At the weekend there capital from the country.
Shah? And what will follow his fall?
Iranian journalist now in London.
IMAGINE the Archbishop of Canterbury telling the Ford workers to burn down their factories, and gentlemen in pinstriped suits and bowlers opening the financial books to UNC WOTACIS It is an indication of the CHISIS in Iran when Ayatollah Khomeini sinking lenran bank workers have done just that.
HANDOUTS In that context it was not so surprising that Socialist Challenge should have found itself interviewing the equivalent of the deputy editor of the Times this rerevdoon Gilani, deputy editor natal. leading Tehran daily.
Many of the journalists involved in recent struggles were once among the staun. chest supporters of the regime since, Gilani reckons, about 80 per cent were taking handouts from the bureauHis radicalisation has been less sudden: he has a long and distinguished Lal CCI reyolutionary poet and journalist.
More than once this has landed him in prison. Repeated torture has damaged his health the SAVAK methods: beatings, crucifixions and the rest, carried out blindfolded so that ine victim could not report what implements were being used.
With such a history it is surprising that he should be allowed to hold such a senior position in the heavily censored Iranian press. Of course he has had to face repeated harasssuppression stories. THE ONLY question which now surrounds the future of the Shah is when, not if, he will be toppled.
were further demonstrations. Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious Teader, made astonishing calls for industrial sabotage.
Striking bank workers have taken matters into their own hands and released information showing how the political and financial elite is organising the flight of But what is it like to take part in these incredible events? Why is there such total opposition to the To find answers to these questions RICHARD CARVER met FEREYDOON GILANI, a leading But what his position shows above all is the intellectual poverty of the supporters. Or, more accurately, that any potential intellectual supporter of the regime would quickly be driven into opposition by and highhanded methods. and Gilani gives the example of how the Shan said in a speech that Iran's annual growth rate was 13 per figure was 11 per rather than contradict God's right hand man the monarch's minions altered every book, and in the count) ensure that neither the Shah nor anyone else would ever discover of his error.
OFFICIALS The press is run along the same lines: A minor officia would phone me up, Gilani savs. "and tell me what story to run, what page to put it on, pomE headline. 'A bit later a press officer from the Security Office would phone one of my colleagues and say, no, lake tnat out. story came from the Ministry of Information. they cared about the stories -they just wanted to show their power."
Why did journalists - the 20 per cent who didn't take bribes - Stay on.
STRIKE struggle. But we thought that if we moved out that would give them total control. stayed, and when journalists strike came they saw that we were right. of As a reporter Gilani is well placed to assess the present massive regime's its dishonesty Scenes of upsurge in Tehran upheavals and the mood of the masses. He is highly critical of Inc actual the role of the religious leaders cent, but and points out how they have been dragged along behind the struggle.
statistical The day before a major demonstration September, he got a phone call from the residence of Ayatollah Shariat Madari, SCOTIC That wasn't that had So the first FEREYDOON GILANI religious leader inside saying that that day.
The next days Friday' the senior Iran, Kayhan Chole report the Ayatollah as calling have on people not to demonstrate protests by thousands of morning, hundreds of thousands poured -As In out onto the streets, there was worried phone call, insensitivity asking the paper to say that the which Ayatollah had been in favour of the demonstration all along.
position of LEOUS quite obvious Gilani military will, Iranian army.
Gilani tells of mullahs priests been forced to literally tens of people arriving outside their door the case intelligentsia, it was the stupid the drove the mullahs towards the opposition. After press attacks on the mosque they began to preach against the regime. Workers thus begar to realise the value of the mosque as a sanctuary against police attacks on meetings.
They didn't gather in the mosques to hear the mullahs but to meet each other.
Ayatollah Khomeini has a leadersmp only because of the political vacuum Lance among the masses. Ultimately though this would be disas.
DUAL ROLE *The mullahs have played the dual role of being opponents of the regime and at the same time in many instances be. it is Darner to tne struggie that they connected to the ruling class and in the last analysis cannot lead the struggle.
points out that working class action against the regime started long before it was reported in the Western and Iranian press. The only source of information linking together the various strikes that were taking place was Navid, the underground Tudeh (Comsion groups at the workplace which are gradually forming a network. The desire for independent class organisation is there.
Gilani reckons that the fall of relatively short period continued bourgeois rule: "The problem at the moment in irar is that we do not have a strong party and you know wal tac two conditions of a revolution are the objective conditions and a strong communist party.
*The Tudeh Partv deceivec us. At the moment 25 years ago when they could have taken the country they didn't. This is not the party that can lead the workers.
Gilani stresses the impor of international solidarity, particularly to counter the regime's propaganda - "If people know what is going on they cannot remain indifferent - and to present a different image of the opposition: The voice of the Iranian people internationally comes through Khomeini and he does no represent the real forces that could liberate Iran.' CONSCIOUS Trade union action is vital: 'In the journalists' strike they were going to arrest 40 peopl - including me - and the fact that the NUJ in this country som protests actuary prevented some of these people being arrested Other unions should do this sort of thing. For example it should be possible to organise dockers' blacking the export of arms.
Gilani's own plans are to return immediately to lran, despite the obvious risk of I can't do anything here. When -VOU Speakers Corner there are many people •here more corscous taila! when they talk. But it is not a time to talk. It is a time to act.
FEREYDOON GILANI will be speaking at a rally in London Monday December, organised by the Committer Against Repression in Iran.
Other speakers will include Russell Kerr MP. recently returned Iran, Fred Halliday, author forthcoming book on the Iranian crisis, and a representative of the Campaign for the Liberation of Women in Iran.
The meeting is at the Pancras ; Assembiv Hall. Eus ton Road, London NW1.