and democratic programme which meets the requirements of this period of the Iranian people’s Revolution (ie the democratic anti-imperialist phase). The programme is fundamentally based on political and economic independence; freedom of expression and ideology; the right to hold meetings and form parties and organisations; restoration of the rights of workers and peasants; social and political equality of men and women, guaranteeing a system of government based on the people’s elected councils; restoration of the ethnic minorities’ rights; social security and a genuinely non-aligned progressive foreign policy. In this respect it is one of the most comprehensive and progressive of the democratic programmes so far produced anywhere in the world. It is capable of satisfying the fundamental requirements of the people, particularly the toiling strata and classes of Iran.
Today the ‘National Council of Resistance for the independence and Freedom in the Democratic Islamic Republic of Iran’ is recognised as the most practicable and the most likely patriotic and popular alternative to Khomeini and is arousing the attention and support of the most genuine widespread internal forces as well as the democratic and independent forces on an international level. Those who wish to support the struggles of all the Iranian people and their genuine representatives as well as the revolutionary alternative accepted by the Iranian people, must defend the NCR and use whatever means available to introduce it to all the people of the world.
