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Anti-Empire
The SakerA bird's eye view of the vineyard
Public InquiryInterested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
Human Rights in IrelandPromoting Human Rights in Ireland |
War Will Hurt The Genuine Social Movement Of The Iranian people international |
anti-war / imperialism |
opinion/analysis
 Wednesday November 30, 2011 13:53 by pat c
 A Statement By A Group Of Activists From Inside Iran 1. Wars have been the most terrifying phenomena people have confronted since the istant past. In our society, millions of Iranians have been living under the ominous shadow of the eight-year war with Iraq. The reminiscences of air raid sirens, damp shelters, overnight power cuts, nameless bodies, severed limbs, mothers who lost their children, children who lost their fathers, famine and hunger, homeless refugees and dozens of other frightening pictures at the back or forefront of our minds, vividly or vaguely, whether like a nightmare or a constant fear, is weighing down on everyone of us. 2. In the last years, the mainstream media have tried to downgrade wars to computer games and their visual expressions. A red point starts to blink on the radar screen of NATO modern fighter jets, then there is an apparently small explosion; this is the picture inculcated into the audience by these media. But the reality is more repulsive and bloody; certainly, the story is not the explosion of one red point on the radar screen of a fighter jet; it is about a family sitting at the dinner table in Tripoli, or the tired soldiers who are forced to be in an army center in Baghdad, or a school in Yugoslavia where children are studying , or a local market, lively and crowded, in a Kabul neighborhood, ... or every other thing in which life was going on until last moments and now has turned into ashes. We have to put this ugly reality before their very eyes more clearly than before, to reveal the obnoxiousness of war. 3. Wars, with any kind of excuses behind them, are blameworthy. Neither did democracy come out of the cannons of "the allied forces against Iraq", nor did human rights fly over Tripoli on the NATO fighter planes, nor was freedom achieved for Afghans through American long distance missiles. Under these circumstances and with regards to the past experiences, we will not accept any war, under no name and on no condition, while a radical and widespread movement is developing throughout the world including the region and Iran. Military intervention is an excuse in the hands of undemocratic states to take advantage of these conditions; by calling the situations critical, they suppress the popular movements and their requests and demands more severely. A simple comparison between Iraq and Afghanistan experiences with those of Tunisia and Egypt will reveal the reality to us. 4. The essential nature of the movement of the Iranian people in the past few years have been based on this basic principle that the people inside Iran want to determine their own destiny on the objective scene of their struggle; they do not want any power from outside or inside to be their guardian and decide for them. Therefore, any kind of foreign interference, and in particular military intervention, stands against this principle. All, with any name and in any position, who clap for NATO or American fighters, will not have a place among the people of Iran and they must be frankly told that their policy has gotten separated from the Iraians' interests. Air raid sirens are started up by those who know will have no place in the future; the future which will be made by the ability and power of the Iranian people after their struggle process. Yes only those who lose hope of people 's power to change their own fate and seek their life in "creating crisis" will hail the war. 5. Nevertheless, the Iranian people welcome the support and help from peace activists, freedom fighters, and progressives all around the world, from Wall Street and European Streets to the Arab countries. The Iranians see themselves along with all the other people who fight for freedom and equality and struggle to make "another world". Signatures: Younes Absalan (Author & Director), Reza Asadabadi (Journalist), Amirabbas Azarmvand (Political Activist), Kamal Athari (Economist), Mehrnous Etemadi (Civil rights Activist), Amir Amirgholi (Human rights Activist), Maryam Amiri (Translator), Maryam Amiri (Women rights Activist), Mohammad Amini (Political Activist), Shahla Entesari (Social Activist), Elnaz Ansari (Journalist), Ayda Orang (Journalist), Soulmaz Ikdar (Journalist), Mphammad javad Bastanikia (Economist), Khosrow Bagheri (Translator), Emad Borgheiee (Social Activist), Manouchehr Basir (Author), Cimin Behbahani (Poet), Sahand Banikamali (Researcher), Nasim Banikamali (Civil rights Acrivist), Bababk Pakzad (Translator), Hadi Pakzad (Journalist), Mohsen Parizad (Social Activist), Yashar Pourkhameneh (Social Activist), Hayedeh Tabesh (Civil rights Activist), Alireza Jabbari (Author), Hamid Jafari (Poet), Esmaeel Jalilvand (Social Activist), Peymane Jamshidi (Author), Nozhat Hadefi Semnani (Social Activist), Aydin Halalzadeh (Social Activist), Nahid Kheirabi (Journalist), Minou Habibi (Children rights Activist), Saeed Hasan zade (Political Activist), Okhtay Hosseini (Civil rights Activist), Vahid Halaj (Social Activist), Mojgan Hamzelou (Civil rights Activist), Mahin Khadivi (Publisher), Mazdak Daneshvar (Journalist), Rouzbeh Dorneshan (Social Activist), Taraneh Rad (Social Activist), Parvaneh Rad (Social Activist), Fariborz Raeesdana (Economist), Kaveh Rezaeeshiraz (Civil rights Activist), Sadegh Rezaeegiglou (Social Activist), Zohreh Rouhi (Researcher), Golnaz Rouhi (Cultural Activism), Mohammadali Radjaee (Author), Ardeshir Zareie ghanavati (Journalist), Nasser Zarafshan (Lawyer), Maryam Zandi (Civil rights Activist), Kaveh Sarmast (Economist), Hesam Salamat (Translator), Saeed Soltani (Poet), Mirjavad Seyyedhosseini (Translator), Rouhi Shafiee (Author), Sadegh Shakib (Social Activist), Fouad Shams (Journalist), Parvaneh Shemirani (Social Activist), Saeed Shirzad (Social Activist), Khosrow Sadeghi Boroujeni (Researcher), Seyed ali Salehi (Poet), Mazir Salehi (Social Activist), Vahid Sabaghi (Civil rights Activist), Parviz Sedaghat (Researcher), Seyed Mohammad Sardorgharavi (Researcher), Ciamak Taheri (Journalist), Kazem Taheri (Social Activist), Morteza Taheri (Economist), Mostafa Taheri (Cultural Activist), Pouyesh Azizedin (Civil rights Activist), Afshin Azizi (Photographer), Yasser Azizi (Social Activist), Ali Atapour (Economist), Mohammad ali Amouyi (Political Activist), Mohammad Ghaznavian (Social Activist), Kazem Farajollahi (Labour Activist), Azadeh Forghani (Social Activist), Milad Fadaie Asl (Reporter), Niusha Fadaie (Teacher), Sadegh Faghirzadeh (Political Activist), Noushin Keshavarznia (Women Rights Activist), Kimya Kouros (Children Rights Activist), Rouzbeh Gorji Bayani (Social Activist), Mohammad Maljou (Economist), Maryam Mahbub (Editor), Mehdi Mahmoudi (Political Activist), Saeed Madani (Social Researcher), Samira Moradi (Journalist), Farshid Moghadam Salimi (Social Activist), Monije Monajem Araghi (Author), Pejman Mousavi (Journalist), Vahide Molavi (Women rights Activist), Mohtaram Mirabdollahyani (Publisher), Nahid Mirhaj (Women rights Activist), Shiva Nazarahari (Civil Activist), Arshia Nouri (Social Activist), Amir Nima (Social Activist), Lobat Vala (Poet), Elham Houminfar (Civil rights Activist), Amir Yaghoubali (Civil rights Activist), Ahmad Yousefpour (Social Activist), Enayat Yousefpour (Social Activist), Monavar Yousefpour (Social Activist). |
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Comments (10 of 10)
Jump To Comment: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Joe is just smearing HOPI. HOPI clearly opposes imperialism and opposed any NATO intervention in Libya just as it does in Iran. Read HOPI articles and visit the site. Don't be taken in by lies peddled by trolls like joe.
Precisely , the HOPI policy is defence of "the people of Iran" ,but not defence of Iran itself. The motion calling for the unconditional defence of Iran from imperialist attack was overwhelmingly defeated at HOPI Ireland’s founding conference. Defence of the Iranian people was ok , but defence of Iran itself amounted to defence of Iran’s “cruel regime”. Hopi equates Iran the historic nation with its religious rulers , thereby making the oil-rich nation indefensible for opponents of what HOPI in 2008 was still referring to as "the Islamo-fascist mullah regime " .
In other words , HOPI substitutes a vaguely-defined “people of Iran ” which can be defended , at the expense of Iran itself and its sovereign rights , which can't be defended . We saw how that HOPI line worked out in practice.in Libya recently when "defence of the people of Libya” against their “tyrannical ruler” became the policy of the IAWM - and NATO . Hands Off Iran !
An Afgahni parent sees his child die in a drone attack, looks to the sky and praises god for American democracy .
"War always hurts the local people when a democracy demolishes a dictatorship" .............Yankee fighter
I think the poster could rephrase that slightly to read :
"American democracy always murders local children when the US wants to steal another country’s resources ". American democracy is killing freedom in far away places today to protect the future of American democracy ?
Yankee fighter is probably some nerd sitting behind a command screen in Arizona firing off drones into an Afghan village and fantasizing about nuking Iran - while wearing USAF camouflage of course . I often wondered by the way why the American air force get their personnel to wear the type of blue and grey camouflage gear that makes them hard to see against the sky . The people-sorry the terrorists- trying to shoot them down would be aiming at the plane and not the individual airman inside the plane , I would have thought.
This is the relevant section of the motion which was adopted at the 2008 HOPI conference.
Motion to Conference submitted by Socialist Democracy. Kevin Keating introduced the following motion. After a discussion it was agreed that the motion would in voted on in four parts. The motion was adopted as amended.
(i) The policy of HOPI is the unconditional defence of Iran from imperialist attack.
Amended to read: The policy of HOPI is the unconditional defence of the people of Iran from imperialist attack
(ii) The Islamic regime does not represent a genuine anti-imperialist opposition and viciously oppresses the Iranian working class. HOPI aims to provide political support to the workers in their struggles against imperialism and fundamentalism.
Fundamentalism was replaced with Theocracy
As you can see the SD motion clearly said (before any amendment) : The Islamic regime does not represent a genuine anti-imperialist opposition and viciously oppresses the Iranian working class.
There will be continuing attempts to misrepresent the position of HOPI. Ask yourself whop benefits from this.
An article which shows what HOPI stands for:
Statement from HOPI: War on Iran has Started
... The Obama administration would have been encouraged in this by recent developments in the Iranian opposition movement. A pro-war/anti-war-pro-sanctions debate is now dominating Iranian political discourse generally and has engendered a split into two major trends in this opposition. First there are those such as Mohammad Khatami who totally oppose the war, despite their criticisms of the regime. However, this does not flow from any sort of principled or consistently democratic position; rather, it is inspired by nationalism. Khatami has called for “national unity” in the face of this crisis and offers the supreme leader advice about ‘changing course’.
Far more worrying has been the significant section of the opposition (including some who could be politically designated as ‘soft left’, but mainly composed of liberals) who appear to be almost egging the Americans to launch a military strike. The example of the Nato bombing of Libya is looked to by these forces as a positive example of ‘humanitarian intervention’. Although there does not appear to be the appetite in Washington for air strikes, the US’s ally in the region, Israel, remains politically unstable and bellicose: witness the recent statement by Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak that “We do not expect any new UN sanctions on Tehran to persuade it to stop its nuclear defiance. We continue to recommend to our friends in the world and to ourselves not to take any option off the table.”
The stance of Hands Off the People of Iran is crystal-clear. We implacably oppose the sabre-rattling of the imperialists and demand that all sanctions on the country are lifted, that all threats of military action be rescinded. We call for this not because we have any illusions in the loathsome regime in Iran. It starves its own people; it denies them basic human rights; it endangers their lives through its elaborate games of brinkmanship with the US and its powerful allies. Unlike some politically demented leftists, we say that nuclear weapons in its hands would be a defeat for the forces of democracy and radical social change, as well as a profoundly destabilising development in the region.
No, we oppose the warmongering - whether it takes the hard form of assassinations, threats of military action, or the ‘soft’ option of sanctions - because we do not have any illusions in the loathsome regimes in place in Washington, London or Tel Aviv either. The intervention of these powers and their allies has nothing whatsoever to do with the promotion of ‘democracy’ - indeed, the regimes the imperialists impose often have features that are significantly worse than the previous team of oppressors of the people. Hopi insists that democracy can only come in Iran from below - from the struggles of the workers’, women’s and students’ movements. It will never fall from the sky in the tip of a US or Israeli bunker-buster. ...
http://www.hopi-ireland.org/c/statement-hopi-war-iran-h...arted
War always hurts the local people when a democracy demolishes a dictatorship.
The socialist democracy link I gave in the last comment is broken . You can read John Throne's report of the HOPI founding conference here: http://www.socialistdemocracy.org/News&AnalysisIreland/....html
Ok, said the CIA man we'll keep our hands off the people of Iran and Libya , but that doesn't include the oil in either of those two countries , right? We'll let the Iranian people decide what to with the Iranian regime just like we let the Libyan people decide what to do with the regime of Colonel Gadaffi........
AnDD wrote: We can only hope that the cheerleaders for Nato, who pose as left wing parties and anti-war movements in Ireland, will read it carefully, and think before they leap - next time the Anglo-Saxons decide to destroy a country for their own profit.
Please note carefully the carefully chosen name of the group that Ms Mather leads . It is Hands Off the People Of Iran , not Hands Off Iran . HOPI supports ”the people of Iran” from the Anglo-Saxons as well as from what it describes as the Islamo-fascist mullah regime .But since its inception , HOPI Ireland has categorically rejected defence of the national rights of Iran.
The Socialist Democracy (SD) group reported on its website in 2008 that its members attended the HOPI Ireland launch meeting in Dublin where they put forward the following motion :
“The policy of HOPI is the unconditional defence of Iran from imperialist attack”.
According to the SD website report, the motion was overwhelmingly voted down because it was felt by the majority of the conference that such a defence of Iran against imperialist attack implied support for the Iranian regime. John Thorn who reported the conference for SD wrote: “ Most of the HOPOI baulked at the prospect of supporting Iran in a conflict with imperialism, arguing that this implied support for the regime.” http://www.socialistdemocracy.org/RecentArticles/Recent....html
I would like to follow this up with you because I respect your position on Muammar Gadhafi, defence of gadhafi
With Iran and Israel it is not what we like, we do not any of us like war, but I see it as inevitable that Israel will find some way to strike the Iranian nuclear (whatever they believe is there)
And I am on the side of Israel. I base this on my reading of all of the verbal threats made by Iran against Israel.
I do not take threats lightly and I do not expect Israel to, with their history
A very good statement. We can only hope that the cheerleaders for Nato, who pose as left wing parties and anti-war movements in Ireland, will read it carefully, and think before they leap - next time the Anglo-Saxons decide to destroy a country for their own profit.
Interview with Yassamine Mather of "Hands off the People of Iran"
http://tv.thestruggle.org/node/590
Audio file of TV interview (Farsi) is also on line on Rahe Kargar:
http://www.radiotvrahekargar.de/rd/11/11/28/m28nov.ram