28.03.1996

Lessons of Iran

Last Wednesday Brent Socialist Forum held a meeting to commemorate the anniversary of the Iranian revolution, attended by over 20 comrades.       

The majority of comrades at the meeting were from Iran and had connections with various organisations, such as the Iranian Refugee Workers’ Association and Tufan - a Maoist organisation - so there was a lively exchange of ideas and many experiences to draw upon. Socialist Outlook were also a welcome addition to the Forum.

The speaker was comrade Arman Arani from the Organisation of Revolutionary Workers of Iran (Rahe Kargar), an organisation which has a long and proud history of resistance to the Islamic regime in Tehran.

Arman outlined the origins of the Iranian revolution, which saw millions of workers on the streets demanding the overthrow of the corrupt Shah and the introduction of a democratic political system. The comrade analysed the factors which quickly led to the revolution’s destruction and to the triumph of counterrevolution. The revolution failed to consolidate itself, according to the comrade, because all the revolutionary groups were - in essence - just very small groups which had no real ‘organic’ links with the working class. Disastrously, the leftwing groups were divided along ideological grounds, which weakened them immeasurably.

Arman outlined his theories of a ‘non-ideological’ party, in which unity is not based on adherence to a particular theory. All revolutionaries who accept the programme and fight to put it into action are welcome. This was a major lessons of the Iranian revolution - and the collapse of the Soviet Union tool

Eddie Ford