Tudeh News – Jul/Aug 2016 – No. 292
- STATEMENT OF THE TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN: ON THE COUP D’ÉTAT IN TURKEY – July 18, 2016
- THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN HELD ITS 3RD PLENARY MEETING – July 8, 2016
- STATEMENT OF THE TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN ON – THE TERROR ATTACK IN NICE, FRANCE – July 15, 2016
STATEMENT OF THE TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN:
ON THE COUP D’ÉTAT IN TURKEY
July 18, 2016
The adventurous operations, on the night of Friday 15 July, of part of the armed forces of the Turkey in an attempt to carry out a coup d’état against the government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), and its aftershocks over the past three days have driven the country into a critical and dangerous situation.
Although the coup leaders claimed, in their initial statements on Friday, that they had taken over power and declared that the Islamist government led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, had been overthrown, subsequent media reports over the hours that followed indicated the defeat of the coup and the return of power to the government of the AKP.
According to the media reports, as a result of the attempted coup and the counter-coup of the Islamist forces, 265 people were killed, a large number were injured, and many thousands were arrested and jailed. Although only incomplete and contradicting information are available about the organisers of the coup and their intentions – and while the actions of the reactionary government of Erdoğan after the coup have raised many questions about the coup – what is certain and unquestionable is that during the coup and the shelling of some of the strategic targets, such as the parliament building in Ankara, many have lost their lives or have been injured. It should also be pointed out that during the first hours of Saturday morning [the next day after the coup] the forces loyal to Erdoğan launched a wave of intimidation and terror against the soldiers and military units of the army who had participated in the coup. Islamist mobs carrying firearms, knives, machetes and clubs responded to the calls of the mosques and took to the streets to beat up the young conscript soldiers who, frightened and shocked, had already dropped their weapons and taken off their uniforms to surrender. This was a clear indication of the fascist-like and vicious bent of the supporters of the AKP. The traumatic scenes in which frightened and crying young soldiers having surrendered were attacked with machetes, beaten up and stabbed – and in at least one case beheaded – outraged and disgusted world public opinion, which rightfully condemned such barbaric acts.
After regaining the political power, Erdoğan hastily began a wide purge in the military, police and judicial system and removed many of his opponents from their positions, or arrested and jailed them. One day after the defeat of the coup, the autocrat President of Turkey blatantly called this defeat and the ensuing situation a “gift from God”. The curators of the mosques and Islamic centers in large cities of Turkey, including Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir, have practically taken control of the power and are in effect ruling the country. Several reports have been released about the disappearance of political figures who oppose the current regime in Turkey. Many governors of regions across the country have been sacked and the government has banned close to 3 million public employees from travelling abroad until their connection to the coup perpetrators is investigated.
A surge of international criticism has emerged over the past two days, of the vengeful atmosphere that has taken a hold over the nation, and of the rise of suppression of the opposition forces in Turkey by the ruling Islamist government. Many believe that the failed coup of part of the armed forces is being exploited as a pretext to expedite the further Islamisation of power structures and to advance the plan to form an “Islamic Republic of Turkey” by the Islamists of the AKP.
The progressive opposition forces in Turkey, while strongly opposing the policies of the government of the Islamist AKP, have unambiguously condemned the coup by part of the armed forces. They have rightly argued that the taking of power by the armed forces of Turkey through the coup would have in fact damaged democracy and the rule of law more than before, and in the current tense and very complicated situation in the Middle East, could have driven the nation towards further turmoil and political instability.
In its first statement about the coup which was released on Saturday July 16th- the next day after the coup – the Communist Party, Turkey (TKP) categorically condemned the failed coup of the generals of the armed forces and at the same time strongly criticised the actions and track record of the Islamist government of the AKP. In its statement, the Turkish communists have called upon the advocates of peace, democracy, and justice around the world to bear in mind that “it is a lie that any of the sides in this conflict represents the interests of the people”, and “the only power that can overthrow AKP is the people’s power, there is no alternative to it.”
Based on the existing evidence, while it is clear that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) will try to exploit the coup as a pretext to purge the opposition, to strengthen its grip on power, and to move toward establishing an Islamic dictatorship, the friends of the people of Turkey must extend their solidarity with those who strive to deepen democracy, and must emphasise the unity of the nation and the working people in opposing sectarian conflicts. On Sunday July 17th, the Communist Party of Turkey held the plenary meeting of its Central Committee to discuss and make decisions about the fast pace developments of the post-coup days and to decide on the necessary approach for the situation.
The Tudeh Party of Iran unequivocally condemns the recent military coup in Turkey and, at the same time, expresses its grave concern about the suspension of the constitution and crack down on freedoms as well as violations of the democratic rights, mass arrests, and the attempts by the Islamist government to shut down democracy in Turkey. Our party deems the events of the recent days as a threat to peace and in conflict with the interests of the nations of the Middle East region. The Tudeh Party of Iran expresses its solidarity with the progressive and democratic forces, trade unions in Turkey, and the Communist Party, Turkey and supports their struggle to return democracy and rule of law to the country.
The Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran
STATEMENT OF THE TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN ON
THE TERROR ATTACK IN NICE, FRANCE
July 15, 2016
Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns and denounces the terror and criminal attack in Nice, and its perpetrators whose victims were the ordinary French citizens and particularly the children. Tudeh Party of Iran expresses its sympathy and empathy with all the victims of this horrendous tragedy and extends its condolences to the French nation, the working people, and the progressive forces of France.
The terrorist attack on the people of the port city of Nice, on the south east coast of France, on Thursday night (July 14th), intensely shocked the world. A truck moving at high speed smashed into ordinary French citizens and caused a large number of casualties. The French citizens, among them many children and youngsters, had gathered to watch the fireworks on the occasion of Bastille Day, the National Day of France. According to the media reports, close to a hundred people were killed and hundreds more were severely injured in this attack, many of whom are currently in a critical condition and under intensive care. The truck, driven by a French citizen of Tunisian descent, was intentionally and at high speed steered towards people in a zone in which motor vehicles were not permitted. The truck drove into the crowd of thousands of French citizens and continued for about two kilometers leaving behind a large number of dead and injured people, and instantly instilling an atmosphere of fear and terror across the entire city, before the armed driver was shot dead by the police and the truck was finally brought to a stop. The choice of the National Day of France on which to commit this terrible terrorist act and the deliberate targeting of the sites and locations along the route where children were at play, demonstrates the vile and sick intention of the perpetrator(s) of this horrendous crime.
Three days before this shocking incident, the 300-page report to a parliamentary inquiry commission – which included the testimony of Mr. Patrick Calvar, the head of the French General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) – was published by the media. The content of the report mainly concerned the two previous terrorist attacks. Mr. Calvar, in his testimony in front of the parliamentary commission, stated that the Islamist extremists will attempt to “go to booby-trapped cars and bombs, thus increasing their capacity to kill”. Foreseeing that the situation in France is on a knife-edge, he said that another terrorist attack by the Islamist extremists in France could lead to a civil war between the Muslims and racists. The Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns and denounces the terror and criminal attack in Nice, and its perpetrators, whose victims were the ordinary French citizens and particularly the children. The Tudeh Party of Iran expresses its compassion and sympathy with all the victims of this horrendous tragedy and extends its condolences to the French nation, working people, and progressive forces.
The reality is that the vicious and reprehensible phenomenon of “Islamic Terrorism” has emerged and grown mainly due to the disastrous policies of the United States, its European allies, its regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, and their financial and military support for various extremist forces including the mercenaries of Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Syria and Libya. Obviously, the continuance of the hegemonic and warmongering policies of the imperialist states in the Middle East and North Africa during the past three decades – particularly the aggressive invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, causing a bloodshed and devastating millions of ordinary people in these countries – has been effective in creating the conditions for the emergence and growth of the extremist tendencies, whose vision is based on Islamic fundamental ideologies. Furthermore, other determining factors in the escalation of terrorism are the implementation in European countries of the neo-liberal socio-economic policies over recent years including the imposition of austerity measures; the violation of civic freedoms and democratic rights; and the cutting of social welfare, with a particularly detrimental impact on the communities of immigrants to Europe and their descendants.
Yesterday’s heinous terrorist attack in Nice, France, calls for a decisive approach to deal with terrorism and its economic, social, and political root causes. Based on the irrefutable evidence, the connection between the perpetrators of terrorist tragedies in London, Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Mali, Baghdad, Dhaka, and the terrorist Islamist groups in the Middle East – such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and their affiliated branches under various names – is crystal clear.
Once again, the Tudeh Party of Iran condemns this criminal and terrorist attack and expresses its sympathy and solidarity with the people of France, and calls upon all the progressive and freedom-loving forces of the world to join in the battle to decisively eradicate terrorism. Preserving the global peace and the future interest of the nations of the Middle East depends on such a joint and resolute effort.
The Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran
THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE TUDEH PARTY OF IRAN HELD ITS
3RD PLENARY MEETING
July 8, 2016
The third plenary meeting of the central committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran after the 6th congress was held in July 2016. The meeting opened with a moment of silence to pay tribute to and honor the memory of all the martyrs of the struggle for freedom, and after playing the 4th anthem of the party, began its work. The meeting discussed and deliberated about the Politburo’s report on the latest domestic and international developments and after the necessary revisions ratified it.
After extensive discussions about the latest developments in Iran such as the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the United States and the EU countries and its short- and long-terms impacts on the situation in Iran, the Assembly of Experts and the parliamentary elections of February 2016, the escalating economic crisis of the Iranian regime, the escalation of social protests against the continuation of the rule of autocracy, the brutal and vicious attack of the workers and working people by the security forces, and lashing the workers, as in the case of the Agh-Darreh mineworkers, because of their job actions, and also the dangerous and worrisome events along the borders of the country and the recent armed conflicts, in Kurdistan, between the armed forces of the repressive regime of Iran and the Peshmerga forces of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, particularly in the current critical situation in the Middle East region and the Kurdish areas in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, the plenary meeting of the party made decisions about the current policies of the party and the need to organize appropriate publicity and information campaigns in response to the major developments in the nation.
The plenary meeting of the Central Committee also discussed about the issues and challenges in realizing the cooperation among the progressive and freedom-loving forces of the nation, and practical solutions to advance the popular movement under current circumstances.
The plenary meeting of the Central Committee discussed about and examined the deep crisis of capitalism, the victory of the British people and their positive vote for Brexit, and also the significant developments in the Middle East and the continuing war and bloodshed in the region.
As part of it agenda, the plenary meeting of the Central Committee examined the reports by the financial, international relations, organization, publicity departments, and the women and youth committees, and formulated concrete guidelines to improve their activities. Furthermore, the meeting discussed and made decision about the necessary tactical slogans for the struggle of the workers, women, youth, students, and various ethnic people in the nation. The third plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran elected the members of the Politburo and ended its session with the International anthem.
The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran
ON THE CONUNDRUM OF RELATIONS WITH THE “GREAT SATAN”
(Abridged from “Nameh Mardom”, Central Organ of the Tudeh Party of Iran No. 1003, July 11, 2016)
T
he Iranian regime’s overt and covert relation with the US, despite Islamic Republic leaders shouting “Down with America”, is no secret to anyone. In recent years, we have frequently pointed out the Regime’s recurrent stealthy relations with the US– e.g. during Ahmadinejad presidency, hidden under the veil of the Regime’s populist slogans, securing America’s hidden benefits in the region.
On June 28th 2016, Iran newspaper published an interview with Velayati [Supreme Leader’s foreign policy advisor] which is quite revealing and sobering from different perspectives. In response to the question “Iran’s relation with Europe has often had continuation in spite of the ups and downs. But in the case of the US, considering the nuclear talks, some wonder why we do not discuss other issues with America. Is this a demand of regime’s principled policies or required by certain conditions?” Velayati says: “We have previously had several collaborations with the US and they have acted counter to our negotiations. The first case was our negotiation about Afghanistan during several meetings in Bonn, in which Iran and America, under the flag of the United Nations, discussed the common goal of contending with Taliban. Our delegate in those talks was Dr. Zarif who was Iran’s representative in the UN at the time. At that time, we were aiding Ahmad Shah Masoud who was single-handedly confronting Taliban in Panjshir Valley, while the rest of the Afghanistan was under Taliban’s control. In such circumstances, if it was not for the Iran’s assistance, Americans could not break into Afghanistan. They used the negotiations with Iran as an opportunity to enter Afghanistan, but soon after they took control of the country, presented Iran as one of the three “evil” countries. In Iraq a similar account happened though of course Americans’ action was different.”
Moreover, Velayati responding to “In what framework and context were the negotiations conducted on Iraq?” says that “In Iraq’s case, Iran and America had discussions on safety recovery and post-conflict re-stabilisation after the fall of Saddam but again the Americans went their own way. The same thing happened during the nuclear talks. Americans had previously communicated their willingness to accept Iran’s nuclear right and lifting the sanctions. Obama’s letters to Tehran and his messages all suggested both the acknowledgment of Iran’s right to have nuclear technology with certain agreed restrictions, and lifting the sanction which of course has not yet happened. In a recent meeting with the officials, the Supreme Leader has explicitly expressed that we have respected the deal in spite of the Americans. Therefore, if we ever had a successful experience in our negotiations with the US, we could rely on it.”
Referring to Iran’s political stance in resolving the situation in Syria, Velayati says “We uphold the furtherance of the negotiations between the government and the un-armed opposition groups or those who agree to put their weapons down, and this course should be sustained. According to the United Nations Security Council Resolution, “ISIS” and “Al-Nusra Front” are among terrorist groups thus are not to negotiate with, but the rest could have an effective presence in the talks. However, what happens improperly in parallel with these negotiations is that these terrorist groups support their allies through neighbouring countries while the International pro-Syrian talks are taking place in Geneva. For instance, along with the peace talks, Al-Nusra attacked and captured the Khantuman city and turned it over to the groups that were not recognized as terrorist groups. Nevertheless, solving the Syrian crisis has no military solution. If others resort to force, Iran will be confronting them. The ultimate solution is to negotiate without resorting to arms, and as far as we know, Syria is prepared to engage the un-armed rebels in the government.”
Velayati’s remarks divulge that in spite of the Iranian regime’s slogans and propaganda, some of the main decision-making authorities have a strong willingness to develop relations with America and unfulfilment of this tendency, more than the ostensible anti-US sentiment of governing officials, have roots in decisions of the influential groups in America. Moreover, organising the “concerned” grouping and their manoeuvres is part of a single policy of demagoguery inside the country and pressure intensification on other sides of the negotiation [US and 5+1], as the “concerned” grouping appears and disappears with a hint from the Supreme Leader.
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