Against the whole sytem, not just Ahmadinejad

Communist Students greets the mass demonstrations and bravery of the people on the streets of Iran with hope and solidarity. The mass actions are a testament to the revolutionary élan of the youth, worker’s and women’s movements, who over the last three decades have struggled and suffered at the hands of the theocratic state.  The blatant rigging of the 10^th Presidential election has served as a catalyst for the greatest mass movement the region has seen since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Up to 30 people have been killed at the hands of state forces and the Basij militia.

The elections were a farce from the very beginning – elections in Iran always are. The four candidates out of 450 that were allowed to run are all pillars of the establishment, all have their hands drenched in blood. No real opponents of the Islamic Republic are allowed to stand. All of the candidates support the existing neo-liberal economic policies that have brought poverty and hardship to the Iranian working class. From this and the knowledge of the history of the reformist murderers it is clear that any democrat or communist cannot give support to Moussavi and the vacillating reformist faction.

Even with all of this there was a massive turnout at the elections, the people attempted to show their disdain not just for Ahmadinejad but also for the regime, the obvious disregard for such simple democratic procedures has pushed millions onto the streets into open confrontation. Strikes, sit ins and mass rallies have taken place across Iran.

Students and the youth are at the head of this struggle and are putting their lives on the line. Below is a small sample of actions led by students and youth:

– On Monday June 15 over 5000 students rallied inside Tehran University and faced violence by security forces and the ultra nationalist Basij militia. Today they have begun another sit in which has been joined by over 120 professors who have stepped down from their positions.

-University of Tehran students reacted strongly to a statement on Tuesday by Moussavi calling on people not to take part actions. Students chanted “death to collaborator,” “No compromise, No surrender, Fight the dictator,” “They are shedding blood.”.

-Students at Sharif University of Technology clashed with security forces when over 1000 students who forced their way passed the police into the university.

-In Babol over 3000 students along with local workers demonstrated and attacked government and security buildings.

-At Qazvin University students and workers came out onto the streets shouting “death to the dictator”. There were clashes and a number of security and state building were attacked.

-In Ahwaz students and youth have been running day long battles with security forces since the announcement of the election results. This is but a taste of what is happening YouTube is full of videos of these clashes and repression.

Mass rally in Isfahan 17 June

Communist Students will step up its work in building solidarity with the democratic and revolutionary movements. In the face of the media’s biased reporting and the worrying crackdown on communication technology inside Iran, we pledge that our website will be used to get news out on the situation as it unfolds. We will be building and taking part in meetings, actions and fundraisers over the coming months. We will continue to raise the importance of winning the student movement in this country to a position of principled internationalism – combining implacable opposition to imperialist intervention in the country with unswerving support for the struggles of the Iranian masses.

Communist Students Executive