No subject

om and democratic rights (such as the right of assembly, association, strik=
e, and of organizing that is considered basic rights since centuries now), =
is not worthy of support; that such struggle is the workings of the bourgeo=
is and politically-reactionary factions of the Iranian society; and that it=
 is directed, supported or manipulated by the CIA and imperialists!=20

Given the anti-worker policies of the Islamic regime (for example, the abol=
ition of labor laws, massive privatization resulting in huge unemployment, =
torture, and execution of labor activists), we would like to ask this facti=
on of the international left, does not Socialism stand for democracy, progr=
ess, and creation of a better life for the mankind? Must not such struggle =
by the Iranian people be supported by the left and all freedom loving peopl=
e in the world?=20

The end result of this myopic view is that this section of the left not onl=
y does not support the Iranian people in their just struggle against a brut=
al dictatorship clad in Islamic attire, but lends its support to the murder=
er of workers and their daughters and sons.=20

Iran 's regime has executed tens of thousands of political prisoners and so=
cial activists, and has had more than 100,000 prisoners of conscience langu=
ish in its Middle-Ages dungeons. International human rights agencies have c=
ited Iran year after year as one of the major violators of basic human righ=
ts. For instance, Amnesty International documented Iran's "serious human ri=
ghts violations including detention of human rights defenders and other pri=
soners of conscience, unfair trials, torture and mistreatment in detention,=
 deaths in custody and the application of the death penalty. Iran has one o=
f the highest numbers of recorded executions of any country in the world." =
2=20

The last major wave of the purge of the revolutionaries was during July-Sep=
tember of 1988, when Khomeini, having signed the cease fire with Iraq (he c=
alled it "drinking of the poison goblet"), gave a religious edict (fatwa) t=
o execute all political prisoners. Close to 5,000 persons, including revolu=
tionary workers and communists, were hanged and executed in prisons all ove=
r Iran. Another wave of mass executions and torture is on the horizon now, =
after the brutal crackdown of the peaceful demonstrations in Iran.=20

It must be understood that the Islamic regime's anti-imperialist stance is =
not coming from its progressive and contemporary vision, but from its react=
ionary, pre-capitalistic roots and tendencies. Its stance on women's rights=
 (relegating 50% of the society to the second class citizen status), repres=
sion of the civil society, arbitrary arrest of journalists, closure of news=
papers, clamping down and arrest, torture and execution of workers and labo=
r activists, and suppression of national minorities, such as Kurds, Arabs, =
Turkmens, Baluchies, and Azeries, is in stark contrast with the ideals of s=
ocialism and progress. Just this week, Iran hanged 13 Baluchies inside a pr=
ison.=20
Rulers of the Tehran's belief system are in line with those of a tribal cal=
iphate, where there is always a tribal leader. If the leader (who is God's =
deputy on earth) is not accepted, or challenged, by the people, he can orde=
r them to be crushed and eradicated for the charge of "being combatants aga=
inst God", or spreading "corruption on earth". Both of the charges are puni=
shable by severance of a hand, a leg, or hanging.=20

How can these socialists justify the support of this anti-worker theocracy?=
 There have been several theories proposed as to why a section of the left =
supports a reactionary theocracy, and why does it close its eyes on the en =
masse liquidation of the left and revolutionary democrats in Iran.=20

One of these arguments is that after the collapse of the Soviet camp, the t=
raditional left is still looking at the world through its black and white, =
polarized view of the world in which there are the "bad" guys led by the im=
perialist U.S. and the "good" guys who fight them, such as Iran.=20

"It is impressive to some and immensely frustrating to some others that so =
much of the international left has lined up against the purportedly left-of=
-center but authoritarian Iranian regime during the historic post-electoral=
 struggle that is underway. It is a nostalgia for the Cold War and an inabi=
lity to break out of its dualist mode of thought: one in which the world is=
 divided between two ideological poles (the dinosaur left and the neo-con r=
ight disagree only on which pole is "good" and which is "evil" but the rest=
 of their analyses line up seamlessly together)... There are those who real=
ly seem to believe that the three million plus people in the streets are me=
rely dupes of the manipulation of destabilization plans hatched in Washingt=
on or Tel Aviv" 3=20

We ask this section of the left, how do you analyze the political situation=
 in a country such as Libya or Saddam Hussein's Iraq or Iran? As far as we =
know, the majority of the defenders of the Iranian regime in the internatio=
nal left do not read Farsi, nor have we seen them publish or write extensiv=
ely on Iran from a class and socialist point of view. So, what is the sourc=
e of their information, we ask? Is it from inside Iran? We doubt this to be=
 the case. No major Iranian leftist organization subscribes to the idea of =
the regime being anti -imperialist. If it is from outside Iran, what are th=
ese sources? We believe that most of their information is from secondary so=
urces and provided through translation.=20

We ask our comrades, should not the Iranian left be the main source of info=
rmation for the international left, or at least their expensive experiences=
 be considered while formulating such bewildering views? We would like to r=
efer our comrades to Lenin in his famous "Theses on the National and Coloni=
al Questions".=20

".second, the need for a struggle against the clergy and other influential =
reactionary and medieval elements in backward countries; third, the need to=
 combat Pan-Islamism and similar trends, which strive to combine the libera=
tion movement against European and American imperialism with an attempt to =
strengthen the positions of the khans, landowners, mullahs, etc." 4=20

Having said the above, we would like to ask what if there is a social mass =
mobilization in Libya against Kaddafi, should we in the international lefti=
st movement argue that since Libya supports Palestinian movement, has had a=
nti-U.S. and anti-Zionist stance in the past, and since its literature cont=
ains pseudo-revolutionary language, the opposition to it is organized by th=
e CIA and Tel Aviv? Or shall we read the analysis and the literature of the=
 revolutionary and leftist entities of Libya? We think that we should opt f=
or the second option.=20
By the same token, should we have supported Saddam Hussein's policies vis-a=
-vis Iraqi people, and its treatment of the Iraq's communist party because =
he was supporting Palestinian movement and had anti-Zionist rhetoric? The I=
raq's communist party, as we know, was involved in many of the most importa=
nt national uprisings and demonstrations of the 1940s and 1950s; but despit=
e its support for Abd al-Karim Qasim and collaborating with the Ba'athist g=
overnment, it suffered heavily under Saddam. "When the Ba'ath consolidated =
its power, the ICP suffered an unprecedented campaign of mass physical liqu=
idation. Leading figures and cadres of the Party were tortured to death, in=
cluding Husain al-Radi. The total number of communists killed is unknown, b=
ut was certainly in the thousands" 5=20

The left in Iran has had to face and answer these vital questions. In 1953,=
 when CIA and the British MI6 organized a coup d'=C3=A9tat against Mosadegh=
, the popular Iranian prime minister, the majority of the Iranian left, fol=
lowing the ideological trends of the time, fell under the spell of the same=
 faulty rhetoric. Mosadegh was declared pro-American and denied support for=
 his policies. He was toppled in August 1953 in a joint British-American co=
up, code named Ajax.=20

His downfall led to the restoration of the Shah, executions of revolutionar=
y workers and members of the Tudeh Party, establishment of the brutal Irani=
an secret service, Savak, 25 years of repression, and other atrocities whic=
h do not fall under the preview of this article. Khomeini's ascend to power=
 was a direct result of the defeat of the nationalist, bourgeois democratic=
 movement in 1953.=20
In the 1979 Iranian revolution, a section of the Iranian left made a simila=
r mistake. An important question and dilemma which the left in Iran faced w=
as:=20

. "Should we support Khomeini and his theocratic, repressive regime because=
 he is, in rhetoric, anti-imperialist "; or=20

. "Should we try to organize the society and strive for democratic freedoms=
 such as freedom of speech and assembly, the right to strike (a right still=
 denied to workers in Iran), the right to organize, and the establishment o=
f self-supporting co-operatives and labor unions and syndicates?"=20

These gains could have been used as trenches and barricades behind which th=
e left and the society could have fought the Islamic regime and its death s=
quads and fascist militia, step by step. The choosing of the first option b=
y parts of the left created a major rift in the leftist movement. At the en=
d both camps were arrested, tortured, executed and finally went into exile.=
 The strong and popular left in Iran suffered a major blow and was decimate=
d.=20

We are asking the Iranian regime's defenders in the international left to s=
how us any documents or articles by any major Iranian leftist organization =
or entity after 1986 that is in line with their current position of defendi=
ng the reactionary, anti-worker regime in Iran as anti-imperialist and dese=
rving support.=20

We ask these comrades again, shall you not refer to the Iranian left's lite=
rature and analysis for a true understanding of the Iranian regime? The exp=
erience has taught us that any regime which murders the communists, and the=
 worker, union and human rights activists, can not be anti-imperialist.=20

The anti-imperialist struggle can not be waged without the fight for democr=
atic freedoms. Please support us in our cause by endorsing this appeal. We =
also welcome comments and debate over this issue and look forward to hearin=
g your thoughts.=20

Iranian Left Coalition-Canada=20
July 14, 2009=20
iranleft at rdfi.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You=
 need JavaScript enabled to view it=20

Notes:=20
1. Bill Weinberg, " Internet conspiranoids betray Iran (left and right)",=
=20
Http://www.ww4report.com/node/7471=20
2. Amnesty International web site,=20
http://www.amnestyusa.org/all-countries/iran/page.do?id=3D1011172=20
3. Giordano, Al. "New Tricks to Confront State Power. What the Left Should =
be learning from Iran".=20
http://www.counterpunch.org/giordano06192009.htm=20
4. V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, 4th English Edition, Progress Publishers, =
Moscow, 1966, Vol. 31, pp. 144-51.=20
5. "Iraqi Communist Party", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Co=20