Den 9 juli markerade 11 årsdagen av studentprotesterna i Tehran.
I juli 1999 stängdes en rad reformsinnade tidningarna av den iranska regimen. Det hela var något paradoxalt med tanke på att censuren hårdnade under reformpresidentens Khatami. Detta visade än en gång på den djupa klyftan inom det islamiska styret. Hårdföra grenar, i kontroll av paramilitära grupper som Basij och Pasdaran, tog saker i egna händer när de blodigt slog ner de studentprotester som följde stängningen av tidningarna. Presidenten stog hjälplös vid sidan om. Hela händelseutvecklingen kan nu läsas hos Tehran Bureau. Upprinnelsen till studentprotesterna i juli 1999 ger en bra bild av de komplexiteter som präglar Irans politiska klimat. Läs om 9 juli 1999 här!
Ännu en läsvärd text på Tehran Bureau är publicerad under rubriken 'The Green Movement and the Working Class' - ett tema som intresserat många som febrilt letat efter den gröna rörelsens sociala bas. Texten är en intervju med Sohrab Behbad, medförfattare till boken 'Class and Labor in Iran: Did the Revolution Matter?' (Syracuse University Press, 2006).
Deutsche Welle: The subject of our interview is the place of the working class in the Iranian protest movement known as the Green Movement. It seems that workers and laborers have not participated in the protests of the past year, at least not under their own independent banner. It seems that they have been potential, but not actual, participants in the movement. Do you concur with this view?
Sohrab Behdad: To some extent. However, one has to ask how workers can be discerned among the ranks of the protestors. It seems that the distinguishing marks being applied are obsolete. We have to acknowledge that the image of the Iranian working class is no longer the traditional one. Many are educated and young. Their attire and demeanor are no different from those of the middle class. The traditional image of a worker is that of a person who wears a greasy outfit and has a gaunt face.
Another issue is the lack of labor slogans within the Green Movement. The reason for this lack is that the protests have revolved around the right to vote, elections, human rights, and freedom. It is not true that workers have not participated in these spontaneous movements.
The next issue is that working class demands do not have the possibility of being directly manifested in the society. On the one hand, the present political situation has limited workers through suppressing their organizations. On the other hand, the leaders of the Green Movement have not yet expressed a strong interest in raising their issues.
The very fact that the question has been raised and is being asked by you reveals the fact of workers' presence in the movement. It is not true that there has been a lack of participation by workers per se. However, it is clear that labor issues have not found an organic expression in the slogans of the Green Movement.
Sohrab Behbad ger också en skarp analys av sanktionernas påverkan på den gröna rörelsens möjligheter att utvecklas i en riktning som möjliggör krav på social och ekonomisk rättvisa i det iranska samhället.
Many also say that if workers join the movement and a general strike takes place, the movement will be complete. How objective is this view, which takes its example from the last months of the Pahlavi regime? After 30 years of repression and the use of force, do the proper context and means for a general strike by workers exist in our society?
A large portion of Iran's workers work for the government, the Pasdaran [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], and the foundations. In Mr. Karroubi's words, we cannot speak of freedom for workers in a society in which the employers are the Pasdaran. We need to speak in terms of the existing reality in Iran. At this time, the possibility and context [for a general strike] do not exist for the working class.
What we need to realize is that if the current economic situation worsens, and the "plan for targeted monetary subsidies" is enforced, the buying power of millions will decrease. This will have repercussions.
Läs intervjun här!
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