Iranian Workers are Not Alone- Final Report
Soheil | 10.11.2005 17:17 | Workers' Movements
Final Resolution of the Campaign ‘Iranian Workers are not alone”
Workers organisations, activists, political parties and organisations of the Left!
International supporters of the Campaign, defenders of the Campaign in defence of Iranian workers!
Supporters of the Campaign Iranian Workers are Not alone (11th Sept – 8th Oct 2005)
With your help and collective perseverance we have now come to the end of the activities planned for the Campaign ‘Iranian Workers are not Alone’.
The relentless attacks of the Iranian regime on every aspect of work and livelihood of the workers are in pursuit of clear aims: to increase exploitation of the Iranian working class in the interests of the capitalists and the regime backing them, to deploy even further privatisation policies undertaken in accordance with the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to close industrial and production units resulting in mass unemployment and impoverishment of the work force leaving workers at the mercy of contract work and insecure employment conditions, to impose constant repression on workers, to increase attacks against workers gatherings, all this with security forces opening fire on workers ( as in Khatoun Abad mine), arresting worker activists (Saghez Kurdistan)…events that lead to the killing of 25 people in Iranian Kurdistan less than two months ago. This increasing repression has imposed intolerable conditions on Iranian workers. The social and economic repercussions of these policies are widespread poverty for workers, toilers and their families, an unprecedented increase in drug addiction, prostitution, a million child workers, imposition of dual repression on national minorities and many other social ills.
We are well aware that ‘the emancipation of the working class can only be achieved by the workers themselves’ however there is no doubt that over the last 27 years, given the anti worker nature of the Islamic regime, in their struggle to set up independent organisations, Iranian workers have faced unbelievably harsh conditions. That is why we see it our task to use all in our power as part of this class to strengthen the struggles of the working class, to defend these struggles and to show that in their battle for emancipation from the injustice, repression and exploitation of this anti worker, dictatorial regime, in the struggle to free themselves from their chains, “Iranian workers are Not Alone”.
Therefore we don’t consider our fruitful and in many ways universal campaign to be at its end, on the contrary we see it as a start to persevere and gain more widespread support in cities and countries throughout the world, through constant and united activities from below, through collective participation in pursuit of the following demands:
• Realisation of the demands of Iranian workers including the right to strike, the right to set up independent workers organisations, the right to free speech and free association, demands which are also the demands of all Iranian people.
• An end to physical intimidation of workers, arrest, torture and execution of workers and toilers in factories and cities of Kurdistan.
• Unconditional release of all political prisoners and an end to all forms of physical, psychological torture, executions, death by stoning and punishment by retaliation.
• An end to child labour, their slavery and provision of adequate funds to sustain their livelihood.
• Expulsion of representatives Iran’s Islamic regime from the ILO and other international workers organisations.
• Gaining widespread International material and moral support for the struggles of Iranian workers including the establishment of Funds to support striking , sacked workers and arrested workers and their families
20th Oct 2005
An Open Letter to:
Workers organisations, socialist and left organisations and parties, all freedom seeking individuals!
As you know Iranian workers have probably less rights than many workers throughout the world. They are deprived of the right to organise, strike, gather and speak out. All this in circumstances where the Islamic regime itself is the largest employer and according to official statistics over 70% of industries remain in the hands of the government. Hundreds of thousand of these workers have not even received the low wages they are due, from a few days up to 30 months. Any workers protest is confronted with police brutality and repression. Mass unemployment, sacking of large numbers of workers, lack of sufficient insurance forces unemployed workers and their families in destitution. Even government officials themselves admit that over 12million people live below the poverty line facing severe financial hardship with earnings of 1 to 2 dollars a day. Under aged children face savage exploitation by unscrupulous employers. Yet Iran is a wealthy country sitting on a sea of oil and gas. Iran’s oil income in 2005 is predicted as 50billion 359million dollars according to FTU, (World economic information) and in 2006 this income will be 46billion 492 million dollars. Iran’s Islamic regime has spent a large portion of this income on Atomic weapons and even now the Iranian people face the dire consequences of these adventurist policies.
The peoples of Iran, who live under constant repression, in particular the freedom seeking population of Kurdistan, face daily violence, war and mass murder imposed by military forces. Recently, people in this region protested at the murder of a young Kurd “Shovane Ghaderi”, he died under torture while incarcerated by the security forces. Their protests were confronted by the anti riot squads and 25 innocent people lost their lives in the subsequent battles, while hundreds were injured. Kurdish people in Iran still live under military rule.
The regime’s frightening jails are full of political prisoners and prisoners face constant physical and mental torture. Number of executions is rising.
Iran’s Islamic regime has imposed a system of sexual apartheid which ensures increasing harm and persecution of women. Iranian women are deprived of their most basic human rights and can’t even choose the colour and model of their clothes.
After a month of coordinated protests to all this lack of rights and repressions, we the co-ordinators of the Campaign Iranian Workers are Not Alone, are grateful to the organisations, parties and groups of the left, working class, socialist and humanitarian organisations for their immense support and cooperation and would like to express our thanks.
We hope that you will continue your solidarity with Iranian people in order to put pressure on the Islamic regime demanding the political, economic and social rights of Iranian workers. We hope you will support our call for the expulsion of the representatives of the Islamic regime from the ILO on the basis that this regime has not adhered to basic principles such as abolition of torture and that it does not adhere to articles 87, 98 of the ILO’s convention. Your support will help Iranian workers.
No doubt our efforts and your support and calls solidarity will encourage Iranian workers to continue their struggles for freedom from the tyranny and exploitation of the Islamic regime . Once more we thank you are class allies throughout the world for your support.
Campaign Iranian Workers are not alone
20 Oct 2005
List of some of the activities of the Campaign
'Iranian Workers are not Alone', October 2005
The following are some of the activities of the campaign ‘Iranian workers of are not alone’ in chronological order.
3 September
Hambastegi Radio’s interview with Maziar Razi on ‘The Iranian workers are not alone’ campaign
Extracts from the interview:
Question: Recently we have witnessed a number of activities by some activists of the labour movement in defence of the people of Kurdistan and the recent events there and in defence of the demands of the labour movement in Iran, especially in Kurdistan, you have also made a number of trips to various countries including Sweden. Can you give us a report on this and also on what these meetings are based around?
Answer: One suggestion is that it should be under the slogan of ‘Iranian workers of are not alone’! This is a slogan that we would like to highlight internationally and to show that the working class in Iran is not alone. And to mobilise the great potential force of the working class throughout the world in support of Iranian workers. As I mentioned earlier, one of the other ways of changing the balance of forces and improving it inside Iran is through international support. If during their struggles the Iranian workers feel that millions of workers throughout the world have been mobilised for their support, then they will clearly deepen and spread their anti-capitalist struggles. Also on the international scale, there are trade unions, syndicalist and progressive and revolutionary tendencies that want to support Iranian workers and have shown this in the past. On the basis of our experience last year in connection with the arrest of labour activists on May Day 2004 in Saghez, when we organised a two-day campaign (20-22 September 2004) across three continents by labour militants, which was based on collecting signatures (millions of signatures from trade unions) and holding demonstrations against the Islamic Republic across the world in defence of the Saghez workers and mobilised organisations in different towns, like Pakistan (like Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad) to Athens, Madrid, Rome, Paris, London, Vienna, Brussels, Mexico City and Venezuela. These are organisations that are in contact with workers’ tendencies and organisations in these countries. They were present outside the embassies on those two days and handed the workers’ support to the regime’s officials and demanded that these trials be cancelled and that threats against workers are reduced.
Question: Have you put out an appeal about this? And if you have, to which groups? And which tendencies and labour activists have signed this appeal?
Answer: The appeal statement has been written and it has been given to many of the organisations and in a few days’ time it will be made public.
In a few days’ time this statement will be translated into Swedish and English, and eventually into French and Spanish as well, and will be distributed throughout the world. We hope that friends, individuals and labour organisations and political parties, in spite of political differences that they have with each other, all those who have a heartfelt sympathy for the labour movement and want to see this balance of forces inside Iran change through international support, sign this petition and take part in the activities in any way they see fit and wherever they are. In fact this is a broad-based united action without there being a meeting, without a charter or a resolution being passed. It is a general appeal to all tendencies within the opposition to support Iranian workers and to highlight labour issues. This is because in the next period the working class of Iran will be at the centre of activities in Iranian society and all democratic freedoms and the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly will all be formed around labour struggles and all tendencies have an interest in seeing that the working class is strengthened on an international scale. This is a crucial issue for creating democratic conditions inside Iran.
15 September
Support by Colombian and Venezuelan trade unionists for the campaign
‘Iranian workers are not alone’
On Thursday, September 15th, the London branch of the National Union of Journalists, together with the campaign ' Hands off Venezuela’ and 'Justice for Colombia', organised a meeting with the aim of building trade union solidarity with Venezuelan and Colombian trade union activists.
Carlos Rodriguez Diaz, General Secretary of the CUT in Colombia, started the meeting by explaining briefly the plight of Colombian trade unionists. Orlando Chirino, one of the main leaders of the Venezuelan UNT, a confederation representing 1.2 million workers, addressed the audience and sent greetings to all activists building international solidarity.
Maziar Razi of Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network and the campaign 'Iranian workers are not alone’ had been invited to this meeting and spoke about the problems of the workers’ movement in Iran and international solidarity. At the end of the meeting the representatives of more than five million workers in these two Latin American countries signed the statement of ‘Iranian workers of are not alone’ and gave their support to the Iranian workers.
20 September
Gothenberg- Sweden-
On Saturday 20th of September one of activists of the Campaign spoke at a fringe meeting at Gothenburg’s book festival, explaining the plight of Iranian workers, child labour, and lack of proper legislation to defend workers rights.
27 September
Maziar Razi and Said Kamran were interviewed by Rang-a-rang Radio in Stockholm. They spoke about the Campaign ‘Iranian workers are not alone’ in Sweden.
28 September
Support by British trade union leaders and MPs for ‘The Iranian workers are not alone’ campaign
On Wednesday 28 September 2005 the Labour Party conference in Brighton witnessed an extraordinary event. During the speech by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, on “democracy in Iraq” a person shouted the words “nonsense” and “it’s a lie”. The stewards overseeing the meeting then forcibly threw out this person and took away his conference pass. When he then tried to enter the conference hall he was prevented under the provisions of the recent terrorism act!
So who was the person who forced the leadership of the Labour Party to commit such violent behaviour? Who was this international terrorist? It is disgraceful that the person that Mr. Blair’s ‘Labour Party’ threw out was Walter Wolfgang, an 82 year old man who has been member of the party for decades, and in 1937 had fled Nazi Germany to live in democratic Britain! This event has already been called Waltergate by some people.
On the same evening the first speaker at the Labour Representation Committee, a body which brings together left-wing activists in the Labour Party, was Walter Wolfgang. Around 150 left-wing trade unionists and Labour Party members took part in this meeting. The leaflet of the campaign ‘The workers of Iran are not alone’ was distributed
Some of the signatures collected on that evening:
Bob Crow, General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT)
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
John Holmes, National Committee member, Communication Workers Union (CWU).
John McDonnell, left-wing Labour MP
Jeremy Corbyn, left-wing Labour MP
Katy Clark, left-wing Labour MP
Bob Wareing, left-wing Labour MP
30th September
Radio Voice of Iranian Workers , broadcast on Satelite to Iran , interviewed Bahram Rahmani of the coordinating committee of the Campaign, regarding the Campign's activties
1 October
Stockholm- Sweden-
On Saturday 1st of October a meeting was held in solidarity with Iranian workers Hakan Blomqvist, leader of the Socialist Party and lecturer in The Institute of Social Studies, Johansson Arne and Mattias Brundhard from Socialist Justice Party and Bahram Rahmani from the coordinating committee of the Campaign were amongst the speakers. Comrade Abbas Afsham a veteran Iranian labour activist spoke about
The current struggles of Iranian workers. In another part of the program a documentary film on Iranian workers protests was shown.
3 October
o Report on the picket outside the Iranian embassy in London
On Tuesday 4th October around 80 activists from various organisations, including the Committee for a Marxist International, OutRage, Iranian Revolutionary Socialists’ League, Workers Left Unity Iran and the Iranian Civil Rights Committee, took part in a picket outside the Iranian regime’s embassy in London. Most of the organisations present at the picket showed their open and public support for Iranian workers and other exploited and oppressed masses with their banners and placards.
A number of leaflets about the situation in Iran, emphasising the continuing persecution of workers and minorities and the lack of democratic rights for the overwhelming majority of people, were distributed. The leaflet of the Campaign ‘The workers of Iran are not alone’ highlighted the following demands:
1- Granting all workers’ demands including the right to strike, the right to form independent labour organisations, the right to free speech and assembly, and so on.
2- The ending of all physical attacks, arrests, killings and torture of workers and toilers in the factories and towns of Kurdistan.
3- The unconditional release of all political prisoners.
The police prevented British trade unionists from delivering ‘The workers of Iran are not alone’ petition to the embassy. This petition had been signed by numerous trade union leaders and activists, including Bob Crow, General Secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, and a number of left-wing Labour Party MPs. The British police said that the embassy staff were not prepared to accept any petition and that, as the embassy building is ‘private property’, they were entitled to this!
The picket ended with a number of short speeches about lack of trade union rights, democratic rights, and executions of homosexuals and so on in Iran. These were well received by the journalists and photographers present.
4 October
Paris- France
The Paris committee of the campaign 'Iranian Workers are not alone' distributed 3000 leaflets in the Paris demonstration of 4th October and activists of the Campaign spoke to a number of French activists including Union of Revolutionary Communists, La Riposte, Youth organisation of the French CP, as well as trade Unionists in CGT and CFDT.
The activists of the Campaign in Paris, also met with Madame Danielle Bidard- Reydet , French Communist senator who had visited Iran as part of a delegation and a decision was made to keep her informed of future campaigns regarding Iranian workers.
4 October
Scotland –
On the 4th of October a protest at lack of support of Iranian workers by the Scottish Trade Union Council was delivered to the STUC international committee in Glasgow and a letter regarding the conditions of Iranian workers was handed to the office of Bill Speirs, chair of STUC.
5 October
Radio Sephr, interviewed Yassamine Mather regarding the Campign and workers struggles in Iram
Bremen
From the 5th to 7th October 2005 Iranian and German activists demonstrated in support of Iranian workers by holding placards in the city centre and setting up a stall to obtain signatures. The activists of the Campaign drew the attention of passers to murder of Iranian workers in Khatoun Abad by the security forces and called on citizens of Bremen to show solidarity with Iran's workers.
7 October
• Picket outside Iranian Embassy in Sweden: Iranian workers are not alone
On October 7th around 35 members of Swedish and Iranian workers’ organisations met to protest against the Iranian dictatorship and deliver the petition “Iranian Workers are not alone” to the embassy.
“Every time I see this embassy I see all the comrades that have been killed, tortured and raped”, said one of the Iranian activists in his speech at the meeting.
He went on to explain how the situation in Iran has developed under the present regime: “They have started to arrest, torture and infiltrate the labour movement. The Iranian security police has been reorganised and will terrorize the workers who are active in the political or trade union field. No free trade unions exist, but there are groups which are trying to fight back and we must relate to them and give them our support.”
“Solidarity, unity and common struggle is the basis for trade union activity both on the local and international level,” said Lena Ericsson Höijer, who represented the 9000 members in her local branch (no 28) of the Municipal Workers’ Union in Stockholm, which had put its signature to the petition.
“‘Workers of the world’ are not empty words,” she continued, “now the eyes of the world are directed towards Iran, and the oppression there.”
The promoters of the picket were three local branches of the Social democratic youth (SSU) in Stockholm. They had not just signed the appeal themselves, but also during the previous two weeks had contacted labour organisations and trade unions in Stockholm to get their support. The result was that the Shop workers’ Union as a whole (about 170,000 members) signed the appeal, as well as a local branch of the Transport Workers’ Union and the above mentioned branch of the Municipal Workers’ Union. They also got the signatures of several activists in other trade union branches. In total, seven local SSU-branches and one SSU-district gave their support to the appeal.
Present at the picket were representatives of the Committee for Solidarity with the Iranian Workers and the Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network, The Communist Party of Iran, Workers Left Unity and independent activists of the Iranian left.
After speeches by Helena Ericsson, editor of the journal Workers Commune and Kerstin Alferdsson of the organisation Marxists in the Labour movement, the petition was read out - both in Swedish and Persian and the picket ended with signing the International. Then three of the SSU-organisers accompanied by two policemen went to the iron gates of the embassy with the petition. However, only one of them, Linus Höjdén, was allowed in.
After the meeting with one of the embassy secretaries Linus reported to the picket outside: “I went in and told them that we demand trade union and human rights in Iran. The embassy secretary thought we should be open to ‘dialogue’. He said that the ILO has visited Iran and seen how well off everyone is! He meant that there are the same rights in Iran as in Sweden. I let him do his talking and then I left.”
The fact that the embassy deemed it even necessary to devote time in trying to defend the brutal Iranian regime proves that they took the protest seriously. And so they should. The Iranian workers are not alone!
Kerstin Alfredsson in Stockholm
7 October
• Italian trade unionists protest outside Iranian Consulate in Milan, Italy
On October 7th, on a day of torrential rain, a delegation of trade unionists and supporters of the Marxist tendency within Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, FalceMartello, picketed the Iranian consulate in Milan, Italy, to protest against the repression of the workers in Iran and to make the Iranian authorities understand clearly that "The workers in Iran are not alone!"
We handed in the international appeal, signed by dozens of shop steward and PRC leaders, to the consulate officials. We also asked to speak to the Consul on this question, but we were told that he was not available. This is markedly different from last year when we protested about the Saghez workers. They clearly are embarrassed and do not want to be reminded about the way they treat workers in Iran.
The planned protest was one small link in the chain of our internationalist campaign to defend workers' rights in Iran. We know that the working class is under attack now so this is the right time to raise the slogan "an injury to one is an injury to all".
Roberto Sarti
Milan, Italy
October 10, 2005
7 October
Resonance Radio’s interview with Maziar Razi
On Friday 7 October Middle East Panorama on Radio Resonance, a local radio in London, which broadcasts programs on the Middle East, interviewed Maziar Razi on the labour conditions and standard of living of the workers of Iran and the campaign ‘Iranian workers are not alone’ .
Radio Barabari , (Equality) broadcast on satelite to Iran, interviewed Amir Javaheri regarding the Campaign 'Iranian Workers are not Alone'.
8 October
Report on the support and solidarity for Iranian workers in Västros (Sweden)
From 11am until 3pm on Saturday 8 October activists of the campaign ‘Iranian Workers are not alone’ gathered in one of the central and busy streets of Västros in Sweden. They held large placards with the slogan ‘Iranian Workers are not alone’ and highlighting the aims of the campaign. The protestors gained the support of Västros citizens for the struggles and demands of Iranian workers and the leaflet ‘Iranian Workers are not alone’ was distributed. Syndicalist activists took part energetically and wholeheartedly in this action.
During this action 120 signatures were collected and 319 Krona were raised and 800 leaflets of the campaign 'Iranian Workers are not alone’ were distributed among those present and passers by.
8 October
Gothenburg- Sweden-
On the 8th of October a standing demonstration was held in Gothenburg city centre near the location of some of Swedish Social Forum meetings. The same evening a meeting was held with a number of prominent Iranian speakers and messages of solidarity from International organisations. Local Farsi Radios also played an important role in reporting the campaign's activities and the level of international support obtained, including interview with Amir Javaheri in Gothenberg and Yassamine Mather in Britain.
8 October
Scotland
On the 8th and 9th of October campaign leaflets were distributed during the two day conference of the Scottish Socialist Party and a number of activists participating in this Conference signed the petition 'Iranian Workers are not Alone'.
8 October
Toronto - Canada
On Saturday the 8th of October a meeting was held in Pierson University in Toronto, the meeting heard a talk by Nassrin regarding conditions of women workers in Iran, at the end of this meeting music was played and messages of solidarity were read out.
8 October
Stockholm rally in defence of Iranian workers
On Saturday the 8th of October a rally was held in the centre of Stockholm from 2pm until 4pm. Pia Atiabi, who introduced the campaign to the audience, highlighted the plight of Iranian workers and toilers, especially the social conditions of children in general and of street children in particular. The statement of the ‘Iranian workers are not alone’ campaign was also read out in Swedish and Persian.
The first invited speaker was the leader of the Swedish Socialist Party, Håkan Blomqvist. The next speaker was Andreas Malm, representative of the General Syndicalist Organisation of Sweden, who co-authored the book ‘The explosive power in Iran’ (with Shora Esmailian after their recent trip to Iran). He spoke about the living conditions of Iranian workers. The third speaker was Kerstin Alfredsson, the editor of Socialisten, who spoke on behalf of the Swedish section of Committee for a Marxist International. She was followed by Per-Åke Westerlund, one of the leaders of Committee for a Workers’ International and its Swedish section. In an article on labour struggles in Iran, that was published in Offeniv, Westerlund wrote about the 170 labour protests that took place during just one month in Iran. There was also a speaker from Arbetarmakt, the Swedish section of League for the Fifth International. Pia Atiabi then read out a statement by the Left Party of Sweden.
9 October
Oslo- Norway
On the evening of Sunday 9th October 2005, a meeting of solidarity with Iranian workers took place in Oslo. In this meeting Behrouz Nasseri and Yavar Etemad gave short talks on working conditions in Iran and the repression of workers, they also explained the activities of the Campaign. Erling Folkorsd, spokesperson for Red Unity Party also spoke at this meeting criticising the policies of the Norwegian government who is only interstellar in capital and oil investment in Iran. He suggested the setting up of a workers network to continue solidarity work between Iranian and Norwegian workers. A short film of May Day protest in Iran in 2005 was also shown at this meeting. The trade union LO had also supported the campaign Iranian Workers are not Alone.
10 October
• Vienna: “The workers of Iran are not alone”
This morning activists from the Austrian Socialist Youth and representatives of “Iran SOS” protested in front of the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in solidarity with the international campaign “The workers of Iran are not alone”. The activists unfurled banners calling for the release of all political prisoners in Iran , stating clearly their international solidarity with the workers’ movement in Iran.
A protest letter signed by numerous leading activists of the Young Socialists, shop stewards and Social Democratic trade unionists was handed in to a representative of the embassy. When we were about to enter the embassy the police warned us that they could not guarantee our security once we were in the embassy building. He told us of an example when some Kurdish activists went to protest and they were arrested by Iranian “security forces”. So the police called the embassy and reached an agreement that a representative of the embassy would come out onto the street to take our protest letter.
We explained the reason for our protest and declared that we will keep up this campaign and that we will come back whenever we get notice of state repression against trade unionists and workers in Iran.
Marion Hackl,
Socialist Youth Alsergrund,
Austria
October 10, 2005
10 October
• Iranian Embassy in Berlin and Consulate in Frankfurt picketed
Germany, October 10, 2005
By Hans-Gerd Öfinger in Germany
On Monday morning, October 10th , comrades in Germany picketed the Iranian Embassy in Berlin and the Iranian General Consulate in Frankfurt. On both occasions, Iranian residents in Germany joined the pickets.
In Frankfurt, only a few moments after our arrival, as we opened our banner demanding an end to all violent assaults against Iranian workers, an employee came out of the front door and asked us to leave the premises immediately. He tried to snatch our banner twice – without any success. Then he threatened to call the police. We continued to distribute our leaflets to passers-by and Iranian nationals that walked into or left the building.
This brutal, harsh and uncultured behaviour towards peaceful demonstrators was very helpful in underlining the repressive nature of the regime in the eyes of those protestors who did not know very much about Iran but felt that our slogans had hit a sore point of the regime.
As the police came, they told us in a friendly way to stand on the other side of the busy road. So we did – and continued to inform people about the attacks on workers’ rights in Iran , the imprisonment and killing of activists and our campaign.
As I tried to get into the building to hand over an official letter of protest on behalf of my union branch to the Consul I was told to stop outside and that I was not welcome inside the building. They refused receipt of the letter.
In the end, comrades left the place in high spirits. The Iranian workers present thanked us for our efforts and for demonstrating that they were not alone, and we agreed to keep in touch and continue protest activities as soon as possible.
11 October
• Mexican workers and students picket Iranian Embassy in Mexico City
On Tuesday, October 11th, Mexican workers and students demonstrated outside the Iranian embassy to protest against the lack of democratic rights for the Iranian workers.
We workers, and sons and daughters of workers, firmly believe in the need to defend the democratic rights of workers on an international scale. We believe that under this capitalist system these rights have been won through the heroic struggles of our class. That is why we believe that it is unacceptable that our Iranian class brothers do not benefit from these rights which we have conquered on an international level and that on the contrary they suffer repression simply for protesting against the reactionary regime that governs their country.
Steeped in the good internationalist traditions we consider the struggles of our brothers as our struggle and we are prepared to demonstrate as often as it is necessary, shoulder to shoulder with our class internationally.
We presented a petition of protest with 52 signatures of workers from different trade unions, such as SME, SNTSS, SINTCB, SUTER, SNTE, SITUAM, Coalición Textil de Puebla, etc., student leaders from 20 faculties from UNAM, IPN, UAM and BUAP, as well as the promoting committee of the Socialist Youth of the PRD. The signatures were taken by the Consul for Diplomatic Affairs of the Embassy, Joi Joseini.
For the unlimited defence of democratic rights for Iranian workers!
Workers of all countries unite!
11 October
• Picket in Madrid outside Iranian embassy
• “The workers of Iran are not alone”
On Tuesday, October 11, a group of workers and youth took part in a picket outside the Iranian embassy in Madrid organised by E Militante and the School Student Union. They were demanding respect for democratic rights and an end to repression against Iranian workers
At the end of the picket we wanted to hand into the Embassy a protest resolution signed by trade unionists, youth and workers from all over Spain, but they refused to receive us and they wouldn’t even let us put the resolution in the letterbox.
Here is the text of the resolution:
For the attention of the Ambassador of Iran in Spain
“Together with today’s (October 11) picket that we have organised outside your embassy, we are handing into you a letter signed by dozens of Spanish trade union activists and leaders, in which we denounce the repression suffered by the Iranian labour movement and we demand that this be brought to an end.
“The El Militante Marxist Tendency and the School Student Union have taken up the international “The workers of Iran are not alone” campaign, and we inform you that we will continue with our public campaign of denunciation of the repressive activities of the regime which you represent in Spain.” This was signed by many Spanish trade unionists.
12 October
Hamburg
The committee in support of the “Campaign Iranian workers are not alone” in Hamburg addressed the following organisations: MLPD, (Marxist Leninist Party of Germany), PDS (German Social Democratic Party), GEW the teachers Union, Linkskruck which is mainly active in the German Social Forum. The supporters of Campaign were also given a short time to make an intervention on behalf of Iranian workers during a meeting by Basra Oil workers (part of their tour of 16 German cities).
13 October
Scotland
On Thursday the 13th of October a meeting was held called by Glasgow Marxist Forum and supporters of the journal Critique in an attempt to open discussions on class struggles of Iranian workers and the repressive role of Political Islam in power.
Members of the Workers Unity faction of the SSP promised to continue their support for Iranian Workers. The campaign in Scotland was also successful in getting support from a number of academics and members of the Association of University Teachers.
14 October
• Pakistani workers express solidarity with their Iranian brothers and sisters
By Hina Zain, PTUDC Lahore
Dear Comrades,
We are really sorry that we were not able to get reports in about the pickets in solidarity with the Iranian workers. Our activities, as part of the international the “Iranian workers are not alone” campaign were concentrated in the week just before the earthquake hit and so all our comrades have been very busy in the work of sending help to the stricken area.
We have a large number of supporters in Kashmir. Five of our comrades were killed and many others lost family members and homes. Se we are intensely involved in our Caravan Activity.
What we had decided to do for the "Iranian workers are not alone campaign" was to launch a three day signature campaign throughout the country for a petition to be handed in to the Iranian Embassy and Consulates in Pakistan. We got about 300 signatures in Lahore, 400 in Rawalpindi, 400 in Quetta, 500 in Karachi and 200 in Peshawar. We got these signatures mainly from lawyers, trade union leaders, political activists, poets, columnists and especially the students. As you can see, we got a very good response to this.
After collecting all these signatures we organised pickets in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar to submit the petition to the Iranian authorities. Because of the chaos caused by the earthquake and the fact that all comrades then concentrated their efforts on helping the victims, we have only been able to get pictures of the event in Quetta, which we are attaching.
Workers organisations, activists, political parties and organisations of the Left!
International supporters of the Campaign, defenders of the Campaign in defence of Iranian workers!
Supporters of the Campaign Iranian Workers are Not alone (11th Sept – 8th Oct 2005)
With your help and collective perseverance we have now come to the end of the activities planned for the Campaign ‘Iranian Workers are not Alone’.
The relentless attacks of the Iranian regime on every aspect of work and livelihood of the workers are in pursuit of clear aims: to increase exploitation of the Iranian working class in the interests of the capitalists and the regime backing them, to deploy even further privatisation policies undertaken in accordance with the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to close industrial and production units resulting in mass unemployment and impoverishment of the work force leaving workers at the mercy of contract work and insecure employment conditions, to impose constant repression on workers, to increase attacks against workers gatherings, all this with security forces opening fire on workers ( as in Khatoun Abad mine), arresting worker activists (Saghez Kurdistan)…events that lead to the killing of 25 people in Iranian Kurdistan less than two months ago. This increasing repression has imposed intolerable conditions on Iranian workers. The social and economic repercussions of these policies are widespread poverty for workers, toilers and their families, an unprecedented increase in drug addiction, prostitution, a million child workers, imposition of dual repression on national minorities and many other social ills.
We are well aware that ‘the emancipation of the working class can only be achieved by the workers themselves’ however there is no doubt that over the last 27 years, given the anti worker nature of the Islamic regime, in their struggle to set up independent organisations, Iranian workers have faced unbelievably harsh conditions. That is why we see it our task to use all in our power as part of this class to strengthen the struggles of the working class, to defend these struggles and to show that in their battle for emancipation from the injustice, repression and exploitation of this anti worker, dictatorial regime, in the struggle to free themselves from their chains, “Iranian workers are Not Alone”.
Therefore we don’t consider our fruitful and in many ways universal campaign to be at its end, on the contrary we see it as a start to persevere and gain more widespread support in cities and countries throughout the world, through constant and united activities from below, through collective participation in pursuit of the following demands:
• Realisation of the demands of Iranian workers including the right to strike, the right to set up independent workers organisations, the right to free speech and free association, demands which are also the demands of all Iranian people.
• An end to physical intimidation of workers, arrest, torture and execution of workers and toilers in factories and cities of Kurdistan.
• Unconditional release of all political prisoners and an end to all forms of physical, psychological torture, executions, death by stoning and punishment by retaliation.
• An end to child labour, their slavery and provision of adequate funds to sustain their livelihood.
• Expulsion of representatives Iran’s Islamic regime from the ILO and other international workers organisations.
• Gaining widespread International material and moral support for the struggles of Iranian workers including the establishment of Funds to support striking , sacked workers and arrested workers and their families
20th Oct 2005
An Open Letter to:
Workers organisations, socialist and left organisations and parties, all freedom seeking individuals!
As you know Iranian workers have probably less rights than many workers throughout the world. They are deprived of the right to organise, strike, gather and speak out. All this in circumstances where the Islamic regime itself is the largest employer and according to official statistics over 70% of industries remain in the hands of the government. Hundreds of thousand of these workers have not even received the low wages they are due, from a few days up to 30 months. Any workers protest is confronted with police brutality and repression. Mass unemployment, sacking of large numbers of workers, lack of sufficient insurance forces unemployed workers and their families in destitution. Even government officials themselves admit that over 12million people live below the poverty line facing severe financial hardship with earnings of 1 to 2 dollars a day. Under aged children face savage exploitation by unscrupulous employers. Yet Iran is a wealthy country sitting on a sea of oil and gas. Iran’s oil income in 2005 is predicted as 50billion 359million dollars according to FTU, (World economic information) and in 2006 this income will be 46billion 492 million dollars. Iran’s Islamic regime has spent a large portion of this income on Atomic weapons and even now the Iranian people face the dire consequences of these adventurist policies.
The peoples of Iran, who live under constant repression, in particular the freedom seeking population of Kurdistan, face daily violence, war and mass murder imposed by military forces. Recently, people in this region protested at the murder of a young Kurd “Shovane Ghaderi”, he died under torture while incarcerated by the security forces. Their protests were confronted by the anti riot squads and 25 innocent people lost their lives in the subsequent battles, while hundreds were injured. Kurdish people in Iran still live under military rule.
The regime’s frightening jails are full of political prisoners and prisoners face constant physical and mental torture. Number of executions is rising.
Iran’s Islamic regime has imposed a system of sexual apartheid which ensures increasing harm and persecution of women. Iranian women are deprived of their most basic human rights and can’t even choose the colour and model of their clothes.
After a month of coordinated protests to all this lack of rights and repressions, we the co-ordinators of the Campaign Iranian Workers are Not Alone, are grateful to the organisations, parties and groups of the left, working class, socialist and humanitarian organisations for their immense support and cooperation and would like to express our thanks.
We hope that you will continue your solidarity with Iranian people in order to put pressure on the Islamic regime demanding the political, economic and social rights of Iranian workers. We hope you will support our call for the expulsion of the representatives of the Islamic regime from the ILO on the basis that this regime has not adhered to basic principles such as abolition of torture and that it does not adhere to articles 87, 98 of the ILO’s convention. Your support will help Iranian workers.
No doubt our efforts and your support and calls solidarity will encourage Iranian workers to continue their struggles for freedom from the tyranny and exploitation of the Islamic regime . Once more we thank you are class allies throughout the world for your support.
Campaign Iranian Workers are not alone
20 Oct 2005
List of some of the activities of the Campaign
'Iranian Workers are not Alone', October 2005
The following are some of the activities of the campaign ‘Iranian workers of are not alone’ in chronological order.
3 September
Hambastegi Radio’s interview with Maziar Razi on ‘The Iranian workers are not alone’ campaign
Extracts from the interview:
Question: Recently we have witnessed a number of activities by some activists of the labour movement in defence of the people of Kurdistan and the recent events there and in defence of the demands of the labour movement in Iran, especially in Kurdistan, you have also made a number of trips to various countries including Sweden. Can you give us a report on this and also on what these meetings are based around?
Answer: One suggestion is that it should be under the slogan of ‘Iranian workers of are not alone’! This is a slogan that we would like to highlight internationally and to show that the working class in Iran is not alone. And to mobilise the great potential force of the working class throughout the world in support of Iranian workers. As I mentioned earlier, one of the other ways of changing the balance of forces and improving it inside Iran is through international support. If during their struggles the Iranian workers feel that millions of workers throughout the world have been mobilised for their support, then they will clearly deepen and spread their anti-capitalist struggles. Also on the international scale, there are trade unions, syndicalist and progressive and revolutionary tendencies that want to support Iranian workers and have shown this in the past. On the basis of our experience last year in connection with the arrest of labour activists on May Day 2004 in Saghez, when we organised a two-day campaign (20-22 September 2004) across three continents by labour militants, which was based on collecting signatures (millions of signatures from trade unions) and holding demonstrations against the Islamic Republic across the world in defence of the Saghez workers and mobilised organisations in different towns, like Pakistan (like Lahore, Quetta, Islamabad) to Athens, Madrid, Rome, Paris, London, Vienna, Brussels, Mexico City and Venezuela. These are organisations that are in contact with workers’ tendencies and organisations in these countries. They were present outside the embassies on those two days and handed the workers’ support to the regime’s officials and demanded that these trials be cancelled and that threats against workers are reduced.
Question: Have you put out an appeal about this? And if you have, to which groups? And which tendencies and labour activists have signed this appeal?
Answer: The appeal statement has been written and it has been given to many of the organisations and in a few days’ time it will be made public.
In a few days’ time this statement will be translated into Swedish and English, and eventually into French and Spanish as well, and will be distributed throughout the world. We hope that friends, individuals and labour organisations and political parties, in spite of political differences that they have with each other, all those who have a heartfelt sympathy for the labour movement and want to see this balance of forces inside Iran change through international support, sign this petition and take part in the activities in any way they see fit and wherever they are. In fact this is a broad-based united action without there being a meeting, without a charter or a resolution being passed. It is a general appeal to all tendencies within the opposition to support Iranian workers and to highlight labour issues. This is because in the next period the working class of Iran will be at the centre of activities in Iranian society and all democratic freedoms and the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly will all be formed around labour struggles and all tendencies have an interest in seeing that the working class is strengthened on an international scale. This is a crucial issue for creating democratic conditions inside Iran.
15 September
Support by Colombian and Venezuelan trade unionists for the campaign
‘Iranian workers are not alone’
On Thursday, September 15th, the London branch of the National Union of Journalists, together with the campaign ' Hands off Venezuela’ and 'Justice for Colombia', organised a meeting with the aim of building trade union solidarity with Venezuelan and Colombian trade union activists.
Carlos Rodriguez Diaz, General Secretary of the CUT in Colombia, started the meeting by explaining briefly the plight of Colombian trade unionists. Orlando Chirino, one of the main leaders of the Venezuelan UNT, a confederation representing 1.2 million workers, addressed the audience and sent greetings to all activists building international solidarity.
Maziar Razi of Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network and the campaign 'Iranian workers are not alone’ had been invited to this meeting and spoke about the problems of the workers’ movement in Iran and international solidarity. At the end of the meeting the representatives of more than five million workers in these two Latin American countries signed the statement of ‘Iranian workers of are not alone’ and gave their support to the Iranian workers.
20 September
Gothenberg- Sweden-
On Saturday 20th of September one of activists of the Campaign spoke at a fringe meeting at Gothenburg’s book festival, explaining the plight of Iranian workers, child labour, and lack of proper legislation to defend workers rights.
27 September
Maziar Razi and Said Kamran were interviewed by Rang-a-rang Radio in Stockholm. They spoke about the Campaign ‘Iranian workers are not alone’ in Sweden.
28 September
Support by British trade union leaders and MPs for ‘The Iranian workers are not alone’ campaign
On Wednesday 28 September 2005 the Labour Party conference in Brighton witnessed an extraordinary event. During the speech by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, on “democracy in Iraq” a person shouted the words “nonsense” and “it’s a lie”. The stewards overseeing the meeting then forcibly threw out this person and took away his conference pass. When he then tried to enter the conference hall he was prevented under the provisions of the recent terrorism act!
So who was the person who forced the leadership of the Labour Party to commit such violent behaviour? Who was this international terrorist? It is disgraceful that the person that Mr. Blair’s ‘Labour Party’ threw out was Walter Wolfgang, an 82 year old man who has been member of the party for decades, and in 1937 had fled Nazi Germany to live in democratic Britain! This event has already been called Waltergate by some people.
On the same evening the first speaker at the Labour Representation Committee, a body which brings together left-wing activists in the Labour Party, was Walter Wolfgang. Around 150 left-wing trade unionists and Labour Party members took part in this meeting. The leaflet of the campaign ‘The workers of Iran are not alone’ was distributed
Some of the signatures collected on that evening:
Bob Crow, General Secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT)
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
John Holmes, National Committee member, Communication Workers Union (CWU).
John McDonnell, left-wing Labour MP
Jeremy Corbyn, left-wing Labour MP
Katy Clark, left-wing Labour MP
Bob Wareing, left-wing Labour MP
30th September
Radio Voice of Iranian Workers , broadcast on Satelite to Iran , interviewed Bahram Rahmani of the coordinating committee of the Campaign, regarding the Campign's activties
1 October
Stockholm- Sweden-
On Saturday 1st of October a meeting was held in solidarity with Iranian workers Hakan Blomqvist, leader of the Socialist Party and lecturer in The Institute of Social Studies, Johansson Arne and Mattias Brundhard from Socialist Justice Party and Bahram Rahmani from the coordinating committee of the Campaign were amongst the speakers. Comrade Abbas Afsham a veteran Iranian labour activist spoke about
The current struggles of Iranian workers. In another part of the program a documentary film on Iranian workers protests was shown.
3 October
o Report on the picket outside the Iranian embassy in London
On Tuesday 4th October around 80 activists from various organisations, including the Committee for a Marxist International, OutRage, Iranian Revolutionary Socialists’ League, Workers Left Unity Iran and the Iranian Civil Rights Committee, took part in a picket outside the Iranian regime’s embassy in London. Most of the organisations present at the picket showed their open and public support for Iranian workers and other exploited and oppressed masses with their banners and placards.
A number of leaflets about the situation in Iran, emphasising the continuing persecution of workers and minorities and the lack of democratic rights for the overwhelming majority of people, were distributed. The leaflet of the Campaign ‘The workers of Iran are not alone’ highlighted the following demands:
1- Granting all workers’ demands including the right to strike, the right to form independent labour organisations, the right to free speech and assembly, and so on.
2- The ending of all physical attacks, arrests, killings and torture of workers and toilers in the factories and towns of Kurdistan.
3- The unconditional release of all political prisoners.
The police prevented British trade unionists from delivering ‘The workers of Iran are not alone’ petition to the embassy. This petition had been signed by numerous trade union leaders and activists, including Bob Crow, General Secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union, and a number of left-wing Labour Party MPs. The British police said that the embassy staff were not prepared to accept any petition and that, as the embassy building is ‘private property’, they were entitled to this!
The picket ended with a number of short speeches about lack of trade union rights, democratic rights, and executions of homosexuals and so on in Iran. These were well received by the journalists and photographers present.
4 October
Paris- France
The Paris committee of the campaign 'Iranian Workers are not alone' distributed 3000 leaflets in the Paris demonstration of 4th October and activists of the Campaign spoke to a number of French activists including Union of Revolutionary Communists, La Riposte, Youth organisation of the French CP, as well as trade Unionists in CGT and CFDT.
The activists of the Campaign in Paris, also met with Madame Danielle Bidard- Reydet , French Communist senator who had visited Iran as part of a delegation and a decision was made to keep her informed of future campaigns regarding Iranian workers.
4 October
Scotland –
On the 4th of October a protest at lack of support of Iranian workers by the Scottish Trade Union Council was delivered to the STUC international committee in Glasgow and a letter regarding the conditions of Iranian workers was handed to the office of Bill Speirs, chair of STUC.
5 October
Radio Sephr, interviewed Yassamine Mather regarding the Campign and workers struggles in Iram
Bremen
From the 5th to 7th October 2005 Iranian and German activists demonstrated in support of Iranian workers by holding placards in the city centre and setting up a stall to obtain signatures. The activists of the Campaign drew the attention of passers to murder of Iranian workers in Khatoun Abad by the security forces and called on citizens of Bremen to show solidarity with Iran's workers.
7 October
• Picket outside Iranian Embassy in Sweden: Iranian workers are not alone
On October 7th around 35 members of Swedish and Iranian workers’ organisations met to protest against the Iranian dictatorship and deliver the petition “Iranian Workers are not alone” to the embassy.
“Every time I see this embassy I see all the comrades that have been killed, tortured and raped”, said one of the Iranian activists in his speech at the meeting.
He went on to explain how the situation in Iran has developed under the present regime: “They have started to arrest, torture and infiltrate the labour movement. The Iranian security police has been reorganised and will terrorize the workers who are active in the political or trade union field. No free trade unions exist, but there are groups which are trying to fight back and we must relate to them and give them our support.”
“Solidarity, unity and common struggle is the basis for trade union activity both on the local and international level,” said Lena Ericsson Höijer, who represented the 9000 members in her local branch (no 28) of the Municipal Workers’ Union in Stockholm, which had put its signature to the petition.
“‘Workers of the world’ are not empty words,” she continued, “now the eyes of the world are directed towards Iran, and the oppression there.”
The promoters of the picket were three local branches of the Social democratic youth (SSU) in Stockholm. They had not just signed the appeal themselves, but also during the previous two weeks had contacted labour organisations and trade unions in Stockholm to get their support. The result was that the Shop workers’ Union as a whole (about 170,000 members) signed the appeal, as well as a local branch of the Transport Workers’ Union and the above mentioned branch of the Municipal Workers’ Union. They also got the signatures of several activists in other trade union branches. In total, seven local SSU-branches and one SSU-district gave their support to the appeal.
Present at the picket were representatives of the Committee for Solidarity with the Iranian Workers and the Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network, The Communist Party of Iran, Workers Left Unity and independent activists of the Iranian left.
After speeches by Helena Ericsson, editor of the journal Workers Commune and Kerstin Alferdsson of the organisation Marxists in the Labour movement, the petition was read out - both in Swedish and Persian and the picket ended with signing the International. Then three of the SSU-organisers accompanied by two policemen went to the iron gates of the embassy with the petition. However, only one of them, Linus Höjdén, was allowed in.
After the meeting with one of the embassy secretaries Linus reported to the picket outside: “I went in and told them that we demand trade union and human rights in Iran. The embassy secretary thought we should be open to ‘dialogue’. He said that the ILO has visited Iran and seen how well off everyone is! He meant that there are the same rights in Iran as in Sweden. I let him do his talking and then I left.”
The fact that the embassy deemed it even necessary to devote time in trying to defend the brutal Iranian regime proves that they took the protest seriously. And so they should. The Iranian workers are not alone!
Kerstin Alfredsson in Stockholm
7 October
• Italian trade unionists protest outside Iranian Consulate in Milan, Italy
On October 7th, on a day of torrential rain, a delegation of trade unionists and supporters of the Marxist tendency within Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, FalceMartello, picketed the Iranian consulate in Milan, Italy, to protest against the repression of the workers in Iran and to make the Iranian authorities understand clearly that "The workers in Iran are not alone!"
We handed in the international appeal, signed by dozens of shop steward and PRC leaders, to the consulate officials. We also asked to speak to the Consul on this question, but we were told that he was not available. This is markedly different from last year when we protested about the Saghez workers. They clearly are embarrassed and do not want to be reminded about the way they treat workers in Iran.
The planned protest was one small link in the chain of our internationalist campaign to defend workers' rights in Iran. We know that the working class is under attack now so this is the right time to raise the slogan "an injury to one is an injury to all".
Roberto Sarti
Milan, Italy
October 10, 2005
7 October
Resonance Radio’s interview with Maziar Razi
On Friday 7 October Middle East Panorama on Radio Resonance, a local radio in London, which broadcasts programs on the Middle East, interviewed Maziar Razi on the labour conditions and standard of living of the workers of Iran and the campaign ‘Iranian workers are not alone’ .
Radio Barabari , (Equality) broadcast on satelite to Iran, interviewed Amir Javaheri regarding the Campaign 'Iranian Workers are not Alone'.
8 October
Report on the support and solidarity for Iranian workers in Västros (Sweden)
From 11am until 3pm on Saturday 8 October activists of the campaign ‘Iranian Workers are not alone’ gathered in one of the central and busy streets of Västros in Sweden. They held large placards with the slogan ‘Iranian Workers are not alone’ and highlighting the aims of the campaign. The protestors gained the support of Västros citizens for the struggles and demands of Iranian workers and the leaflet ‘Iranian Workers are not alone’ was distributed. Syndicalist activists took part energetically and wholeheartedly in this action.
During this action 120 signatures were collected and 319 Krona were raised and 800 leaflets of the campaign 'Iranian Workers are not alone’ were distributed among those present and passers by.
8 October
Gothenburg- Sweden-
On the 8th of October a standing demonstration was held in Gothenburg city centre near the location of some of Swedish Social Forum meetings. The same evening a meeting was held with a number of prominent Iranian speakers and messages of solidarity from International organisations. Local Farsi Radios also played an important role in reporting the campaign's activities and the level of international support obtained, including interview with Amir Javaheri in Gothenberg and Yassamine Mather in Britain.
8 October
Scotland
On the 8th and 9th of October campaign leaflets were distributed during the two day conference of the Scottish Socialist Party and a number of activists participating in this Conference signed the petition 'Iranian Workers are not Alone'.
8 October
Toronto - Canada
On Saturday the 8th of October a meeting was held in Pierson University in Toronto, the meeting heard a talk by Nassrin regarding conditions of women workers in Iran, at the end of this meeting music was played and messages of solidarity were read out.
8 October
Stockholm rally in defence of Iranian workers
On Saturday the 8th of October a rally was held in the centre of Stockholm from 2pm until 4pm. Pia Atiabi, who introduced the campaign to the audience, highlighted the plight of Iranian workers and toilers, especially the social conditions of children in general and of street children in particular. The statement of the ‘Iranian workers are not alone’ campaign was also read out in Swedish and Persian.
The first invited speaker was the leader of the Swedish Socialist Party, Håkan Blomqvist. The next speaker was Andreas Malm, representative of the General Syndicalist Organisation of Sweden, who co-authored the book ‘The explosive power in Iran’ (with Shora Esmailian after their recent trip to Iran). He spoke about the living conditions of Iranian workers. The third speaker was Kerstin Alfredsson, the editor of Socialisten, who spoke on behalf of the Swedish section of Committee for a Marxist International. She was followed by Per-Åke Westerlund, one of the leaders of Committee for a Workers’ International and its Swedish section. In an article on labour struggles in Iran, that was published in Offeniv, Westerlund wrote about the 170 labour protests that took place during just one month in Iran. There was also a speaker from Arbetarmakt, the Swedish section of League for the Fifth International. Pia Atiabi then read out a statement by the Left Party of Sweden.
9 October
Oslo- Norway
On the evening of Sunday 9th October 2005, a meeting of solidarity with Iranian workers took place in Oslo. In this meeting Behrouz Nasseri and Yavar Etemad gave short talks on working conditions in Iran and the repression of workers, they also explained the activities of the Campaign. Erling Folkorsd, spokesperson for Red Unity Party also spoke at this meeting criticising the policies of the Norwegian government who is only interstellar in capital and oil investment in Iran. He suggested the setting up of a workers network to continue solidarity work between Iranian and Norwegian workers. A short film of May Day protest in Iran in 2005 was also shown at this meeting. The trade union LO had also supported the campaign Iranian Workers are not Alone.
10 October
• Vienna: “The workers of Iran are not alone”
This morning activists from the Austrian Socialist Youth and representatives of “Iran SOS” protested in front of the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in solidarity with the international campaign “The workers of Iran are not alone”. The activists unfurled banners calling for the release of all political prisoners in Iran , stating clearly their international solidarity with the workers’ movement in Iran.
A protest letter signed by numerous leading activists of the Young Socialists, shop stewards and Social Democratic trade unionists was handed in to a representative of the embassy. When we were about to enter the embassy the police warned us that they could not guarantee our security once we were in the embassy building. He told us of an example when some Kurdish activists went to protest and they were arrested by Iranian “security forces”. So the police called the embassy and reached an agreement that a representative of the embassy would come out onto the street to take our protest letter.
We explained the reason for our protest and declared that we will keep up this campaign and that we will come back whenever we get notice of state repression against trade unionists and workers in Iran.
Marion Hackl,
Socialist Youth Alsergrund,
Austria
October 10, 2005
10 October
• Iranian Embassy in Berlin and Consulate in Frankfurt picketed
Germany, October 10, 2005
By Hans-Gerd Öfinger in Germany
On Monday morning, October 10th , comrades in Germany picketed the Iranian Embassy in Berlin and the Iranian General Consulate in Frankfurt. On both occasions, Iranian residents in Germany joined the pickets.
In Frankfurt, only a few moments after our arrival, as we opened our banner demanding an end to all violent assaults against Iranian workers, an employee came out of the front door and asked us to leave the premises immediately. He tried to snatch our banner twice – without any success. Then he threatened to call the police. We continued to distribute our leaflets to passers-by and Iranian nationals that walked into or left the building.
This brutal, harsh and uncultured behaviour towards peaceful demonstrators was very helpful in underlining the repressive nature of the regime in the eyes of those protestors who did not know very much about Iran but felt that our slogans had hit a sore point of the regime.
As the police came, they told us in a friendly way to stand on the other side of the busy road. So we did – and continued to inform people about the attacks on workers’ rights in Iran , the imprisonment and killing of activists and our campaign.
As I tried to get into the building to hand over an official letter of protest on behalf of my union branch to the Consul I was told to stop outside and that I was not welcome inside the building. They refused receipt of the letter.
In the end, comrades left the place in high spirits. The Iranian workers present thanked us for our efforts and for demonstrating that they were not alone, and we agreed to keep in touch and continue protest activities as soon as possible.
11 October
• Mexican workers and students picket Iranian Embassy in Mexico City
On Tuesday, October 11th, Mexican workers and students demonstrated outside the Iranian embassy to protest against the lack of democratic rights for the Iranian workers.
We workers, and sons and daughters of workers, firmly believe in the need to defend the democratic rights of workers on an international scale. We believe that under this capitalist system these rights have been won through the heroic struggles of our class. That is why we believe that it is unacceptable that our Iranian class brothers do not benefit from these rights which we have conquered on an international level and that on the contrary they suffer repression simply for protesting against the reactionary regime that governs their country.
Steeped in the good internationalist traditions we consider the struggles of our brothers as our struggle and we are prepared to demonstrate as often as it is necessary, shoulder to shoulder with our class internationally.
We presented a petition of protest with 52 signatures of workers from different trade unions, such as SME, SNTSS, SINTCB, SUTER, SNTE, SITUAM, Coalición Textil de Puebla, etc., student leaders from 20 faculties from UNAM, IPN, UAM and BUAP, as well as the promoting committee of the Socialist Youth of the PRD. The signatures were taken by the Consul for Diplomatic Affairs of the Embassy, Joi Joseini.
For the unlimited defence of democratic rights for Iranian workers!
Workers of all countries unite!
11 October
• Picket in Madrid outside Iranian embassy
• “The workers of Iran are not alone”
On Tuesday, October 11, a group of workers and youth took part in a picket outside the Iranian embassy in Madrid organised by E Militante and the School Student Union. They were demanding respect for democratic rights and an end to repression against Iranian workers
At the end of the picket we wanted to hand into the Embassy a protest resolution signed by trade unionists, youth and workers from all over Spain, but they refused to receive us and they wouldn’t even let us put the resolution in the letterbox.
Here is the text of the resolution:
For the attention of the Ambassador of Iran in Spain
“Together with today’s (October 11) picket that we have organised outside your embassy, we are handing into you a letter signed by dozens of Spanish trade union activists and leaders, in which we denounce the repression suffered by the Iranian labour movement and we demand that this be brought to an end.
“The El Militante Marxist Tendency and the School Student Union have taken up the international “The workers of Iran are not alone” campaign, and we inform you that we will continue with our public campaign of denunciation of the repressive activities of the regime which you represent in Spain.” This was signed by many Spanish trade unionists.
12 October
Hamburg
The committee in support of the “Campaign Iranian workers are not alone” in Hamburg addressed the following organisations: MLPD, (Marxist Leninist Party of Germany), PDS (German Social Democratic Party), GEW the teachers Union, Linkskruck which is mainly active in the German Social Forum. The supporters of Campaign were also given a short time to make an intervention on behalf of Iranian workers during a meeting by Basra Oil workers (part of their tour of 16 German cities).
13 October
Scotland
On Thursday the 13th of October a meeting was held called by Glasgow Marxist Forum and supporters of the journal Critique in an attempt to open discussions on class struggles of Iranian workers and the repressive role of Political Islam in power.
Members of the Workers Unity faction of the SSP promised to continue their support for Iranian Workers. The campaign in Scotland was also successful in getting support from a number of academics and members of the Association of University Teachers.
14 October
• Pakistani workers express solidarity with their Iranian brothers and sisters
By Hina Zain, PTUDC Lahore
Dear Comrades,
We are really sorry that we were not able to get reports in about the pickets in solidarity with the Iranian workers. Our activities, as part of the international the “Iranian workers are not alone” campaign were concentrated in the week just before the earthquake hit and so all our comrades have been very busy in the work of sending help to the stricken area.
We have a large number of supporters in Kashmir. Five of our comrades were killed and many others lost family members and homes. Se we are intensely involved in our Caravan Activity.
What we had decided to do for the "Iranian workers are not alone campaign" was to launch a three day signature campaign throughout the country for a petition to be handed in to the Iranian Embassy and Consulates in Pakistan. We got about 300 signatures in Lahore, 400 in Rawalpindi, 400 in Quetta, 500 in Karachi and 200 in Peshawar. We got these signatures mainly from lawyers, trade union leaders, political activists, poets, columnists and especially the students. As you can see, we got a very good response to this.
After collecting all these signatures we organised pickets in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Karachi and Peshawar to submit the petition to the Iranian authorities. Because of the chaos caused by the earthquake and the fact that all comrades then concentrated their efforts on helping the victims, we have only been able to get pictures of the event in Quetta, which we are attaching.
Soheil
e-mail:
etehadchap@yahoo.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.etehadchap.org
