Release Iranian Socialists

perspective of Marxist economics with the heritage of traditional Islam, but his ‘socialism’ was always limited. Repressive Measures However it was the support of the Mullahs and Islamic fundamentalists that gave him the Ministry of Finance immediately after the revolution. Thus, while he did nationalise banks and insurance companies, his fall from power was inevitable when Khomeini withdrew his support, because he did not have a strong enough base of support from the Iranian masses. After all, although he won some working-class support for his concentration upon repelling the Iraqi invasion and for his advocacy of concessions to minority nationalities in Iran, he had on the other hand earlier called for the dissulution of factory Shoras, (factory workers committees) but as that war has dragged on, the country’s economic problems have become more acute - food shortage, housing and low wage crises, while the capitalists continue to hoard resources in the midst of a war-torn economy. Thus workers’ discontent at their government's inability to solve these problems, and the ignoring of workers’ demands for arming of the population against the invasion by Iraq has resulted in a determination by IRP to curb the strength of the masses. In the face of widespread criticism and questioning, the IRP campaigned to make Bani-Sadr the scapegoat -repression has markedly increased since his fall from power.

A revolutionary socialist perspective would show that the anti-imperialist aspirations of all the forces in Iran result.

Executions Since the June. bombing of Tehran’s headquarters of the Islamic Repub150 executions and 1,000 arrests in Iran. It is regarded by Iranians as extremely likely that ever-hovering U.S. imperialism directly or indirectly played its part in this bombing, yet the capitalist government of Iran is making use of the attack to try to intimidate the Iranian working class. Young men and women belonging to leftist groups are the main victims of execution. Hundreds of workers offices of Revolutionary Workers’ Party, (the Iranian supporters of the Fourth International) were ransacked and socialists injured. lican Party there have been more than were also arrested in factories throughout Iran in the first week of July. The Supporters of the Iranian revolution are urgently requested to send telegrams calling for the release of two women members of the Revolutionary Workers Party (HKE) and an end to all executions of revolutionary youth in Iran. Faranak Zahraie and Monavar Shir Ali — two workers at the Ray—O—Vac battery factory in Teheran — were arrested on-July the 4th and taken to Evin prison. They have been falsely accused of starting a strike in the factory and with being. members of a Maoist political group. Both were active in the factory’s military training and first aid instruction for the fight against the Lraqui invasion.

Activists in the H Block/Armagh Campaign are being approached to send protest telegrams. Already PD councillors, Fergus O’Hare and John McAnulty have sent telegrams together with Bernadette McAliskey.

Telegrams should be sent to:

Prime Minister Rajai, Majlis Building, Teheran, Iran. Send copies to Kargar, Box 43/174, Post area 14, Teheran, Iran and Jomhuri-e-Eslami, Saadi Jonubi Street, Teheran, Iran.

have been replaced and in the regional party congresses as many as 90 per cent of the old party leaders have been turfed out of office. In Suwalki province in north east Poland the entire party leadership was removed in elections. Equally serious is the loss of some 100,000 working class members from the party since last August.

The source of the crisis inside the Communist Party and the worries of the Soviet leaders is the continuing existence and growing strength of the independent union movement Solidarity. One important new development is the growth of ‘popular universities’ linked to Solidarity. They offer courses and discussions round three themes: problems of workers’ rights raised in the building of Solidarity; cultural and artistic debate outside the normally heavily-censored channels; and discussion on general political, historical and scientific questions outside the Stalinist framework, These universities receive wide-ranging support: more than a thousand attended a debate on the economic crisis in Torun and in Wroclaw there are regularly between 100-300 people, mainly workers, at their twice weekly sessions. Solidarity itself is approaching its first national congress at the end of August. Regional conferences have been held in preparation where Solidarity’s draft programme and statutes has been dis-