Long live the
raging movement of the people of Iran!
Revolution is the midwife of every old
society, which is pregnant with a new one. The grassroots movement in Iran that
is entering its 5th day is an expression of the rejection of the totality of
the criminal mafia in power; a power that is not accountable to the people and
is trying to squeeze the life out of the poverty-stricken masses.
This is a movement of wisdom against
ignorance, a movement against poverty, unemployment, corruption, multi-milliard
dollars embezzlement by the officials, looting of the meager savings of the
millions of working people, and political repression. This is the cry of anger of millions of people
who have waited patiently for years and are now challenging the regime of the
Islamic Republic and are shaking its base.
The recent uprising is expression of the accumulated
anger and dissatisfaction of the masses from the neo-liberal economic policies
of the regime. This anger has built up during the past several decades.
The regime of the Islamic
Republic has intensified the implementation of the dictates of the World Trade
Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Consequently, the economic condition of the
masses has declined rapidly, the level of poverty has risen, inflation has
skyrocketed, the cost of living has sharply increased, the purchasing power of
the general population has declined, the price of water, gasoline, electricity,
and other fuel has increased .
In the past several years,
especially in 2017, there were many strikes, demonstration and protests by different
sectors of the society; workers, teachers, retirees, unemployed, nurses, many
thousand individuals who are the direct victims of looted bank savings, etc. It
was expected that a general protest will develop in response to this condition.
Adding to this is the
intensification of the inner fight between the factions of the regime of the
Islamic Republic. The protesters used
this fight in their own service and targeted all factions of the regime of the
Islamic Republic.
All social and political sectors of the
society are participating in these protests, from communists to
revolutionaries, from ordinary masses to organized forces, from the monarchists
to reactionary and pro-imperialist Mojahedeen and to individual
agents of Zionists and imperialists. This uprising is spontaneous, mainly by
the youth, does not have an organized leadership at this moment. Despite all
shortcomings, this uprising is a genuine expression of discontent of the
general population from four decades criminal rule of the Islamic Republic. The
protest movement started with economic demands and is moving forward towards
political issues.
The
Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan)
hails the just and bold movement of Iranian people against the Islamic Republic
that has ruled for nearly foty years using repression
and extreme violence. We insist on the unity of the masses and on a clear and
sharp stand against the aggressive imperialist powers and their agents who try
to derail the movement.
There is not yet sign of an increase in the
number of workers in the streets. A general strike will force the regime to
retreat and will provide the opportunity for the street demonstrators to
continue protesting with a lower cost. The unbalanced class forces, the lack of
political organization and leadership, and the exhaustion of the street
protesters will not produce a condition in favor of the movement.
In the Middle East, the U.S.
imperialists and Israeli Zionists are trying to penetrate any movement against
the regimes that do not bend to their dictates. This is particularly true about
Iran. The presence of agents and lackeys of the US imperialists and Israeli
Zionists in a movement does not necessarily express the nature of the movement.
In the present uprising in Iran, the role of these agents is not dominant. This
is a spontaneous movement from bottom-up and not from top-down. At the same time, the communists, left, and
progressive forces must be very vigilant and analyze the erroneous slogans and stands
that are expressed in the marches and expose the nature of them to the masses.
If the demands “bread, job, housing,
liberty, social justice, and the republic” are more clearly expressed, if the
slogans in support of the overthrown old order - the hereditary monarchy- and the slogans that compromise with faction
of the regime are rejected from the ranks of the movement, then one can
hope, with the rise of revolutionary forces
in particular the Marxist-Leninists who are the true representatives of most
radical social demands and who are strongly opposed to imperialist
interventions, that the movement will achieve its goals.
The
Party of Labour of Iran calls on the masses in the
streets to be vigilant and avoid the premature violence. The agents of
imperialists and Zionists and the sel-out circles do
not value the human life. They only look for their interest. Every call on the
masses should be carefully examined and its source be investigated.
The rights to formation of independent guilds, the right to
employment and housing and unemployment insurance, the freedom of association
and assembly, the separation of religion from the state and education, the
abolition of gender segregation and compulsory veils and dress code, and the
freedom of all political prisoners are part of the demands of the street
demonstrators. The Party of Labour of Iran gives its
whole hearted support to these demands and believes that no faction of the
Islamic regime has the will to fulfill these just and popular demands of the
masses.
The Party of Labour of Iran ( Toufan)
strongly condemns the brutal killings of the protesters and calls on the fraternal
Parties and Organizations in the ” Internatinal
Conference of the Marxist Leninist Parties and Organizetions”
and on the revolutionary and progressive forces and individuals to condemn the
regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its crimes and to demand the
immediate and unconditional release of all detained street protesters.
The remedy for the workers
and the working people is unity and organization!
The
Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan)
January
1, 2018