Statement of the Tudeh Party of Iran:The bankrupt and inhumane policies of the criminal regime against the movement of the frustrated masses

The protests of the frustrated and infuriated people of Iran in more than one hundred cities, and the violent and bloody suppression of protesters by the velayat-e faqih theocratic regime; the continuation of round-ups, arrests and detentions and prosecution of thousands of them have been widely reflected in the public opinion of Iran and the world. According to the latest estimates, in the course of these protests more than 360 people have been murdered at gun point by “the unidentified soldiers of Imam-Zaman” [1], nearly eight thousand have been arrested and hundreds wounded.

In addition to this, and in the extremely dire economic situation in Iran, the shutting down of the Internet and communication networks of the country by the regime to contain and silence popular protest as well as to conceal it, has caused economic damage of billions of dollars, based on surveys conducted.

On Wednesday 27 November, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the regime – who commanded this violent and bloody crackdown on the popular movement – in a meeting with a group of members of the Basij militia, endorsed the bloody repression of people and stated, “A very dangerous and widespread conspiracy on which all kinds of money was spent, and through which they had tried to make a move of destruction, wickedness, and murder at a crucial moment, was destroyed by the people.” On Thursday 21 November, [Brigadier General] Salar Abnoosh, Commander of Operations of the Basij militia organisation, described people’s protests as “A full-blown world war [that] suddenly spread over the entire country […] It was only God who saved us.” Today – Wednesday 4 December – Hassan Rouhani, the Supreme Leader’s puppet President, said that “the confessions of the organisers” of the recent protests will be broadcast, and claimed, “These people had been planning this action for more than two years. Last year at one point they wanted to do something, but it was not the right time. This year, they had planned again for a later time more like the end of January and [early] February, near the [parliamentary] elections, but again didn’t think it was the right time. When this matter [the hiking in the price of petrol] was announced, they revolted with the command from their masters outside the country that now is the time to do it. So, they must be dealt with.”

The fact of the matter is that the extent of recent protests in more than one hundred cities across the country, and the direct struggle of people against the regime’s repressive forces, gravely scared the regime’s leaders who have placed the country in the current disastrous situation of economic bankruptcy, poverty, widespread deprivation, chronic unemployment, un-tethered inflation and widespread social anomalies. Unlike the propaganda claims of the regime about the demonstrators being the agents of foreign forces, the fact is that thousands of young people who stood up to the repressive forces of the regime are suffering from deprivation, unemployment, and the suppression meted out by a ruthless regime, which has ruined the present living condition of the enormous mass of the youth and rendered their future prospects even worse.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the eight-year war [with Iraq], who has been under house arrest for ten years now, in his message in objection to the bloody repression of the popular protests – comparing the crimes of the present regime with the crimes of the Shah’s regime – rightfully and courageously said, “The violent and bloody encounter with the angry people and the frustrated poor, who had come to the streets to protest an unwise business-like decision against the interests of the underprivileged strata and those wounded by the devastating policies, and the extent of protests in Tehran and other parts of the country – that depict a mass frustration among the people upset with the conditions of the country – has full similarity with the cruel killing of the people on 9 September 1978. Assassins in 1978 were representatives of a non-religious regime, and the perpetrators and shooters in November 2019 are representatives of a religious state. There and then the chief commander was the Shah, and today it is the Supreme Leader with absolute authority.”

The Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns the continuing persecution of the frustrated people; the torture and brutal harassment of detainees; and the disgusting spectacle of televised forced confessions being prepared by the regime! We offer our condolences to the families of the martyrs and express our solidarity with those families and thousands of political prisoners. We condemn the cruel and inhuman treatment of the bereaved families who are forced to pay to retrieve the dead bodies of their loved ones and then bury them overnight. We express our solidarity with the families of arrested protesters who are harassed, intimidated and kept in the full-dark about the conditions of their loved ones.

The bankrupt and inhumane policies of the regime of ignorance and crime that are at odds with the movement of the frustrated masses, more than anything indicate the desperation of the Islamist regime and their deep fear of the beginning of their end – a regime that has only brought our homeland oppression, deprivation, and misery.

In the current critical situation, during which the regime continues to prosecute and suppress the popular movement, the widespread mobilisation of public opinion in Iran and around the world is particularly important so as to confront the regime’s anti-human policies. The solidarity of the trade union, labour, and communist movements around the world with the people’s protests, and condemnation of the regime’s violence, should be broadened. The immediate and unconditional release of all protester detainees, political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, and putting an end to the torture and confession-extracting machine of the regime’s thugs must be demanded forthwith.

Although the regime was once again able to temporarily silence the mass of the frustrated people by resorting to violent and bloody repression in recent weeks, the crackling flames of detestation of the overwhelming majority of our people towards this ruthless regime have not been put out, and sooner or later will flare again. With patience and preparation of all the social components of the popular movement – from the working class and people to women, the youth, and students – we must be prepared for that day and be prepared for to initiate a joint, inclusive, unified and effective [ultimately decisive] struggle.

The Tudeh Party of Iran

4th December 2019

[1]- “the unidentified soldiers of Imam-Zaman” a reference to a ruthless unit in the Intelligence Ministry.  Imam Zaman is the hidden Imam of Shia’a Muslims who is to resurface after 14 Centuries of disappearance!