صفحات

۱۳۹۱ آبان ۴, پنجشنبه

به صورتی شدیدن واقعی تیتر ندارد


این روزها همه چیز به شکل مزحکی واقع گرایانه است، آن هم واقعیت تلخی که در سویه مقابل حقیقت قرار گرفته است. از فردای واقع گرایی جادویی چهره هایی منطقی اختراع شده که با حوصله مدارا می کنند و سهل می گیرند به هر کثافتی که بر دموکراسیِ خودنوشته شان منطبق باشد، کون سایرین را گُهی تر و خودشان ادای تنگ ترین ها را در می آورند.
ابر واقع گرایی اما انتهای زوال و نابودی برای هرگونه خلق هنری است، چرک ناشی از رسمی شدن و آکادمیک شدن هنر است که در ماشین حساب های حضرت استاااد اندازه گیری می شود و به تمامی تکنیک را رنگ می کند و به جای قناری با قیمت خون خدا به بنگاه چند ملیتی سر خیابان می فروشد.
هنر ابر واقع گرایانه در ادبیات دقیقن همان «با عرض سلام و خسته نباشید خدمت شما دوست عزیز و گرامی» است. اقتصاد سیاسی هنرهای تجسمی چیزی محدود به منتقدین بزرگ خریدنی و لابی های رسانه ای و آکادمیک بوده و هیهات که اگر به عنوان مثال نقاشی و مجسمه سازی لحظه و احساس را می آفریدند و عکاسی آن را تنها ثبت می کرد حالا هنر ابرواقع گرایانه تنها اثبات را خلق می کند. وقتی که رویا را مُثله می کنند توی ویترین قصابی ها و بسته های وکیوم شده در فروشگاه های بزرگ حراج می کنند. لحظه ای که باید برای هنر بلند مرتبه و والا کمی اشک بریزیم و پاکشان کنیم ... پنجره را باز کنیم و هوای تازه که می آید چراغ های توی پنجره های روبرو یکی پس از دیگری خاموش می شوند.

*تصویر سمت راست: نقاشی رنگ روغن ابرواقع گرایانه اثر روبین الی.
**تصویر سمت چپ: مجسمه ابرواقع گرایانه اثر مارک سیجان.

(Robin Eley & Marc Sijan)


۱۳۹۱ مهر ۲۹, شنبه

سالگرد تیرباران مرتضی کیوان به دستور مستقیم محمدرضاشاه


امیرمحسن محمدی: مرتضی کیوان قزوینی روزنامه نگار، شاعر، منتقد و اولین ویراستار ایرانی بود. او پایه گذار انجمن ادبی شمع سوخته و مدیر داخلی مجله بانو، دبیر مجله جهان نو و عضو هیات تحریریه مجله کبوتر صلح بوده است.

کیوان به ادبیات روسیه تسلط داشت و عضو حزب توده ایران بود. او در 27 مهرماه 1332 به همراه سایر اعضای سازمان افسران حزب توده به دستور مستقیم شاه سابق تیرباران شد. مرتضی کیوان تنها غیر نظامی بود که به سبب پناه دادن به افسران توده در خانه اش بازداشت و به همراه آنها تیرباران شد. در آن هنگام وی دوره خدمت سربازی اش را می گذراند.

وی حلقه اتصال بسیاری از شاعران و نویسندگان نظیر احمد شاملو، سیاوش کسرایی، مصطفی فرزانه، هوشنگ ابتهاج، نجف دریابندری و... بوده‌است. شاملو، نیما یوشیج، کسرایی و سایه در سوگ او شعرهایی سروده‌اند.
بعد از مرگ او احمد شاملو نوشت:
سال بد / سال باد / سال اشک / سال شک / سال روزهای دراز و استقامت های کم / سالی که غرور گدایی کرد / سال پست / سال درد / سال عزا / سال اشک پوری / سال خون مرتضی ...

مرتضی کیوان در وصیت نامه ای که پیش از اعدام اجازه پیدا کرده بود بنویسد خطاب به خانواده اش گفت:
«بدنبال زندگی و سرنوشت و سرانجام خود می روم. همه شما برای من عزیز و مهربان بودید و چقدر به من محبت کرده اید اما من نتوانستم، نتوانسته ام، جبران کنم. اکنون که پاک و شریف می میرم، دلم خندانست که برای شما پسر، دوست و شوهر و برادرنجیبی بودم، همین کافیست. دوستانم زندگی ما را ادامه می دهند و رنگین می سازند... همه را دوست دارم زیرا زندگی پاک و نجیبانه و شرافتمندانه را می پرستیده ام. زن عزیزم یادت باشد که "عمو تیغ تیغی" تو، راه را تا به آخر طی کرد.»

*از سمت چپ: مرتضی کیوان، احمد شاملو، نیمایوشیج، سیاوش کسرائی و هوشنگ ابتهاج

۱۳۹۱ مهر ۲۷, پنجشنبه

سوریه؛ جنگی که چندان هم داخلی نیست



کمیته هماهنگی ملی برای تغییرات دموکراتیک اگرچه اما و اگر زیادی دارد ولی شاید آخرین شانس مردم سوریه باشد. اتفاقی است که درون مرزهای کشور سوریه اتفاق افتاده. متشکل از 13 حزب و جریان چپ و سکولار که منتقد خط مشی ارتش آزاد و شورای ملی سوریه است، مخالف سرسخت دخالت خارجی و مدافع حقوق اقلیت کورد این کشور است.
بعضی از اعضای آن عبارتند از: اتحاد دموکراتیک سوسیالیست عرب، حزب کارگران انقلابی عرب، حزب کمونیست کارگران سوریه، جنبش سوسیالیست عرب، حزب اتحاد سوری، حزب دموکراتیک مردمی سوریه،  با هم برای سوریه آزاد و دموکراتیک، حزب اتحاد دموکراتیک و مجمع مارکسیست چپ، بعضی جریانات جدا شده از حکومت و احزاب کورد هم هستند.
این تشکل مخالف حکومت مدتی پیش شورای ملی سوریه را متهم کرده بود که عامل دست خارجی ها هستند، نسبت به نفوذ اخوان المسلمین و بنیادگرایان مذهبی در شورای ملی و ارتش آزاد هشدار داده بود. گفته بود اسد باید جنایاتش را متوقف کند تا خشونت های برخی گروه های مخالف هم متوقف شود. علیه نظامی کردن انقلاب و کشاندن آن به جنگ داخلی موضع گرفته بود. آنها برای انتقال مسالمت آمیز قدرت تلاش می کنند و رهبر فعلی آن گفته بود از نظر ما دخالت خارجی به همان اندازه استبداد داخلی خطرناک است.
کمیته هماهنگی ملی سوریه مدتی پیش کنفرانسی به نام «نجات ملی» برگزار کرد که چند روز پیش از برگزاری آن تعداد 5 نفر از رهبران اپوزیسیون چپ که برای شرکت در این کنفرانس به سوریه بازگشته بودند، توسط نیروهای امنیتی بشار اسد ربوده شدند تا با ارعاب از شرکت سایر مخالفان در کنفرانس جلوگیری کنند.
کمیته هماهنگی شرکت در طرح گفتگوی ملی بشار اسد را نپذیرفته است، به عقیده آنها بشار اسد در تلاش است تا وقت بیشتری بخرد.

*تصویر: حسن عبدالعظیم رهبر کمیته هماهنگی ملی برای تغییرات دموکراتیک.

انقلاب نان و شورش گرسنگان درایران / امیرمحسن محمدی

 این مطلب به فارسی نخستین بار در وبسایت سوسیالیست آلترناتیو استرالیا در این آدرس منتشر شده است.
 ترجمه این مطلب را رفیق عزیزم افشین نیکوسرشت انجام داده، اگر در بعضی قسمت ها فارسی آن روان نیست به علت این است که جهت ترجمه به انگلیسی نوشته شده و در ابتدا تصمیم برای انتشار متن فارسی آن نداشتیم. به ناچار از جمله های کوتاه و واژه های رایج تر برای مخاطب استرالیایی و انگلیسی زبان استفاده کرده ام.


Iranian socialist and student activist Amir Mohsen Mohammadi recently arrived in Australia, having escaped the brutal regime that persecuted him and many other students for their political action. Here he outlines the significance of the latest outbreak of protest under the Islamic Regime. The English version of this article is available here. 


بسیاری از مردم پایتخت ایران روز سوم اکتبر اقدام به اعتصاب و تظاهرات خیابانی کردند. آنها به گرانی شدید و افزایش نرخ دلار اعتراض داشتند و بازار تهران را به نشانه اعتصاب تعطیل کرده بودند. آنها شعارهایی علیه گرانی موجود، حکومت دیکتاتوری و دولت محمود احمدی نژاد سردادند. در نهایت اقدام به آتش زدن و شکستن مبلمان شهری و وسایل خیابان ها کردند که به شکل بسیار خشونت آمیزی توسط پلیس ضد شورش سرکوب شدند. برخی رسانه ها اخباری در مورد کشته شدن یک نفر و زخمی شدن دو نفر منتشر کردند که به تایید نرسیده است.

اعتصاب در روز چهارم اکتبر به بازار شهرهای دیگر ایران از قبیل اصفهان، تبریز، مشهد، کرمانشاه و اهواز کشیده شد. اتفاقی که دو جنبه داشت، اگرچه سرمایه داری   سنتی از قبیل مقامات «حزب موتلفه اسلامی» که به دلیل تحریم ها منافعش در خطر افتاده در سازماندهی آن شرکت کرده است، بخشی از بازار تهران در اختیار راست سنتی است و آنها به دلیل به خطر افتادن منافع اقتصادیشان مجبور به همراهی با جریان اعتراضات شدند، اما در نهایت این «مردم» بودند که به خیابان ها آمدند و علیه وضع موجود شعار دادند. صنف بازار اتحادیه اصناف و بازاریان تهران پس از رادیکال شدن و به خشونت کشیده شدن تظاهرات، علیه مردم بیانیه ای صادر کرده و رفتارهای آنها را محکوم کرده است.

تقریبا به شکل روزانه اخبار متعددی از اعتصاب کارگران ایران با خواستهای اقتصادی به زبان فارسی منتشر می شود. اما می توان اسم اتفاق اخیر در تهران را «شورش گرسنگان» گذاشت. شورش گرسنگان در سال های گذشته باز هم اتفاق افتاده است. در اعتراض به افزایش شدید قیمت بنزین در اکثر شهر های ایران تظاهرات خشونت آمیز اتفاق افتاده است، چند ماه پیش هم اعتراضات زیادی در مورد افزایش قیمت «مرغ» اتفاق افتاد. متاسفانه در مورد اعتراضات به قیمت مرغ بسیاری از ایرانیانی که وضعیت مالی خوبی دارند یا در خارج از کشور زندگی می کنند با نگاهی طنز آمیز اقدام به تمسخر آن کردند. در صورتی که کمتر از 10 درصد مردم داخل کشور به اینترنت دسترسی دارند و حمایت یا تمسخر از سوی اپوزیسیون راستگرا که معمولاً در اینترنت منتشر میشود تفاوتی در میزان گرسنگی و فقر آنها نمی کند.

این سبک از شورش مردمی، شورش گرسنگان، که در گذشته در مورد بنزین و مرغ هم بوجود آمده بود یک ویژگی خاص دارد، هیچ جریان مشخص سیاسی اپوزیسیون در آن شرکت ندارد، بر خلاف اعتراضات جنبش سبز که بعد از انتخابات ایران شروع شد، خود جوش بوده و مردم هیچ شعار خاص با رنگ و نماد خاصی را استفاده نمی کنند. شورش مردمی گرسنگان با دو شرط بوجود می آید، پوزیسیون حکومت درمورد کاهش فشار اقتصادی بر روی مردم و طبقات پایین جامعه ناتوان باشد، از طرف دیگر اپوزیسیون حکومت هم امکان توانایی سازماندهی اعتراضات مردم را نداشته باشد. در جریان موجود تنها طیف وابسته به بازار باقی مانده که به دلیل اینکه تنها منافع شخصی خودشان را درنظر می گیرند سازماندهی اعتراضات برایشان جدی نبوده است و در نتیجه اعتراضات بصورت خودجوش ادامه پیدا کرده است.

واکنش به اعتراضات

بسیاری از سبزها به دلیل اینکه بازار تهران به صورت سنتی در اختیار راستهای اصولگرا است از این اعتراضات حمایت نکردند. برخورد شخصی من نیز با برخی از نیروهای افراد چپ و کمونیست هم که گرایشات سکتاریستی بیشتری دارند این بود که به بهانه اینکه اعتراض مردم کارگری نیست در مورد آن سکوت کردند. بعضی از نیروهای راست سنتی ادعا کردند که نیروهای طرفدار احمدی نژاد در سازماندهی اعتراضات شرکت داشته اند. بعضی از نیروهای راست حکومتی از طریق رسانه های امنیتی نزدیک به وزارت اطلاعات جمهوری اسلامی ایران اعلام کردند اسراییل و نیروهای اپوزیسیون راست ایران در سازماندهی این اعتراض شرکت کرده اند. اما نکته مهم در این بحث این است که کسانی که در خیابان اعتراض رادیکال انجام دادند تنها مردم گرسنه بودند.

کاهش شدید ارزش پول ایران وافزایش قیمت دلار غیر از تحریم اقتصادی دلیل مهم دیگری هم دارد. دولت اصلاح طلب محمد خاتمی تلاش زیادی کرد که سوبسیدهای دولتی را از کالاهای اساسی حذف کند. پس از آن دولت احمدی نژاد برای رسیدن به اقتصاد بازار آزاد این پروژه را به پایان رساند و از همان زمان موج گرانی شدید در ایران شروع شد. صندوق بین المللی پول از سال 2008 اسناد مختلفی منتشر کرده و ایران را برای حذف سوبسیدهای دولتی تشویق کرده است. از جمله در ماه جولای و آگوست سال گذشته، صندوق بین المللی پول دو سند منتشر کرد و ضمن تشویق ایران از سایر کشورها نیز می خواهد که تجربه ایران را عملی کنند. )

طبقه کارگر ایران زیر فشارهای اقتصادی در حال فلج شدن است. تابستان گذشته دو مرتبه طومار با حدود 20 هزار امضا به وزیر تعاون، کار و رفاه اجتماعی آقای شیخ الاسلامی  فرستاده اند، آنها در این نامه ها به پایین بودن دست مزدها، حقوق عقب مانده و شرایط بد اقتصادی موجود شدیدن اعتراض کرده اند. کار به جایی رسیده که وزیر اطلاعات آقای حیدر مصلحی جمهوری اسلامی در نامه ای به مقامات بالاتر نسبت به ایجاد شورش های اجتماعی در اعتراض به شرایط بر اقتصادی هشدار داده است. در شرایط حاضر جامعه ی ایران مانند انبار باروت است که برای منفجر شدن فقط به یک شعله احتیاج دارد.

متاسفانه تحریم ها بیشتر از آنکه به صورت عملی بر روی فعالیت های هسته ای و صادر کردن تروریسم  جمهوری اسلامی تاثیر بگذارد به مردم عادی آسیب زده است. مردم حتی برای بدست آوردن داروهای مهم با مشکل مواجه هستند، تحریم ها اجازه ورود بسیاری کالاهای درمانی را نمی دهد. غیر از صنایع کوچک، صنایع بزرگ هم از قبیل نساجی، پتروشیمی، خودروسازی و ... از هم پاشیده اند. با تعطیل شدن صنعت و کارخانه ها تعداد بسیار زیادی از کارگران ایران بیکار شده اند.

در چنین شرایطی که روز به روز به سمت شروع یک جنگ جدید در منطقه پیش می رویم، قطعن تحریم اقتصادی هم شکل نرم تری از جنگ است. بیش از نیمی از جمعیت ایران زیر خط فقر به سر می برند و بسیاری مردم توان ادامه زندگی را ندارند. بحران تکدی گری، بیکاری، حقوق عقب افتاده و کودکان کار بسیار جدی است. مقامات جمهوری اسلامی در حال بررسی طرح کوپن بندی مواد غذایی و کالاهای اساسی هستند. سرمایه داری جهانی به تجویز نسخه لیبرالی اقتصاد توسط صندوق بین المللی پول و تحریح اقتصادی جامعه ایران را از هم پاشیده است.

شورش گرسنگان در صورتی به موفقیت خواهد رسید که یک رهبری انقلابی و رادیکال در جامعه بوجود بیاید و آنها را به سوی اعتصاب عمومی و تظاهرات خیابانی گسترده هدایت کند

The uprising of the hungry in Iran


This article recently had been published in socialist alternative of australia website.

Iranian socialist and student activist Amir Mohsen Mohammadi recently arrived in Australia, having escaped the brutal regime that persecuted him and many other students for their political action. Here he outlines the significance of the latest outbreak of protest under the Islamic Regime. The following article was translated by Afshin Nikouseresht. The original Farsi version of this article is available here.

On 3 October many residents of Iran’s capital city took part in demonstrations and strikes. The demonstrators were protesting the sharp rise in prices and the increase in the value of the dollar. Their intent was to impose a strike and force the closure of the bazaar. They chanted slogans against high prices, the dictatorial state and Ahmadinejad’s government. In the end they resorted to setting fire to and destroying the urban environment and were repelled, in an extremely violent manner, by the riot police. Some news outlets have published reports on the killing of one person and the injuring of another two people, which have not yet been confirmed.

By 4 October, the strike had reached the Bazaars of other cities such as Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Kermanshah and Ahvaz. There are two aspects to the protest movement. The traditional capitalists, such as the officials of the Hezbe Motalefe-ye Eslami (The Islamic Coalition Party), participated in the organising of them. Parts of Tehran’s Bazaar are in the hands of the traditional right and as a result of the threat to their economic interests they have been forced to side with this protesting current. However in the end it was “the people” who came to the streets and protested against the prevailing conditions. In light of the radicalisation and brutalisation of the protesters the Ettehadiyeye Asnaaf va Baazariane Tehran (The Guild of Trades and Bazaaris of Tehran) issued a statement against the people and condemned their behaviour.

Multiple stories reporting on Iranian workers strikes and their economic demands are published in Farsi on an almost daily basis. But we can label the recent events in Tehran as the “uprising of the hungry”. Other uprisings of the hungry have also taken place in past years. Violent protests have erupted in most cities in response to the acute rise of petrol prices, and there were many protests in response to the rise of chicken prices a few months ago. Unfortunately, in the case of the protests against the rise of chicken prices, many financially better off Iranians and those living outside of Iran belittled those participating in the protests. However, less than 10 percent of Iranians have access to the internet. The right wing opposition’s support or ridicule, which is mostly expressed online, is of no consequence to the conditions of hunger and poverty among these people.

This type of people’s uprising, the uprising of the hungry, which in the past occurred in response to the price petrol and chicken has a particular trait. Unlike the mostly reformist-organised Green Movement protests that occurred in the wake of the elections, there are no recognisable opposition forces participating in them. The people do not have any prescribed slogans handed to them and they do not feature any specific colours or symbols. There are two preconditions for the creation of the uprising of the hungry. On condition is the inability of the government to alleviate the economic pressures affecting the people and the lower social classes. The other is the incapacity of the opposition to organise these people’s protests. This leaves only the ad-hoc self interested parties such as the Bazaar merchants who are not serious about organising protests. As a result these types of protests remain largely spontaneous.

Reactions to the protests

Many of the Green reformists have refused to support this uprising on the grounds that traditionally the Bazaar in Tehran has been in the hands of rightwing fundamentalists. I have had personal encounters with sectarian individuals belonging to left wing and communist forces who have used the excuse that these protests are not “workers’ protests” to justify their silence. Some of the traditional right wing forces have claimed that Ahmadinejad’s supporters have participated in the organisation of these protests. Some of the right wing forces within the establishment have, through media outlets affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence, announced that that Israel and opposition forces have organised these protests. But the important point in this discussion is that those who participated in the radical street protests were only hungry people.

There are reasons other than the sanctions for the severe decline in the value of the Iranian currency and the increase in the price of the dollar. Mohammad Khatami’s reformist government tried very hard get rid of subsidies for staples. Subsequently, Ahmadinejad’s government, in pursuit of free market economics, completed this project and from that point onwards a severe wave of inflation hit Iran. The International Monetary Fund has published many different documents since 2008 praising Iran for eliminating government subsidies. Last July and August, the IMF published two documents which not only praised Iran but also asked other countries to replicate Iran’s practice.

The working class in Iran is being crippled under these economic pressures. On two occasions last summer, they sent petitions with around 20 thousand signatures to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Mr. Sheikh al-Eslami. In these petitions, the signatories had protested low wages, unpaid wages, and the prevailing difficult economic conditions. We have reached a point where in a letter to his superiors, the Islamic Republic’s Minister of Intelligence, Mr. Heydar Moslehi, has warned of the potential for social unrest and protests in response to the economic situation. In the current situation Iran is like a powder keg which needs only one spark to explode.

Unfortunately instead of having a practical impact on the nuclear or terrorism exporting activities of the Islamic Republic, the sanctions are harming ordinary Iranians. The sanctions do not allow for the importing of many medical goods and many people are having difficulty in obtaining vital medicines. Apart from small industries, even the bigger industries, such as textiles, petrochemical and auto industries have all collapsed. With the closure of many industries and factories many workers have become unemployed.

In this situation where every day we are getting close to another war in the region, it is certain that economic sanctions are merely a softer form of war. More than half of Iran’s population is under the poverty line and many people do not have the means to continue their lives. The crises of beggary, unemployment, unpaid wages and child labour are very serious. The Islamic Republic’s authorities are in the process of planning voucher schemes for food items and staples. World capitalism has through the IMF’s prescription of economic liberalism and economic sanctions disintegrated Iranian society. In this situation the uprising of the hungry will only succeed when a radical and revolutionary leadership in emerges that society and guides them towards a widespread street protests and a general strike. 

Raising the red flag in Iran



This text have been were recently published in socialist alternative of australia website

Iranian socialist, former student leader and exile Amir Mohsen Mohammadi spoke at a recent meeting about the revolutionary left in Iran – in particular the formation, activities and ultimate repression of the group Students for Freedom and Equality. The meeting was hosted by Socialist Alternative and Iran Solidarity in Melbourne. This is an edited version of his speech.

Students for Freedom and Equality was formed by individual left wing activists who were unable to reconcile their views with the ways of the old Iranian left. Many of these activists were influenced by Eurocommunism.

I was not around when the group was taking shape, but was one of the first members in Esfahan. Different city groups were more or less independent from each other. While we all looked to Tehran, the biggest section of our group, we did not take direct instructions about our activities from a central committee as a party normally would. For example in Esfahan we had our own internal charter.  

Students for Freedom and Equality remains the only instance of the formation of a left student movement after the Islamic Revolution. This association had the traits of a student movement and not that of an organised section of a political party or a workers’ party functioning inside the university campuses.

In the past left wing activists had an influential presence on university campuses. Before the revolution the youth wing of the Tudeh Party, which at the time was ideologically committed to Stalinism, had the upper hand in the universities. Immediately after the revolution, revolutionary and left wing organisations such as the Fedayeene Khalgh Guerrillas were noticeably active on campuses. But in all these cases these sensational activists were members of socialist groups which were based outside of campuses or even outside of Iran.

It has been 5 years since the height of the brutal crackdown on the leftist student movement in Iran. Now we can look back and ruthlessly criticise the shortcomings, the individual mistakes and the political mistakes yet still consider the experience a very successful one.

It was the first time since the early years of the Islamic Republic that socialist and radical slogans and red symbols appeared and a kind of revolutionary call resonated in university campuses around the country. Of course other trends were also present in the universities, like some who belonged to the “left worker” tradition. But in terms of numbers and influence, none could compete with Students for Equality and Freedom.

In the first stage 80 to 90 percent of left wing student activists were either members of the Students for Freedom and Equality or were sympathetic and oriented towards us. In terms of our influence and practical activities, we organised several different protests in Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as in other major cities.

Part of the reason why we were more successful as a political movement was because we operated differently to the old left. We were engaged much more with the day to day political issues and our members were active in publishing their ideas and analyses. Our publications – “Raahe Khaaky” in Esfahan, and “Khak”, which was produced in Tehran and sent out to the other cities for distribution – were filled with political articles orienting to the general student population that was looking to become politically involved with the left. Our publications were an indispensable tool for the recruitment of new students and key to our success in relation to the traditional left.

The student activists of the old left emphasised classical Marxist studies and study groups around theoretical issues. They did not put the same effort that we did into trying to relate to other students around topical political issues which most people were familiar with. In my opinion this was critical in their failure to grow.

Repression

Today there is nothing left of the Students for Freedom and Equality. After holding protests to mark Student Day on 13 Azar 1386 (4 December 2007), nearly 100 prominent Students for Freedom and Equality members were arrested and tortured by a section of the Intelligence Ministry that was specially tasked with the persecution of the “new left”. Hundreds more have been summonsed since and have been forced into signing statements acknowledging that should they continue their political activities they will be sent to prison.

The fact that the Intelligence Ministry has a section devoted to the persecution of the left is illustrative of the seriousness of the threat we posed to the authorities. To explain why a small Marxist student group would be considered a threat one must take into account the realities of capitalism and oppression in Iran

In a country where there is upward of at least 100 strikes every year it is absolutely crucial for the regime to keep the radical students away from this potential powder keg and stop them from applying the sort of spark which could turn these strikes into a revolution.

The Students for Freedom and Equality’s protest on 4 December 2007 was a turning point. This was the biggest left wing student protest in terms of numbers and one of the most radical. Revolutionaries turned out in huge numbers and blanketed Tehran University with the colour red and shouted slogans such as “Long live freedom and equality!” “University is not a garrison house!” and other slogans that expressed our solidarity with the workers’ movement and the women’s movement. The entire political system of the Islamic Republic felt threatened and as a result responded with repression.

One of the important developments was that many working class activists came out and protested in support of our arrested comrades. It is not uncommon for workers to organise protest actions or strikes in response to issues that are immediately relevant to their own conditions. But this was a rare show of solidarity between working class activists and radical left wing students.

If we are to ruthlessly criticise ourselves, we would have to acknowledge our own tactical mistakes. We did not have any recent experience of organisational work in universities and did not know how to confront and resist the repression. The last written accounts of prison and torture relate to events that took place around 20 years ago. The Islamic Republic’s genocide of thousands of left wing and political prisoners in 1988 severed the links of communication between us and the previous generation of activists.

In the past, it was customary in Iran that when a guerrilla was arrested he or she was expected to resist torture from 24 to 48 hours so that his or her comrades would have time to cleanse the relevant places of evidence and to sever any threads linking people on the outside to the detained individual. After this the detained individual could reveal the now useless information which he or she had withheld.

But what were we to do? There was no comparable experience which we could refer to in the history of the left in Iran. How can a left wing student who spends the entire day in view of the surveillance cameras of the university and whose ID card is checked upon entering and exiting the campus undertake underground activities?

How can a known left wing student activist who is constantly under the watchful eye of the security institutions on campus be able to establish contact with his or her desired parties or organisations, which due to the particular conditions imposed by the Islamic dictatorship are most likely outside of the country?

If I were to try to answer some of the questions raised here, I would have to say that in my opinion, a left wing student activist in Iran, irrespective of his or her political tendency, should not under any circumstance contact leftwing parties or organisations outside of the country. I say this only in the case of student activists and not all left wing activists. The capacity of the security institutions of Iran, and other similar countries under dictatorship, to control communications channels is very high; all internet and telephone contacts can be scrutinised. We can say that a student activist is struggling inside an aquarium of surveillance and chastisement.

The only remaining option is to be active in more peripheral activities such as study circles, cultural and artistic forums, groups defending women’s and children’s rights, and student publications. Open political contact must be restricted to the student population only.

The reason for this is that it is highly likely that a radical student activist is going to be arrested and subjected to torture. In the event that this student or his or her movement is associated with a foreign based party or group it is far more likely that they would be dealt with in the harshest manner by the Islamic Republic judiciary. This could include anything up to the death penalty being imposed on student activists.

The Esfahan section of the Students for Equality and Freedom was able to endure the repression of the state longer than sections in other cities. The reason for this has to do with our independence from other political currents, which saved our arrested activists from receiving the harshest penalties.

Esfahan-based activists, including myself, were arrested 3 times during 2008 and 2010 and were able to return to activities each time after being released. On the other hand some activists in Tehran did establish contact with overseas-based communist parties. Because of this all activists in Tehran were wrongfully accused of establishing contact with overseas-based communists, and were given prison sentences after the first wave of arrests. This contact jeopardised the entire movement.

The biggest reason for our inability to survive the repression in Iran was that we were not ready for the consequences. We were not psychologically ready for the heavy costs associated with our activities. The worst that we thought would happen to us was that we would get arrested. We were never prepared for the realities of torture and forced confessions. When we came out of the dungeons of the Islamic Republic we lost the trust we once had in each other. Political differences turned into personal animosities.

Would you be able to work with your comrades again if they were forced to confess and compromise you? Have you thought about how you will preserve your organisation after a violent crackdown? Are your relationships with your comrades strong enough to withstand that sort of pressure?

The third anniversary of Alireza Davoudi’s death occurred recently. Alireza was the spokesperson of the Esfahan section of the Students for Freedom and Equality and he was my best friend. He died in suspicious circumstances after being released from prison. His family, friends and I are of the opinion that he was killed but we cannot prove it. We had nobody with the necessary leadership qualities to replace him.

Yet from a political perspective, I believe that our experience was successful. We may all have been arrested and subjugated, and many of us were forced into exile, but we instigated an important development. Red symbols of socialism and revolutionary radicalism rose up in the universities and resisted for as long as possible. Despite the left wing traditions of universities, never before in history did a left wing current raise its flag independently from other political currents on Iranian university campuses.

The problems facing leftist refugees

When our comrades are forced to flee the country they come up against the anti-refugee policies of the first-terminal countries such as Turkey, Malaysia or Iraq. They spend months and years forgotten and neglected in these countries. They are sometimes imprisoned or detained in refugee camps for the crime of trying to preserve their lives.

I myself am one such example; I spent more than 22 months in Turkey and my comrade. Davoud Bagheri spent 21 months in camps and prisons in Turkey and even undertook a hunger strike.

Other comrades who are still in Turkey such as Mohammad Pour Abdullah, who is among the most well known left wing student prisoners of recent years and who has spent 3 years of his life under torture in the worst Iranian prisons, is now up against the negligence of the UNHCR. Why? His crime is that he is left wing, a socialist and a radical.

I will never forget the time one of my friends in Turkey, who also worked for Amnesty International, told me in private that all of our history and current political activities are archived on the internet; other countries do not want left wing and radical activists. This is why many left wing activists who come out of Iran face many problems.

The Green Movement

The post-election incidents in Iran, which have come to be known as the Green Movement, began around 18 months after the start of the crackdown on the left wing student movement. As a result there was no coordinated response from us.

The reaction of the left wing student activists who had been part of our organisation can be divided into three categories. The first category, which regarded the Green Movement as principally bourgeois and of the middle classes, decided that this was not “our” movement and therefore did not respond or conduct any activities in relation to it. As a result of the lack of our organisational ability at this time to conduct independent action, most of the activists belonging to this faction simply ceased to be politically active.

The second category completely supported the Green Movement without maintaining any of their differences. They changed their colour completely from red to green. The third category, to which I belonged, stood firm in opposition to some of the politics of the reformists, while recognising the movement as a popular uprising.

We can also divide the practical responses of the left wing opposition parties and organisations along the same three lines. I still defend my position on this issue and believe that the other two groups have made historical and tactical mistakes. The group which regarded such a widespread movement as “bourgeois” and advised its forces to not participate lost its last historic opportunity to return to the people and to try to occupy the streets. The group which followed the Green reformists exhausted the last of their credibility in pursuit of preserving and reforming the regime instead of aiming to overthrow it.

Despite the reformists’ claim that the Green Movement is composed of a spectrum of intellectual currents, the movement’s media and leadership are completely homogenous and belongs to the reformists. Uncritical activity within this environment can only mean choosing reformism over revolution. Yet the movement that had a presence in the streets, which was repressed and dragged to the prisons, really did belong to different intellectual trends and colours. I can confirm that the lower strata of society – workers and activists – were present in the movement. Street protests of this magnitude cannot possibly take shape without the participation of different social groups. But the reformists did not allow the street protest to remain pluralistic and to retain their different political elements.

Unfortunately in the absence of a left wing student organisation, the people’s numbers in the street protests declined until ultimately they stopped coming all together. We can now clearly sense the lack of a left wing student current in the post-election events. This current, if it had managed to survive for another year until the start of the street riots, would have been able to, hand in hand with the worker’s movement and of course the women’s movement, take responsibility for playing a historic role in the emancipation of people from their binding chains, in the realisation of freedom and equality and in the blossoming of humanity.

۱۳۹۱ مهر ۱۰, دوشنبه

امروز سالگرد کشتار خونین پارسلی در دومینیکن است








رافائل تروخیو به عنوان یک فرماندار نظامی دست نشاندهٔ آمریکا در جمهوری دومینیکن مسئول کشتار بیش از ۵۰ هزار نفر در این کشور کوچک است. 

۷۵ سال پیش در چنین روزی برابر با دوم اکتبر ۱۹۳۷ و هفت سال پس از به قدرت رسیدن این عامل جنایتکار امریکا، فرمان کشتار خونین بیش از ۲۰ هزار نفر از ساکنان هائیتی تبار در این کشور کوچک و در کنار گوش ایالات متحده صادر شد. 

او در فاصلهٔ سالهای ۱۹۳۰ تا ۱۹۶۱ مسئول کشتار بیش از ۵۰ هزار نفر در این کشور کوچک نزدیک به امریکاست. 

تروخیو دوقلوی باتیستا در کوباست. در تمام تحولات آمریکای لاتین به عنوان یکی‌ از جزایر ثبات ایالت متحده علیه انقلابیون چپ در کوبا و سایر کشور‌ها عمل کرده است. 

این کشور چسبیده به آمریکا یک سال پیش از انقلاب کبیر روسیه نیز به بهانهٔ بدهی‌ها توسط آمریکا اشغال شده بود اما در پی مقاومت مردم دومنیکن در ۱۹۲۴ طی معاهده‌ای میان دو کشور نیروهای امریکایی به تدریج از این کشور خارج شدند و حکومت دست نشانده خود را در این کشور برقرار کردند. 

۴۹ سال پیش برابر با ۲۸ آوریل ۱۹۶۵ به دلیل چیزی که رییس جمهور ایالات متحده آن را جلوگیری از تشکیل «کوبای دوم» نام گذاشته بود برای دومین بار جمهوری دومینیکن به اشغال نظامی امریکا درآمد. 

دیکتاتوری نظامی تروخیو ۳۱ سال با حمایت آمریکا در کشور ادامه داشت تا چند سال پیش از ۱۹۶۱ که تروخیو ترور شد. حزب ملی‌ گرای جمهوری دومینیکن در دوران حکومتش روابط بسیار صمیمانه‌ای با ایالت متحده و متحدینش داشته است. 

یه یاد داشته باش که تروخیو مدت ۳۱ سال حاکم وحشت در این جزیره کوچک بود تا تاریخ ۳۰ می‌۱۹۶۱ که توسط مخالفینش ترور شد. چهار سال بعد ارتش امریکا برای جلوگیری از تشکیل «کوبای دوم» جمهوری دومینیکن را بوسیله ۴۲ هزار کاماندو و ۳۷ رزمناو جنگی مجددا اشغال کرد. 

ایالات متحده امریکا در یک قرن گذشته صدها کشور جهان را مورد تجاوز نظامی قرار داده است. 

توصیف جنایات مخوف و حکومت وحشت تروخیو را در رمان داستانیِ بزرگ «سور بز» یا‌‌ همان «جشن بز» نوشته «ماریو بارگاس یوسا» و با ترجمه جاهد جهانشاهی بخوانید. جشن بز به عنوان یکی از مهم‌ترین رمانهای معاصر از سری ۱۰۰ کتابی است که پیش از مرگ باید بخوانید. کتاب را از اینجا دانلود کنید.