Greeting,
34th Anniversary of the 1979 Uprising and 42nd Anniversary of the Siahkal Epic
Feb. 19 1971 is a reminder of the courageous struggle by the Organization of Iranian People’s Fedaii Guerillas (OIPFG) against the Shah’s monarchist regime. Raging fire that started from the jungles of Siahkal in northern Iran quickly spread throughout the nation and shook the foundations of the 2500 years of monarchism. On those dark days of repression, armed struggle of the OIPFG against the dictatorial regime of the Shah became source of joy and renewed hope. It elevated the desire for freedom and democracy in the society that was repressed and silenced for many years. Continuous and relentless struggle followed by all the sacrifices finally brought the masses to the street against the system of authoritative tyranny. In 1978 people from all walks of life: workers, teachers, students, and all the working masses fed up with the Shah’s regime took to the streets demanding freedom and justice. People’s uprising was followed by general strikes throughout the nation. Finally on Feb 1979 the dictatorial regime of the Shah caved in and collapsed. Inexperienced opposition, deep religious beliefs, and the interventions of the world imperialism headed by the US imperialism paved the condition for Khomeini to highjack the revolution and derail it from its true democratic direction. In the aftermath of the uprising the theocratic regime of the Islamic Republic managed to replace the old monarchist regime.
It is now 34 years that the Islamic regime has managed to rule the nation under the name of God. Over these years the Western powers in order to fulfill their vast economic interests have given free hand to the Islamic regime to repress and crack down the people. For many years behind the scenes the Western powers have supported the regime in international communities. Despite all the international support for the regime, and the suppressive savagery of the regime, we believe people’s determination will eventually prevail and push the futures events of the country in a different direction.
People of Iran have come to realize that all the promises made by different factions of the regime throughout the years have all been nothing but deception. The major positive differences between now and thirty four years ago are as follows:
- In the early years of the regime’s life the entire political system revolved around trust and respect for the Khomeini’s personal cult. Things have changed since then and over the years the system has evolved into a huge crackdown apparatus that wants to keep the power in the hands of the Supreme Leader. In the Khomeini’s era, his religious and political power was so powerful that there was no need to give any concessions in order to calm down the factional infightings. His successor Khamenei lacks such an authoritative position.
- Khomeini’s influence among different government factions was such that even after the removal of Ayatollah Montazeri (would-be successor of the first Supreme Leader), regime managed to keep itself together despite obvious hole in the religious hierarchy.
- Now, the situation is different. Right after Khomeini’s death the biggest headache of the regime was to find a “right” successor for him. Rafsanjani as one of the Khomeini’s close confidantes made huge efforts fabricating private comments of the deceased Supreme Leader to help to fill the power vacuum. As a key member of the Assembly of Experts and as a “Godfather” of the regime did all he could to elevate Khamenie’s position in the religious hierarchy. Despite all theses efforts the new Supreme Leader was never fully accepted by the top clergy Ayatollahs.
- Khomeini not only was an established figure in the Iran’s religious circles but also had some anti Shah political activities in his resume. In those years people’s religious illusions towards the regime were deeply rooted and the true face of the savage Islamic theocracy hadn’t manifested itself yet. Since then throughout the years in the aftermath of the harsh political crackdowns people have lost hundreds of thousands of their loved ones in the hands of the Islamic theocracy. The true nature of the regime is no longer hidden from the public eyes.
- With any major crisis in the government Khomeini by relying on Islamic laws was able to manage the crisis and persuade the heads of the regime to listen and follow his mandates. His successor lacks the required religious credentials and has no political edge over the other heads of the regime such as Rafsanjani.
- The turbulent political situation has forced the Supreme Leader to try to solidify his grip on power. He has gone head-to-head with some prominent Ayatollahs in the Assembly of Experts and in the holy city of Qom. He has taken on some of his major rivals such as Rafsanjani. All this has weakened the Supreme Leader’s authority and has shattered the legitimacy of the entire system.
- To enforce his leadership over religious centers, parliament, election committees, armed forces, and the security apparatus the Supreme Leader has been cornered to cave in and give more and more concessions to his archrivals. He sees no other option but to keep Sepah Pasdaran (elite military force) and some of the prominent Ayatollahs around him happy. These power centers and figureheads seek nothing but their own financial and political interests. This trend has created some Mafia style factions within the government hierarchy and has wiped out the legitimacy of the government institutions. All these are no longer hidden from the public eyes, and people no longer judge the regime of the Islamic Republic in a same was that they did thirty four years ago.
- In the era of the first Supreme Leader, after all the brutalities that took place under his leadership, he only had to interfere and take side during major crisis such as brutal crackdowns, Iran-Gate scandal, or acceptance of the UN 598 Iran-Iraq cease-fire resolution. The new Supreme Leader sees no choice but to interfere with every small activity of the government. To control the damage he has to play a role of a dealmaker between parliament and the Cabinet, or try to cover-up the conflicts between religious institutions such as Assembly of Experts and Expediency Discernment Council. He has to step in to calm the leaders of the Sepah Pasdaran, or even to use his authority to get the arrested sons and daughters of the government officials out of jail.
- President and his Cabinet who are supposed to play a major role in pushing the government plans, for more than three years have been drawn into a factional infighting. They have been busy advocating Shia’s doctrines regarding the imminent return of Imam Mahdi (12th Imam in Shia faith who is believed has joined the God’s divine world and one day will return). Ahmadinejad who in his early years of presidency was admired by the Supreme Leader for his piousness and honesty is now preaching about the return of Imam Mahdi in a near future. He wants to weaken the traditional positions of the Ayatollahs and lean towards Sepah Pasdaran.
Spread of backward and superstitious ideas over the years has come back to bite the regime itself. Thirty four years of dictatorial theocracy and spread of religious illusions no longer carries any weight. People no longer trust demagogueries such as, “Seeing Imam Mahdi’s shadows near a waterfall”, “incurable diseases getting cured by a woman who looks like Khadijeh (Prophet Mohammad’s wife), and “return of Imam Mahdi with a leadership name of Seied-e-Khorasani”. People ridicule these comments and look at them more as jokes.
Throughout the years all the so called “reformers”, “liberals” have been thrown out of the government. Mir Housein Mosavi, Khomeini’s handpicked prime minister for eight years, and Mehdi Karoobi former head of the parliament are now both under house arrest. Before this, Ayatollah Montazeri who was supposed to take over as Khomeini’s successor had a similar destiny, he was put under house arrest for many years until he finally passed away. Now, it is time to purge the government faction headed by president Ahmadinejad. Preparation for this power struggle showdown is already underway. No day goes by without an incident between rival factions. On one side are elements loyal to Supreme Leader and on the other side are Ahmadinejad and his administration with the support from Sepah Pasdaran.
Sepah Pasdaran has monopolized economic, military, security, and even legislative powers in its own hands. It has come to a point that even some sectors of Bazaar that are considered as backbone of the government have turned against the regime.
From day one that the Islamic Republic seized the power the working class of Iran has been deprived of its basic economic-political rights. Under the current harsh economic conditions workers are suffering more than ever. In recent years many factories and manufactures have shutdown their operations and their owners have taken their money out of the country. Many of the workers who still have their jobs are not getting paid on time.
Regime’s confrontational ambitions in the region and its interfering policies towards other nations have put the country under tough sanctions from the West. Despite constant denial about the effectiveness of these sanctions, the harsh impacts of the sanctions on people’s daily lives are so obvious that are hard to deny. In one example, based on Iran’s news websites, 4600 people have died as a result of low standard gasoline used in the cars. Despite all the miseries and sufferings that the people are going through, flow of huge financial support for the Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and free oil for Syria hasn’t stopped.
Different factions of the regime are preparing for yet another ceremonial and hollow presidential election. In upcoming days we should be seeing more and more intensified infighting among different government factions. People have been pushed into such an intolerable living conditions that desire for fundamental changes has grown more than ever. In these pivotal times the OIPFG invites all the revolutionary and progressive forces to unite and with solidarity and determination help to upend the regime of the Islamic Republic.
Down with the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Long live Peoples' Democratic Republic,
Long live memory of the martyrs of Siahkal and 1979 uprising,
Long live Socialism.
Organization of Iranian Peoples' Fedaii Guerillas (OIPFG)
08 February 2013
E-Mail: organisation@iranian-fedaii.de
Web Site: http://www.iranian-fedaii.de
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A.C.P
Postfach 12 02 06 60115 Frankfurt am Main Germany Fax: 00-49-221-170 490 21 E-Mail: organisation@iranian-fedaii.de Web Site: http://www.iranian-fedaii.de |