Recent events, including the deadly Saudi-backed terrorist attack on Sept. 22 against an Iranian military parade, emphasize the need for progressives in Canada to project a clear and principled stand on developments in Iran. People’s Voice urges popular and democratic movements in Canada to maintain solidarity with the struggles inside Iran for positive social and economic change, but without giving an inch to campaigns calling for outside military intervention and “regime change”.
The only protagonists of social change in Iran must be the heroic people of that country themselves, striving under extremely difficult conditions to improve their working and living standards, despite the repression used by theocratic leaders. We stand in solidarity with their struggles, which People’s Voice reports frequently. At the same time, remember that U.S. imperialism, the powerful backer of reactionary Islamic forces, has demonized the Islamic Republic of Iran for decades, making it difficult for many activists in Canada and the west to understand that the situation in that country is far more complex than the endless hell of fascist torture portrayed by the corporate media.
Genuine allies of the working class and people’s movements in Iran need to speak out strongly against war-mongering. One such case occurred recently in Vancouver and Surrey, where public forums about the dangerous threat of war against Iran were interrupted by people who tried (but failed) to close down the meetings, allegedly to show solidarity with the Iranian people. Those who echo the anti-Iran propaganda coming from the White House should understand that whipping up hatred against Iran simply plays into the hands of the regime in Teheran. Have they not grasped that U.S. plans to make Iran the next Iraq or Libya would only spell catastrophe for the Iranian people – not “liberation”?
