04.04.2007

Communist Students

This was the first NUS conference since Communist Students was founded last year and our intervention was limited, with only one delegate elected. We ran a stall, produced a hard-hitting leaflet and picked up recruits both for CS and HOPI.

We spoke (separately) to two SWP comrades from an Iranian background about HOPI. Comrade Hanif Leylabi claimed that our arguments for solidarity with opponents of the Iranian regime actually aided the US case for an attack and that by accepting the need for regime change (from below!) we would narrow down the anti-war movement in Britain and put off Iranian reformists. In contrast comrade Dominic Kavakeb from Essex University, a member of Campaign Iran's national committee, said that there were very few substantial differences between HOPI and Campaign Iran and that we should all get involved in the latter group.

It seems there is much confusion within the SWP camp on HOPI. Leading Scottish comrade Mike Gonzalez has actually signed the campaign's statement, while Rob Owen describes it as "third-campist bollocks".