redwinter
12th January 2010, 22:06
Larry Everest has just written a powerful, comprehensive article in Revolution newspaper detailing the latest events in Iran where the masses are continuing to resist the reactionary Islamic fundamentalist ruling class. Those of us outside of Iran must find ways to step up opposition to the moves towards war against Iran by the US imperialists as well as stand with the courageous women and men fighting in the streets of Iran against the regime. (One recent move towards demonization of Iranian people in the US: a Congressional representative from South Carolina just announced that he is re-introducing a bill to deport all Iranian nationals in the United States, including those on student, work or tourist visas.)
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http://www.revcom.us/a/189/iran-en.html
Fearless Upsurge Rocks Iran
by Larry Everest
One eyewitness described part of central Tehran as looking like a "war zone" with "shattered glass everywhere, dozens of overturned and smoldering garbage cans, several burned-out cars, and the skeletons of a couple dozen police motorcycles." As in some previous demonstrations, the protestors showed that they are no longer fearful of the security forces or plainclothes vigilantes despite the threats of harsh treatment that were issued prior to the year's most important day of mourning for Shi'ites. But this time at least some went one step further and showed that they are angry enough to engage in street battles. And the security forces—commanded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the immediate post-election demonstrations—showed, in turn, that they are unable to control the crowds despite their use, in some cases, of lethal force that, according to the government's own numbers, left at least eight people dead.
"Whither Iran?" Farideh Farhi, December 31, 2009, Inter Press Service
In some parts of Tehran, protesters pushed the police back, hurling rocks and capturing several police cars and motorcycles, which they set on fire. Videos posted to the Internet showed scenes of mayhem, with trash bins burning and groups of protesters attacking Basij militia volunteers amid a din of screams. One video showed a group of protesters setting an entire police station aflame in Tehran. Another showed people carrying off the body of a dead protester, chanting, "I'll kill, I'll kill the one who killed my brother."
New York Times, December 28, 2009
• • •
Iran's Islamic Republic (IRI) has been escalating its savage, all-around campaign to crush a mass uprising of the Iranian people which continues to shake their reactionary rule. There have been waves of struggle alternating with periods of intense calm. In late December this uprising roared back even more powerfully than before.
Leading up to the major Shi'ite religious commemorations of Muharram culminating in Ashura on December 28, the Islamic Republic threatened severe consequences for anyone who dared to protest against the government. And people in Iran know that this can mean death, imprisonment, or torture. The government deployed thousands of its armed enforcers—the police, the Basij militia, the Revolutionary Guards. Yet, hundreds of thousands of Iranians still turned out for the most massive, defiant, and determined anti-regime demonstrations since the current uprising began in June, following the apparent theft of the presidential election by incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The regime's forces set on people with tear gas, batons and chains, beating them "relentlessly," as one witness described. Government forces smashed the windows of cars driven by people who were honking in solidarity with the protests. There were reports that protesters were stabbed or suffered skull fractures. At times, the regime's militias fired live ammunition directly into the crowds, killing an estimated 37 people (and perhaps more) and injuring many more. All told some 1,500 were arrested.
But the day wasn't only marked by the Islamic theocracy's brutality. On Ashura and the days before, thousands stood up to these savage assaults and, more often than before, fought back. Videos show demonstrators refusing to back down in the face of brutal repression. Witnesses described parts of Tehran as "covered in thick smoke from fires and tear gas," and "the scene of hand-to-hand combat between security forces and the protesters." Protests and street battles were also reported in other major cities. (New York Times, December 29, 2009)
According to the Communist Party of Iran (MLM), more than a million people all over Iran took part, with several hundred thousand scattered in Tehran alone. The slogans and mood were more radical than before, with demonstrators walking over and sometimes burning pictures of Supreme Leader Khamenei and chanting "This is the month of blood, Khamenei will be overthrown."
Continue reading:
http://www.revcom.us/a/189/iran-en.html
================================
http://www.revcom.us/a/189/iran-en.html
Fearless Upsurge Rocks Iran
by Larry Everest
One eyewitness described part of central Tehran as looking like a "war zone" with "shattered glass everywhere, dozens of overturned and smoldering garbage cans, several burned-out cars, and the skeletons of a couple dozen police motorcycles." As in some previous demonstrations, the protestors showed that they are no longer fearful of the security forces or plainclothes vigilantes despite the threats of harsh treatment that were issued prior to the year's most important day of mourning for Shi'ites. But this time at least some went one step further and showed that they are angry enough to engage in street battles. And the security forces—commanded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the immediate post-election demonstrations—showed, in turn, that they are unable to control the crowds despite their use, in some cases, of lethal force that, according to the government's own numbers, left at least eight people dead.
"Whither Iran?" Farideh Farhi, December 31, 2009, Inter Press Service
In some parts of Tehran, protesters pushed the police back, hurling rocks and capturing several police cars and motorcycles, which they set on fire. Videos posted to the Internet showed scenes of mayhem, with trash bins burning and groups of protesters attacking Basij militia volunteers amid a din of screams. One video showed a group of protesters setting an entire police station aflame in Tehran. Another showed people carrying off the body of a dead protester, chanting, "I'll kill, I'll kill the one who killed my brother."
New York Times, December 28, 2009
• • •
Iran's Islamic Republic (IRI) has been escalating its savage, all-around campaign to crush a mass uprising of the Iranian people which continues to shake their reactionary rule. There have been waves of struggle alternating with periods of intense calm. In late December this uprising roared back even more powerfully than before.
Leading up to the major Shi'ite religious commemorations of Muharram culminating in Ashura on December 28, the Islamic Republic threatened severe consequences for anyone who dared to protest against the government. And people in Iran know that this can mean death, imprisonment, or torture. The government deployed thousands of its armed enforcers—the police, the Basij militia, the Revolutionary Guards. Yet, hundreds of thousands of Iranians still turned out for the most massive, defiant, and determined anti-regime demonstrations since the current uprising began in June, following the apparent theft of the presidential election by incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The regime's forces set on people with tear gas, batons and chains, beating them "relentlessly," as one witness described. Government forces smashed the windows of cars driven by people who were honking in solidarity with the protests. There were reports that protesters were stabbed or suffered skull fractures. At times, the regime's militias fired live ammunition directly into the crowds, killing an estimated 37 people (and perhaps more) and injuring many more. All told some 1,500 were arrested.
But the day wasn't only marked by the Islamic theocracy's brutality. On Ashura and the days before, thousands stood up to these savage assaults and, more often than before, fought back. Videos show demonstrators refusing to back down in the face of brutal repression. Witnesses described parts of Tehran as "covered in thick smoke from fires and tear gas," and "the scene of hand-to-hand combat between security forces and the protesters." Protests and street battles were also reported in other major cities. (New York Times, December 29, 2009)
According to the Communist Party of Iran (MLM), more than a million people all over Iran took part, with several hundred thousand scattered in Tehran alone. The slogans and mood were more radical than before, with demonstrators walking over and sometimes burning pictures of Supreme Leader Khamenei and chanting "This is the month of blood, Khamenei will be overthrown."
Continue reading:
http://www.revcom.us/a/189/iran-en.html