IT COULD WELL turn out to be the political crash of 1978!
Iran is in the grip of a massive popular upsurge.
Pahlavi's head and they might get it this time.
poverned by naked coercion. their revenge.
with bullets.
tar the whole movement with that particular brush. for struggie.
Is clear. The masses do not like the monarchy.
Iran of the filth which has accumulated for a quarter of a century.
The Iranian workers, students and peasants have once again demonstrated the enormous reserves which an aroused mass has at its disposal.
Without any coherent political leadership they have dominated the stage. They have been fearless in the pursuit of their aims.
Their courage is born out of an experience that teaches them that they have nothing to lose and a great deal to gain. wooed the Shah continuously. He was due to depart a few days ago to East Germany They have the support of no state power: both China and the Soviet Union have and Rumania for state visits.
Proletarian internationalism is a dirty phrase for the cynical practitioners of real-politik".
From Carter, Giscard, Callaghan, Brandt and their friends there have been statements expressing concern — but forthe Shah's predicament. And these are the hypocrites who twaddle on andlessly about democratic rights. We do not know how long the Shah will last. It would be an irony of the first order if the CiA, worried lest the supply of oil is affected, decided that the time had come to remove him and whisked him off to St. Moritz in the Swiss Alpa. But the struggle shows no signs of abating. It will continue till Pahlavi is overthrown. For socialists the key tasks today are for the establishment of a republic, restoration of trade unions and political parties, free elections on the basis of universal adult franchise to elect a Constituent Assembly in order to draft a constitution, total nationalisation of sil the oil and the multinational companies. Such a dynamic will pave the way for more lasting and fundamental social changes. Iran has for 25 years been the lynchpin of imperialism in the Near East. The fall of the Shah will destabilise all Western plans for the region and will link in to developments in neighboring Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A lot more is at stake for the United States than the overthrow of a bloody despot. In Britain we must ensure that real pressure builds up in the coming weeks. Labour must STOP supplying weapons to Iran and the Issue should be debated at the forthcoming LP conference on 5 October.
MASS RALLY
AGAINST THE REPRESSION Friday 22 September, 7.30pm, Conway Hall, WC1 Organised by the Campaign Against Repression in Iran Torchlight march to Downing SI
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No weapons Iranian butcher