31 years of Iran's revolution - part 2

Iran: February rallies to
test gov’t and opposition

BY CINDY JAQUITH
February 10—As the Militant goes to press, hundreds of thousands in Iran are preparing to join demonstrations February 11, the anniversary of the 1979 revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed monarch known as the shah. Forces calling for freedom of speech and assembly, the right to form political parties, equality for women, and other rights are urging their supporters to demonstrate in large numbers. The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is simultaneously seeking to mobilize its backers to outnumber them.

Meanwhile, U.S. secretary of state Robert Gates threatened more sanctions against Iran in “weeks, not months” following Tehran’s announcement it was starting to enrich uranium to 20 percent for its nuclear program.

Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who both challenged Ahmadinejad in last June’s presidential elections, have called for supporters marching February 11 to call on the government to “release the prisoners of conscience, lift press bans, allow banned political party offices to reopen, and hold free and fair elections.”

A coalition calling itself the Coordinating Council of Reform Front, made up of 17 political groups and parties that oppose Ahmadinejad, subsequently put out its own call for supporters of democratic rights to march February 11.

The call, according to the Los Angeles Times, said, “A large number of those who were celebrating 31 years ago their contribution to the triumph of the Islamic Revolution have unfortunately been arrested or pushed into isolation.” If the government does not “respect basic freedoms and civil rights,” it warned, “people’s demands and political differences will be followed up in the streets.”

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, a leader of Friday prayers in Tehran and a fervent backer of Ahmadinejad, issued a statement rejecting the idea there could be any compromise with the Mousavi forces. “Today we have only two fronts and no third front is recognized,” he said. “The first front brings together the revolution and the people. The second front regroups the United States, Britain, Zionists, hypocrites, monarchists, communists, fugitive singers, and dancers.”

The Tehran commander of the Pasdaran, the main military force in Iran, warned that “any voice or color other than the voice of the Islamic Revolution will be pushed aside, and if a minority makes such an attempt, it will be firmly confronted.”

Executions
To back up the threat, two prisoners, supporters of a group trying to restore the U.S.-backed monarchy, were executed January 28. According to Press TV, however, they were not part of the opposition demonstrations. They had been in jail since 2008 on charges of carrying out a bombing. Mousavi opposed the executions, stating they were aimed at intimidating prodemocracy protesters.

Nine others have received death sentences for being “enemies of god” because of their role in opposition demonstrations. They have appealed. The government says they are members of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization, a proimperialist current that took up arms against the government after the 1979 revolution. It is isolated in Iran.

Just days before the February 11 demonstrations, Iran’s Press TV reported the government had arrested seven people it claimed were plotting to disrupt official anniversary commemorations. It said two were CIA agents and several worked for Radio Farda, a U.S. government-sponsored radio station that transmits in Farsi to Iran.

The Iranian capitalist class remains very divided in the face of the groundswell of protests for greater democracy in the past months. Some bourgeois political figures, like Mousavi, have concluded that a loosening of restrictions on democratic rights is necessary to maintain the stability of the capitalist government, particularly as the world economic depression drives the living conditions of Iranian working people ever lower. He speaks for the substantial layer of ruling-class forces who also look forward to an end to trade and financial sanctions on Iran and a rapprochement with the United States.

In recent weeks a layer of bourgeois politicians has begun to speak out against “extremism” of left and right, seeking to find some compromise. In a speech to police chiefs January 7, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani, said, “We should not call anyone who has different views a dissident and a hypocrite.” He called for televised debates between the contending factions as a way to resolve the crisis.

Iran nuclear program
On February 7 Ahmadinejad ordered Iran’s nuclear facilities to begin enriching uranium to 20 percent for use in a medical research reactor. Currently, Tehran enriches uranium to only 3.5 percent.

The imperialist governments have demanded Tehran cease all uranium enrichment, saying it could be used to eventually produce a nuclear weapon, which requires enrichment of 90 percent. Tehran states its nuclear program is for peaceful generation of energy only.

While Washington wants new UN sanctions against Iran to try to force it to end enrichment, the Foreign Ministry of China, which holds veto power in the Security Council, said February 9 it favors continuing negotiations at this time.

In addition to sanctions, Washington is stepping up military pressure against Iran. Gen. David Petraeus said the U.S. government has offered Patriot missiles to four countries in the Persian Gulf to counter Iranian missiles. “Military officials said that the countries that accepted the missiles were Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait,” reported the January 31 New York Times. “Saudi Arabia and Israel have long had similar equipment of their own.”

Petraeus said Washington now also deploys Aegis cruisers permanently in the Gulf, capable of intercepting medium-range missiles from Iran.