01.11.2007

'Lie number five: Iran is undemocratic'

Extracts from Somaye Zadeh's speech, moving the main motion on Iran on behalf of Campaign Iran

Lie no 1: Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

The truth is: Iran is developing nuclear energy and it is well within its right to do so. ["¦]

Lie no 2: Iran is the world's no 1 state sponsor of terrorism.

This is based on the allegations that Iran is supporting terrorists in Iran. There is absolutely no evidence. ["¦] Iran's closest links are with the Iraqi government. Since the fall of Saddam, Iran and Iraq have signed 65 different agreements and the Iraqi PM has made a friendly visit to Teheran. We've seen allegations that Iran is supporting the Taliban. This is laughable. ["¦] The Iranian regime has opposed the Taliban from the start and have helped the US to overthrow them. Iran's strongest links are with the Afghan government and they have given aid to the Afghan government for £125 million for three projects.

Lie no 3: Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map.

What Ahmadinejad actually said was: "This occupying regime of Jerusalem should vanish from the pages of time." He was speaking at a historical conference and he was quoting ayatollah Khomeini. A few days Khomeini later said, "Iran never has and never will attack another country". And there is some truth in that, because Iran has not attacked another country in over 200 years.

Lie no 4: Iran is an anti-semitic country.

They say this on the basis of what Ahmadinejad said about the holocaust. The fact is that Iran has 25,000 Jews, the largest in the middle east outside of Israel. These Jews are very proud of their Iranian identity. They are identified in Iran's constitution as one of three religious minority groups who are free to pursue their religious practices. ["¦] And you have to compare that to a group like the Baha'is who do not even get recognition as a religion. 

Lie no 5: Iran is an undemocratic and repressive country.

It is true that there are restrictions on who can stand in elections and parliament has been dropped by the unelected guardian council. But despite that, both the current president and his predecessor Khatami were voted in with overwhelming popular support.

[Heckles] Khatami was voted in with 82% of the vote, this is the kind of vote that George Bush can only dream of. Any problems in Iran can be and have been dealt with its own democracy movement. We have seen evidence in the films that have flourished in recent years that have won awards around the world. There has also been a flourishing of magazines, newspapers, theatres, books, arts and websites ["¦]

Other aspects of Iranian society are not so black and white either. We've all heard Ahmadinejad talking about homosexuals, but at the same time as homosexuality is not allowed, Iran does allow sex changes and in fact the average number of sex changes in Iran is seven times that than in the whole of Europe.

[In reply to heckles:] I am an Iranian, I have not been able to travel to Iran for over 25 years, my parents are human rights activists. The fact is, Iran is being demonised, because they want to attack it. Iran is not the dark dinghy place that it is being portrayed as in the media. [Lots of clapping from SWPers]

In the case of the women, the situation is not so black and white either. Whilst there are restrictions and nobody is denying that, the literacy rate amongst women is 98%. And 64% of university students are women. This is unparalleled in the Middle East and beyond. [Lots of clapping from SWPers]. Female life expectancy is 104% - that's equivalent to the west. Iran has the only squad of female firefighters anywhere in the middle east. It has had a female champion race car driver. There are female lawyers, MPs and judges.

If you want to compare some figures in the countries in the region:  Women hold 4% of the seats in parliament - this is almost equivalent to Turkey's 4.4%. And female professional and technical workers are 32.9% of the total "“ in South Korea this is 33.7%. These are the figures that we are not told in the media.

Most of it is down to the Iranian women's ability to fight and the democracy movement that they are a part of. Women in Iran are to the democracy movement what the Muslims are to the anti-war movement here: the most militant and the most discriminated again. It is no coincidence that the only Muslim woman to win a Nobel Peace price is Iranian: Shirin Ebadi.

We inside Campaign Iran have made links with the democracy movement, because this is the best way of publicising that not all Iranians are hardliners like Ahmadinejad. Also, if they want to talk about regime change "“ Iranian people can deliver their own regime change through the democracy movement.

'People are confused already'

Extracts from Abbas Edalat's speech, speaking against the CPGB's motion (no 20)

We have to stay united and focussed in a disciplined way. This motion is divisive. Seamus Milne in his excellent speech has referred to Iran as an anti-imperialist state and he reflects the position of the British Labour movement and the protest movement. To say that the Iranian republic is not anti-imperialist is divisive. [lots of clapping].

We should not take any position on the nature of the Iranian government or internal matters in Iran. This will exclude a prominent figure like Seamus Milne. The best support we can give the people in Iran is what we are doing now: to remove the threat against Iran.

Let us not forget that the democracy movement after two landslide victories by Khatami was making gigantic advances. And see what happens: George W Bush declared Iran a part of the axis of evil.

We must stay completely focussed. The problem with saying both 'Don't attack Iran' and 'Oppose the Islamic republic' is that it waters down our main message. Put yourself into the shoes of an ordinary member of the public. If you tell him 'Don't attack Iran, but it is a vicious repressive regime', he gets confused. He's already confused by the massive demonisation of Iran. By saying that it is vicious, repressive government you are playing into the hands of the warmongers.

When I speak to Iranian people, for example on Iranian TV, I clearly say, support the democracy movement. But this works only in Iran, not to the western media.