hashem
27th October 2013, 14:58
On 3rd of October a Sunni fanatic group attacked military forces of Iran near Pakistan's border. 14 soldiers were killed and death toll might increase because 6 injured soldiers are in a bad condition. Next morning, 16 Sunni prisoners were executed in Zahedan (center of Sistan and Baluchistan province). They were executed in public by hanging while people (and even children) were watching. The Attorney general of Zahedan confirmed that executions were a response to the attack. This means prisoners were hostages!
Although the Sunni fanatics are not a significant force yet (but for how long?) and their influence is limited to Iran's Baluchistan, comparing the situation in Syria with Iran shows that leaders of Iran haven’t learned anything from history and are guiding Iran into the same path which Baathists pursued in Syria. Instead of reforms, they offer iron fist and thus aggravate the religious, ethnic and class conflicts. There was once a time when rising of groups similar to Afghan Taliban was unimaginable in Iran but today they are a reality. The government brutally suppresses progressive ideas like democracy, secularism, socialism, feminism, equality, human rights, freedom of speech and … but preaches religion, racism and sexism. Iranian people are officially classified by their sex, religion and political beliefs. supreme leader, Khamenei clearly said that some races are savage. a government which justifies its own existence by reactionary ideas and preaches them, has fallen victim to its own ideas. On the other hand, Sunni fanatics repeat the governmental propaganda. They merely change the specifics but maintain the general lines. They identify Farsi (Persian) truck drivers as their enemies and kill them on the roads! Even in the above mentioned conflict, 12 victims were conscripts, in other words: young slaves who were forced into army.
On a video which was released on internet, Sunni fanatics claimed that since Iran's government supports Baath regime in Syria, their operation was in support of their Syrian brothers and encouraged people to rise against the government. Although no such uprising is expected in near future but all requirements are being prepared for it: a huge mass of people who are being oppressed by a government which upholds a different religion and race, people who are kept backward and fed by reactionary propaganda of both government and reactionary opposition, a weak progressive opposition which has been isolated from society, a ruined economy which shows no sign of improvement, international imperialist conflicts which Iran takes part in them and thus foreign imperialists try to expand them inside the borders of Iran and so on.
The "moderate" government of Rouhani hasn’t showed any change in regards to its policy about Baluchistan and its pursing the policy of Ahmadinejad and those who were there before him. Few weeks ago when few political prisoners who were close to "reformist" or "moderate" faction or were non dangerous world famous activists (and thus the government wanted to improve its appearance by letting them go) were released, bourgeois opposition celebrated this event as a sign of transforming into a democracy. But recent executions for revenge showed that the pervious act was just an attempt to maintain a medieval system.
Today, when we see the situation of Syria, we condemn what FSA or islamists are doing. But do we see the reason which pushed a large part of population behind them? are all those people bandits or foreign agents as governmental propaganda of Syria and Iran like to call them? or was the country clam before and massacres have started in recent years?
If we look at the list of massacres in modern Syria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Syria) we see that there have been many mass killing in 1980s when the father of present king ruled the country. Back then, governmental armed forces fired at peaceful demonstrations or used negligible attacks of islamists as excuses for mass killings of sometimes over 10000 people. communists and democrats were sentenced to prison and they spent many years of their lives under torture. Baathists had their chance to improve Syria. They ruled the country with iron fist for decades, but even if we accept their propaganda, it means that the result of those decades has been filling Syria with bandits and foreign agents! So what would be the result of continuance of Baathists rule? Even if we believe that Baathists are better than islamists, are they capable of repelling them? No. the history of pervious war (1980-1982) which opportunists like to "forget", shows that every tactical victory of baathists against islamists, leads to strengthening of islamists in long term because Baathists safeguard the conditions which lead to the rise of islamists. Every suppressive measure results in aggravation of peoples anger, and since progressive forces are weak or absent (as a result of governments policy, tactical mistakes, premature conditions or …), reactionary forces guide the peoples anger.
If communist and progressive forces of Iran are not able to lead peoples struggle, reactionaries will take the lead. But they are very weak in present time. Only exception is Kurdistan. Komolah (Kurdistan organization of communist party of Iran) has organized two successful mass strikes against the government there. potential for a mass labour movement is great. Several worker activists are in prison and unlike the "reformists" they clearly stated that they will boycott the election, although it had terrible consequences for them, such as prolonging their prison sentences or even murder (in Afshin Osanlou's case). This potential should turn into a practical mass movement against the dictatorship, class differences, lack of rights and also foreign intervention.
Although the Sunni fanatics are not a significant force yet (but for how long?) and their influence is limited to Iran's Baluchistan, comparing the situation in Syria with Iran shows that leaders of Iran haven’t learned anything from history and are guiding Iran into the same path which Baathists pursued in Syria. Instead of reforms, they offer iron fist and thus aggravate the religious, ethnic and class conflicts. There was once a time when rising of groups similar to Afghan Taliban was unimaginable in Iran but today they are a reality. The government brutally suppresses progressive ideas like democracy, secularism, socialism, feminism, equality, human rights, freedom of speech and … but preaches religion, racism and sexism. Iranian people are officially classified by their sex, religion and political beliefs. supreme leader, Khamenei clearly said that some races are savage. a government which justifies its own existence by reactionary ideas and preaches them, has fallen victim to its own ideas. On the other hand, Sunni fanatics repeat the governmental propaganda. They merely change the specifics but maintain the general lines. They identify Farsi (Persian) truck drivers as their enemies and kill them on the roads! Even in the above mentioned conflict, 12 victims were conscripts, in other words: young slaves who were forced into army.
On a video which was released on internet, Sunni fanatics claimed that since Iran's government supports Baath regime in Syria, their operation was in support of their Syrian brothers and encouraged people to rise against the government. Although no such uprising is expected in near future but all requirements are being prepared for it: a huge mass of people who are being oppressed by a government which upholds a different religion and race, people who are kept backward and fed by reactionary propaganda of both government and reactionary opposition, a weak progressive opposition which has been isolated from society, a ruined economy which shows no sign of improvement, international imperialist conflicts which Iran takes part in them and thus foreign imperialists try to expand them inside the borders of Iran and so on.
The "moderate" government of Rouhani hasn’t showed any change in regards to its policy about Baluchistan and its pursing the policy of Ahmadinejad and those who were there before him. Few weeks ago when few political prisoners who were close to "reformist" or "moderate" faction or were non dangerous world famous activists (and thus the government wanted to improve its appearance by letting them go) were released, bourgeois opposition celebrated this event as a sign of transforming into a democracy. But recent executions for revenge showed that the pervious act was just an attempt to maintain a medieval system.
Today, when we see the situation of Syria, we condemn what FSA or islamists are doing. But do we see the reason which pushed a large part of population behind them? are all those people bandits or foreign agents as governmental propaganda of Syria and Iran like to call them? or was the country clam before and massacres have started in recent years?
If we look at the list of massacres in modern Syria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Syria) we see that there have been many mass killing in 1980s when the father of present king ruled the country. Back then, governmental armed forces fired at peaceful demonstrations or used negligible attacks of islamists as excuses for mass killings of sometimes over 10000 people. communists and democrats were sentenced to prison and they spent many years of their lives under torture. Baathists had their chance to improve Syria. They ruled the country with iron fist for decades, but even if we accept their propaganda, it means that the result of those decades has been filling Syria with bandits and foreign agents! So what would be the result of continuance of Baathists rule? Even if we believe that Baathists are better than islamists, are they capable of repelling them? No. the history of pervious war (1980-1982) which opportunists like to "forget", shows that every tactical victory of baathists against islamists, leads to strengthening of islamists in long term because Baathists safeguard the conditions which lead to the rise of islamists. Every suppressive measure results in aggravation of peoples anger, and since progressive forces are weak or absent (as a result of governments policy, tactical mistakes, premature conditions or …), reactionary forces guide the peoples anger.
If communist and progressive forces of Iran are not able to lead peoples struggle, reactionaries will take the lead. But they are very weak in present time. Only exception is Kurdistan. Komolah (Kurdistan organization of communist party of Iran) has organized two successful mass strikes against the government there. potential for a mass labour movement is great. Several worker activists are in prison and unlike the "reformists" they clearly stated that they will boycott the election, although it had terrible consequences for them, such as prolonging their prison sentences or even murder (in Afshin Osanlou's case). This potential should turn into a practical mass movement against the dictatorship, class differences, lack of rights and also foreign intervention.