Who do you trust?

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Tudeh Party
TheTudeh Party since its existence develops contradictions between the theory and practice. It pretends to be in the side of people and the socialism, yet at the same time has been long time a powerless servant of the theocratic messianic Mullahs of the IRI without criticism or a different policy or perspective.

In 1941 the Tudeh Party was founded, which rapidly expanded and became a major political force in the following years. Because of its passive reaction to the CIA coup of 1953 against PM. Mossadegh and its dependence to the political whims of the Soviets’ interests in Iran its popularity was drastically melded away. The party escaped the repression of the Shah after the coup and returned to public life after the revolution of 1979. The party served at the IRI’s pleasure for many years. By collaborating with the incumbent dictatorship of the IRI, the party helped the regime to identify and to arrest IRI’s opponents. Later, despite their fervour for their “Imam” Khomeini, their “haram” label of Marxism and “negis”secularism sent them to the “halal” slaughterhouse of Khomeini, where many of the party’s members were among the victims of the IRI and especially the death-fatwa issued by “Imam” Khomeini in summer 1988.

The party, as the pioneer of complaisant attitude in the political history, practically introduced the attitude of complaisance and opportunism in the culture of Iranian political terminology. This culture could convert even a part of the radical Iranian People’s Fedaii (Majority) into an IRI’s collaborating group until the regime sent them to the altar of its slaughterhouses as well.

Because of the treachery of the Tude Party, whose members were informers of the IRI, to the democratic movement in Iran, and also failures of left and democratic movement to attempt to organise opposition within the idea of regime change, the IRI could restore its medieval dictatorship in its early life. Thanks to the Tude Party and the failures of others, the idea of a regime change could not be involved in most sections of the nation.

By backing of some IRI’s factions, the party has always and typically gone with whichever the wind blows. The Tudeh Party along with all its relics carry a black record on the shoulder. They can always be suspect charged with treachery; therefore should be removed from any democratic movement.

Student movement
Student movement abroad was ideologically shaped in great part with the Marxism, Mao Zedong’s thinking, anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism. Being perfectly organised throughout the two decades until the revolution, the Confederation of Iranian Students/National Union (CISNU) played a decisive role in portraying the Shah’s regime as a repressive dictatorship. The movement was the most influential left opposition against the Shah’s regime in Europe and the US, where they were successfully drawing the attention of the international media, human right organisations, political groups, and even foreign governments to repression under the Shah’s regime. The movement melted away after the Iranian revolution.

The student movement under the Shah was mainly influenced by the Organisation of People’s Fedaii, an Iranian Marxist organisation of armed struggle. Though the movement was not as organised as their student comrades abroad, but was equally anti-Shah.

In 1980, the IRI launched a cultural revolution in Iran. Following a Banisadr’s speech, the universities were assaulted, closed and finally purged from the progressive students and professors. The reopened universities and colleges were fully Islamic with medieval theological seminaries, mosques and imposed Islamic hijab. All repressive measures were imposed that any possible idea of freedom and secular thought not be flourished or encouraged on the campuses.

With the help of the IRI’s officials, the Islamic student organisations were in a swift growth reorganised in the country’s universities. These groups originally supported the 1979 “Islamic” revolution and are still fanatically attached to its Islamic values and its founder, Khomeini. However, they have demanded in the recent years more political reforms for the Iranian society.

The main problem of the Islamic student movement in Iran is their lack of legacy from the Confederation of Iranian Students and the student movement of the pre-IRI. The Iranian student movement, as it is represented, is radical, but not secular and democratic. Despite absence of a strong independent student movement, the present student movement has young capacity of swiftly promoting into a secular and democratic movement when the occasion arrives.

Leftists
Leftistswere mostly revolutionary alternatives to the reformist Tudeh Party. Since their existence, they have been all driven underground and are the main victims of the two successive regimes in Iran. They were more active during and shortly after the revolution. While started splitting, they became more and more vulnerable. The most important force of the leftists is the Organisation of Iranian People’ Fedaii Guerrillas. The OIPFG by attacking in February of 1970 the Siahkal Gendarmerie base in Northern Province of Iran opened up a new chapter in struggle against the Shah’s dictatorship. The long-term strategy was to topple the Shah’s regime through an arm struggle, as it happened in Cuba. Determination of the organisation was however not enough to change the political attitude of society.

As shown in the following years, the organisation fought alone at the forefront of the battle without being massively followed by people. The organisation had to split in 1980 and a part of it “the Fedaii Organisation “(the Majority), under the influence of the Tudeh Party, joined IRI’s camp. Today, the remainder of the leftists, including many groups of Fedaii, cannot be any dynamic locomotive of a popular movement. It is true that their credibility has also to do with the great schism of Communism worldwide, but prior to this schism, their constant splits damaged their status in Iran.

All leftist groups are secular and radical and despite their concept of the Dictatorship of the proletariat, which is an outdated dogma of Marxism- Leninism and creates contradiction with the concept of modern democracy, can join and efficiently radicalise an Iranian democratic movement.

Under these conditions and backgrounds of the opposition groups, it is not an easy job for Iranian people to trust them. True that Iran has seen less demonstrations and protests against the IRI than against the Shah’s dictator. It is true that the demonstrations can be more easily fired on, but it is not because of this brutality that the popular movement cannot be encouraged. The fact is that a democratic movement in Iran is not yet as effectively organised as the Islamic movement was during the Iranian revolution. People cannot see yet any effective help in their protests against the IRI. How and when such a democratic movement should be formed is another huge topic for all freedom-loving Iranian people.