We publish a statement of Iranian workers about the one year anniversary of the uprising that shook the regime
Re-posted from Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign
Let us greet the anniversary of Jina’s uprising
Greetings to our fellow-workers and Khuzestan’s brave workers
The Khuzestan Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell’s workers’ bulletin No. 27 is published on 14 September 2023 and is available to you. Copy and distribute the workers’ bulletin and make it available to your fellow-workers.
Comrades and fellow workers
The anniversary of the popular uprising of Jina is approaching, and these days, everywhere we turn, we see the Pasdaran, the army and security forces. The western provinces [of Iran] have become like occupied Palestine. On the roads, the movements of military vehicles and other armoured vehicles for repression have increased so much that seeing them every day is no longer “a chance sighting”.
On every road, especially the roads leading to Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Baluchestan and Khuzestan, we see these forces on manoeuvres. In many cities and in the main squares, the armed forces keep watch so that people do not dare to entertain of ideas to protest. As the saying goes, they want to intimidate people from taking action. Of course, their fear is not unfounded. They still haven’t forgotten the memory of last year’s uprising, which took away their peaceful sleep for four months. They thought, or at least pretended, that the situation was safe and calm. But we don’t believe this. If everything is safe, then why have all this commotion? You yourself know that this quietness is like a fire under the ashes.
They know very well that if we had organised enough last year and made preparations in advance, then they would have been finished. It was the same in 2017 and 2019. It is not without reason that they started making arrests a month or two ago, and they hauled known activists in front of the courts, and in a few cases, unknown assailants gunned down and killed people in the streets.
We are approaching the anniversary of the uprising, and all this weaponry, troops, and military campaigns show that the government is really terrified. That’s why it is flapping like this. We have not forgotten that last year: the situation was so tough for them that some of their top thugs wore disguises, and some even sent their wives and children abroad. They all already have their passports and visas ready in the desk drawer, and all fake clashes with the West and the East are just to deceive you and me.
Even today, when western governments, in their parliaments, made-to-order newspapers and televisions, are shedding crocodile tears for Jina and the people who were killed last year. Behind closed doors they are depositing $6bn in the Islamic Republic’s account, which will buy more weapons and cartridges and kill more young people. Even today, the same ‘Great Satan’ is supporting these corrupt people, just as it did in Afghanistan. On the one hand, they banged on about the Afghan people’s human rights, and on the other hand, they handed Afghanistan over to the cannibalistic Taliban on a platter. We have to rely on ourselves only. We’ve said all the above to get to the following point.
Brothers and fellow workers
We lost a lot of young people last year. The same as in 2017 and 2019. Undoubtedly, all people, from women and students to pensioners, small businessmen and teachers, took part in this uprising. They sacrificed their lives, gave blood; blood that should not be wasted, but we were defeated every time. But these defeats should not disappoint us. We should learn lessons from these experiences, and we have learned valuable lessons.
The experience of the three movements of 2017, 2019 and 2022 taught us that in order to win, we must have organisation, we must prepare; otherwise, those who have power today, have organisations and have weapons, will repress us. When we talk of organising, we don’t mean immediate decisions, or at most the night before: like where to gather tomorrow and what time to gather and such decisions. But bigger decisions than these: like what is our next step? Which slogans do we want to put forward? If a ridge falls into our hands, how do we want to defend it? How should we co-ordinate ourselves and take to the streets at the right time to strike at the same time? How can arrests be prevented, and if someone is arrested, who’s responsible for rescuing him? Where should we attack instead of defending? And, if it is necessary, how to get a weapon? And how can this weapon get into the right hands so that it doesn’t cause problems? These are decisions that cannot be made immediately in the middle of the street. We must make preparations in advance.
We realised that the calming of the atmosphere in the factories and the end of the strikes, when the people take to the streets, will end at our expense and free the enemy’s repressive force to leave the factories and take to the streets. On the other hand, by keeping us busy in the factory it blocks the way of communication between the workers and the street youth, especially the communication with the students who have been in the forefront of all the protests for the past few years.
We understood our strikes shake the economic foundations of the state. They have to pay for their forces of repression. Where does this money come from? We build, in the mines, the refineries, the factories. We load their products on ships and trains for export. If we stop working, their repressive apparatus will also stop working, and the forces of repression will fall. You saw that! This almost happened last year. These things need organising, they need an organisational apparatus, and although all people are taking part in this struggle, the main responsibility rests on our shoulders. The factories belong to us and we must manage them ourselves.
Why do we say it rests on our shoulders? Are we ignoring other people? Not at all! Without them, we cannot achieve any revolution. The only reason for this claim is the collective nature of our work, which allows us to accomplish this task in the best way. It is much easier for us to gather every day. The collective nature of work has taught us how to make collective decisions and how to organise these decisions so that they are realised. We know each other and have worked together for years and trust each other. We can form our own trusted clandestine cells and communicate with each other. We can take this method of organising into the neighbourhoods, offices, and among women and students.
Some people may say that these preparations will be too far-fetched and difficult: “Today, people have poured onto the streets and are trying to topple this government, and you are dithering?” We accept that it’s difficult, but we’ll never accept that it’s a dream! Wherever people came to the streets with pure goals and enthusiasm and had no planning, opportunists reaped the rewards. In Iran itself, 1979 is the best example that we clearly see.
Worker comrades, today it is time to get to work. Even the world is watching us. It doesn’t matter if we lost last time or that we may even lose next time. It is important to learn from our losses. It has been said since ancient times: what doesn’t break us will make us stronger.
Let’s not forget: we are many and no matter how much they try to knock us down, we will spring back again.
* Let us build the clandestine socialist vanguard workers’ cells!
* Let us unite the vanguard workers based on the workers’ action programme!
* Let us build the workers’ united general action!
* Let us form of the workers’ leadership command centre!
Vanguard Socialist Workers’ Cell (Khuzestan)
Translation: Shahrokh Zamani Action Campaign
