Ben Lewis reports on Hopi’s assessments and calls for the SWP to coordinate principled solidarity

Over 40 comrades attended the June 20 meeting called by Hands Off the People of Iran. Those present were mainly Hopi members, but a good number of new faces came along to hear an analysis of developments in Iran rather different from the sometimes simplistic reporting of the media. They were certainly not disappointed.

The two main speakers were Hopi steering committee members Yassamine Mather and Moshé Machover, who outlined the significance of recent events from two different perspectives – comrade Mather spoke of developments inside Iran and the challenges facing the Iranian working class and revolutionary forces, whereas comrade Machover placed developments in a regional context by looking at the Israeli government’s response to what has been happening.

Comrade Mather emphasised the split that had engulfed the Iranian ruling elite, something that was emphasised by the many “red lines” that both Mir-Hossein Moussavi and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had crossed during the presidential campaign, exposing the corruption at the heart of Iranian politics. She argued that in spite of the heated debates, any talk of democracy in Iran is utterly illusory – at least 80% of power lies outside the superficially democratic majles (parliament) and elected president – real authority lies with the unelected supreme leader and the council of guardians.

Comrade Mather exposed the hypocrisy of those like Moussavi who had presided over the murder of thousands of communists and socialists, and argued that the tasks of Hopi were predominantly to support the Iranian workers’ and student movements. We should be arguing for independent working class politics, she said, in order to avoid the danger of workers’ struggles being hijacked by ‘regime change’ and ‘colour revolution’ forces, which would be the “kiss of death” to Iranian workers’ struggles.

Comrade Machover emphasised that – in spite of its claims to uphold democracy and human rights in the Middle East – the last thing the Israeli government wants is the election of Moussavi and some pro-US government in Iran, as this would undermine the special relationship it enjoys with America and exacerbate the very slight tension that had arisen between Israel and the US following the election of Barack Obama and then the new rightwing government under Benjamin Netanyahu.

Ahmadinejad is “Allah’s gift to Israel” – his remarks and comments buttress the Israeli government by providing it with a pretext to pull the Israeli Hebrews behind it and to distract attention from the ongoing expansion of colonial settlements in the West Bank.

In the discussion, Peter Manson of the CPGB said it was “absolutely essential” for working class forces to engage with the protests, to attempt to win hegemony over the movement and arm it with the slogans of working class democracy. Instead of echoing calls for a recount or rerun of the election, the left should take those demands to their logical conclusion – the need to overturn the whole thoroughly undemocratic system and convene a constituent assembly to establish popular power.

Stuart King of Permanent Revolution and the Hopi steering committee spoke of the “dangerous time” for the Islamic republic and emphasised the importance of the split in the ruling elite – although it had not started out over “anything fundamental”, given that the masses are willing to come out onto the streets, there was now a “classic revolutionary situation”.

He emphasised its precariousness, however, arguing that it could either go the “Burmese way”, with troops being used to crush the masses and the revolution and shore up an even more oppressive and dictatorial regime, or the masses could continue to brave the attacks and push forward. For this reason he thought that if young workers – particularly in the oil industry – are calling for strike action then we should applaud this and argue for it to be carried out immediately. The next few days are crucial – and if it goes beyond a few days then the situation would move into a counterrevolutionary phase.

He argued that the key demand was for the annulment of the elections. If that one thing were forced on the regime, he said, it would “open up the floodgates of the democratic revolution” – and this was appreciated by the guardian council and supreme leader. To give in to that demand was the last thing they wanted to do.

Responding to a question about what form action by the left might take, comrade Machover responded that, although he could not say exactly what tactics should be adopted, he did know what they would have to be based on in order to be effective – the principles Hopi has put forward all along and which have been vindicated by recent events. “Of course, one should condemn the threats against Iran from Israel and the US, but one should not mute one’s criticism and opposition to the theocracy.” This does not mean supporting the Moussavi faction of the regime, but “the masses”.

With this in mind, Hopi is asking the Socialist Workers Party to host a joint meeting at its forthcoming annual school, Marxism 2009, at the beginning of July. Given the crying need for principled and coordinated solidarity action, we are urging the SWP to make this an official event at Marxism 2009.

Updates from Iran

Hopi has set up a new blog featuring regular news updates from Iran. It can be accessed via the Hopi website (www.hopoi.org) or directly at: hopinewsfromiran.wordpress.com

To find out more about upcoming Hopi meetings, or to request a speaker for your organisation, campaign or union, please get in touch with us at office@hopoi.info or 07590 429226.