Another Comment on Mr. Ahmadinejad and His Government

From the desk of Reuven Kaminer

February 21, 2006

I have had recourse, in a very similar context, to relate to Mr. Ahmadinejad. It was in the context of the savage repression of a strike by government employed bus drivers in Teheran a month back. I commented then that some of us in progressive and anti-imperialist circles tend to respond to events according to the maxim that the enemy of our enemy is our friend. But that maxim may be very misleading. Circumstances surrounding the present drive of the United States against the Republic of Iran are a case in point. It is, therefore, of critical importance to pay heed to the words of the Tudeh Party of Iran in their current analysis of the nature of Iranian policy and their evaluation of the people calling the shots in Teheran. Tudeh, of course, operates in dangerous conditions of severe repression. It has a history that is sufficient in itself to command our attention and respect.

“Despite constant repression by the different governments in the past sixty four years, despite thousands of martyrs and tens of thousands incarcerated or sent to exile, that the Tudeh Party has endured over the past years and despite sixty four years of never ending propaganda against them, the Tudeh Party of Iran has managed to continue its legendary life and hold up the proud flag of the working classes and their allies. The secret our party’s celebrative spirit is due to its deep roots in our society and its nourishment from the working and toiling masses.” From the Tudeh Statement on the occasion of its 64th Anniversary, September 2005

Tudeh on Recent Developments and their Background

Tudeh notes that “Weeks of international tension, imperialist bullying and threats on the one hand and ill-advised gamesmanship by the reactionary rulers of Iran have finally culminated in the representatives of the European Union (EU) agreeing to report Iran’s nuclear file to the United Nations’ Security Council.” Tudeh goes on to accuse the Ahmadinejad clique of using threats by foreign powers to step up internal repression.

Referring to Ahmadinejad, as reaction’s handpicked President, Tudeh analyzes the nature of recent Iranian policy: “Over the recent weeks, Tudeh Party of Iran has warned of the dangerous consequences of the games that the reactionaries play with our national interests. We have stressed that Iran’s national interests in developing a peaceful nuclear capability cannot be defended with provocative policies and empty threats. We have also indicated that the reactionaries’ goal in pursuing such a strategy is to create an artificial crisis, and use the threats by foreign powers to justify the repression of the freedom-loving and peaceful forces of our country. The vicious assaults on the drivers of the Bus Company (in state ownership), the arrests of hundreds of workers and union activists and the increasing aggression towards the student movement all clearly demonstrate the ruling reaction’s policies and tactics. As we had previously stated, referring Iran’s file to the Security Council is against our country’s national interests, and could have grave consequences in the long run. Providing an excuse for the imperialist countries, whose military forces are stationed in our neighboring countries, is fundamentally an anti-patriotic and self-destructive policy. We are concerned that the hardship resulting from pursuing these will only be borne by the people of our country.” Statement by Tudeh, February 14, 2006.

We are also concerned that the war-monger, Mr. Ahmadinejad, (”Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth”) and would-be historian (”the Holocaust is a myth”), might be considered a credible and authentic leader by anyone. Opposition to the U.S. power plays in the Middle East cannot and should not include any sympathy for this type of leadership, built as it is on dangerous demagogy and reckless strategy. No to Bush and No to Ahmadineda!

Scaling the Heights of Hypocrisy

If there were an Olympic event in Hutzpah, Israeli circles and their U.S. sponsors, would certainly win it. It is impossible to beat the condemnation of Iranian nuclear ambitions while, at the same time, keeping mum about Israel’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.

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Reuven Kaminer
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