We support the recent student demonstrations in Iran in so far as they are an important example of the struggle of people around the world for peace and justice. These demonstrations reflect the aspirations of young people in Iran for a more democratic and just society.
We support the legitimate right of the people of Iran to determine their own form of struggle and to define their own demands, in their continued struggle for a better future.
The Iranian people have a rich and long history of struggling for democracy and independence since the early 20th century. They were successful in replacing an autocratic monarchy with a constitutional monarchy in 1906. They struggled against British colonialism and later on against US imperialism. The CIA defeated the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people in 1953 by bringing back to power the Shah of Iran. It took 25 years for the democratic, popular, non-violent and mass uprisings of the Iranian people to overthrow the regime of the Shah in 1979.
The Iranian people, the young and the old, men and women, workers and students, people of all walks of life have continued in their varied form of movements to achieve their legitimate and just goals. They have made great strides and will continue to better their society. It is the Iranian people and their genuine, native and grass-roots movement that will determine the goals and slogans. If there is going to be a change of regimen Iran, it will be achieved by the Iranian people as it happened in 1979.
The greatest impediment to the victory of the just struggles of the people of Iran is the intervention of the US Empire and its supporters, whether in the form of another “coalition of the willing”, or Iranian groups who support US intervention in the affairs of the people and the government of Iran.
American intervention in Iran, as it has done in the past, will bring about oppression and will strengthen the hand of all forms of hard line and extreme positions. The history of US involvement in Iran and in other countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Columbia, Panama, Vietnam, and countless others shows that the US has always supported the most dictatorial forces in its covert and overt operations.
The US government is hardly in a position to talk about other government’s treatment of people while its military forces are occupying Iraq,. It has sent an American Viceroy in the grand tradition of the 19th century colonialists to rule Iraq, while its soldiers are imposing martial law all over Iraq, driving their tanks with their machine guns, and shooting Iraqi youth demonstrators.
President Bush “supports” the demonstrations of the students in Iran but condemns the same in this country. He calls the Palestinian youth terrorists, even though they live in concentration camps under the rule of the Apartheid government of Israel.
President Bush, Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute, Rumsfeld and other neo conservatives claim that they support democracy in Iran while nevertheless supporting the same Monarchist forces that defeated democracy in Iran with the help of the CIA, and then imposed a brutal dictatorship on the people of Iran for 25 years.
The only truthful reason for the involvement of the US Government in Iran is in order to control the oil and gas resources of Iran, and to establish a military base there. This will complete the total domination of the Middle East by the US. The Bush administration has also talked of promoting a Free Trade Agreement in the Middle East in the interest of opening up the Middle East to the control of American and other global corporations.
It is in this context that;
We condemn any and all forms of intervention by the US and its allies in the affairs of Iran or interference with the territorial integrity of Iran.
We support the self determination of the people of Iran.
We offer our ethical (moral?) support to whatever forms are taken by the Iranian People’s struggles for peace and justice and for a better future for their country.
We accept the leadership of the Iranian grass-roots movement in setting up their own demands.
We ask all the organizations and individuals in the global Peace and Justice movement to offer full support to the just aspirations of the Iranian People while respecting their self determination.
We ask that the American Peace and Justice movement express its strong and unconditional opposition to any form of US intervention in Iran.
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