the country only a few days ago.
He visited of recent developments. On the guerrilla organisations and the army Although there are differences between the Fedayeen and the Mojahedeen - the former refer to Das Kapital and the latter to the Koran - what is interesting is that there is a growing unity in action.
Both are agreed on necessity to smash the army and create a popular militia. Both groups were strongly opposed all handing back weapons.
Both groups are also in the forefront of the opposition to the weak regime of Bazargan. Rajavi, leader Mojahedeen, recently attacked Bazarzan -for attempting stop the permanence of the revolution' As far as the army concerned, we must be careful. I don't believe that it has been smashed. It suffered serious political defeat, and it is in no position at the moment to organise a coup, but it is still intact.
There is a common thesis on this within the left. It something like this: the Shah's generals were preparing a coup, but the United States saw no chances of success and opposed They then organised against it and organised a counter-coup within the army. This was volve dismembering Immortals' and removing the generals. The officers who did that would then OCCONC popular. But the entry of the masses disrupted the plan.
However, the army remains a WOULD pro-imperialist force. Recently Ralph Schoenman, an American radical, posed as a CIA recorded interview nel Tavakoli, military adviser.
Tavakoli admitted that the plan was to create an islamic army the and use Islam to polish off the left.
He mentioned getting rid of 500,000 leftists and stated that the vounger officers were all pro-American. man released the tapes to the Iranian press and Tavakoli had to resign, but the rest of the army is stillthere. It is weakened certainly, and to the rank-and-file are susceptible to mass influences - the Fedayeen have a strong base in the airforce. There are very links with rank-and-file diers, and four or five soldiers has committees have been formed.
At the Kerman Shah tary base there is an elected soldiers and officers committee which elects its own commanding officer. These committees . goes control corrupt officers, and maintain viguance. but mcy are tar trom being generalised.
On the Bazargan government The government to entirely of bourgeois notables, the most of whom are National Front. Without doubt they are the only avanadie to impenansm today. Bazargan is exactly the same politically as Bakhtiar. Neither Bazargan nor Sanjabi (Foreign SAFE LAL.
Minister) have in any of their speeches UVCE shown the slightest trace of anti-imperialist rhetoric.
The clash between Khomein and Bazargan is, in reality, a struggle between a shapeless petty-bourgeois populism and tape- bourgeois interests. with Colo- Khomeini Khomeini's nationalised and interest abolthis ished, while Iranian capital opposed to this scheme.
Bazargan has recently announced that he Japanese dustry to continue its operations in Iran.
Well, Schoen- prepared to allow US military advisers to stay in the country. If he resigns after a clash with Khomeini the political crisis would escalate On the working class I spent three weeks in Abadan dISU and the other oil cities. The oil sol- workers are the most militant in Iran. This dates back to their calls SU22C mill British and then in the 1940s, CONS SES from the the past year itself.
Thus all banks that they injunctions.
Bazargan and The are totally sympathisers Party. petro-chemical He also the Fedayeen.
very rapidly. lot of workers.
the struggles.
agalist when the Tudeh (Communist) Party created a mass base for Politically the oil workers are divided into three wings. There They is the Islamic pro-Khomeini faction, which represents about 50 per cent of the workforce.
They are militant in the sense decided.
obey Khomeini's Tudeh is the second are largest force. A quarter of the oil workers are members Туге of the Tudeh Then there is a group of workers workers which supports neither wing, but is more responsive to the far-left currents, especially The Fedayeen established a HQ there four weeks ago and are recruiting a The strike committee which led the big strikes consists of the Muslims and the left. It was this committee which represented the 67,000 oil workers during Abadan is really a secular city and conditions are ripe for a rapid growth of the left.
REVOLUTION abortion. by unrolling baby blankets.
fire as Trade unions have not been formed so far, but the cells of these unions already exist.
However oil workers want to beyond trade unionism.
actually want determine how the oil industry is run and what prices are In Tehran's industrial suburbs and in other towns there numerous examples of workers control. The General factory Kara (industrial suburb of Tehran) has been taken over by the result of the workers' struggles.
completely after a sit-in which lasted 12 days In the Leyland factories the workers are taking more and strain of pregnancy... we do not funds are used to pay for want to reinstate therapeutic We want abortion rights for all women!' The public meeting between NOW and the anti-abortionists took place after a decision that there would be no discussion except on areas of agreement. Many anti-abortion organisations refused to attend and two women disrupted the meeting foetuses trOm At the same time an abortion clinic in Long Island was set on part of the violent more decisions. The textile factory in Arak Road, Tehran, La system of workers control.
In Tabriz a tractor factory to has been taken over by the workers, who have elected a workers council. In Kerman 16,000 factory workers went on strike in solidarity with fifteen arrested teachers.
Political awareness is grow ing. In a country where there is a 65 per cent illiteracy rate, this consciousness is the direct The task now is to generalise all these developments. There are enormous opportunities for the left. abortions for poor women.
Women self-help groups are involved, so it is not surprising that ARM's objectives involve setting up such groups. They believe that women sharing information about their bodies can become independent of state insti tutions, at the same time as adopting a strategy of confronting these institutions and forcing them to recognise woman's 'inalienable and unqualified right to control her own reproduction.'
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IF MEN GOR PREGNANT ABORTION
KAVEH AFRASIABI is an Iranian socialist who left our offices to give his impressions