Author Archives: shahrokhlives

The FT Iran Summit on March 9th 2016 is aimed at giving British capitalists more access to Iran’s economy. Currently British trade and investment in Iran is not only dwarfed by Germany, France and Italy, but is even lagging behind the United States!

This summit, with Exploring Opportunity and Risk in a Potential Economic Powerhouse as its subtitle, is meant to boost trade with Iran through discussions and networking between politicians and business leaders from both countries. A whole range of representatives of the Iranian regime, e.g., H. E. Mohammad Nahavandian (Head of the Presidential Office and Chief of Staff, Islamic Republic of Iran), Peyman Ghorbani Aghilabadi (Vice Governor, Economic Affairs, Central Bank of Iran) and many Iranian capitalists (e.g., Peyman Kargar, CEO of Renault Pars) will be hobnobbing with British capitalists and Tories like Sajid Javid and the pro-Pinochet Norman Lamont.

According to Norman Lamont, Britain’s trade envoy to Iran, “Iran is the world’s biggest emerging market since the collapse of the Soviet Union 25 years ago.” Given that this is the same Norman Lamont who in October 1998 was General Pinochet’s most vociferous supporter (after Margaret Thatcher), when the Chilean dictator was detained in Britain, we know for certain that he will never bring up the issues of political executions, political prisoners, detention without trial, torture and other abuses that sustain the dictatorship in Iran.

More specifically, we do not expect the likes of Norman Lamont (or Sajid Javid) to let the rights of Iranian workers to form independent trade unions and the right to strike, or women’s equal treatment by the state and society, or the rights of national and religious minorities, or Afghan refugees, or any other oppressed layers in Iranian society, to come in the way of the multi-billion pound trade and investment deals that the capitalists of Britain and Iran are planning.

This summit costs £1295+VAT (i.e., £1554) to attend! The British “captains of industry” who go to it will be seeking to improve their chances of landing deals like the one for 118 Airbuses (worth €25bn) that was signed during Hasan Rohani’s European tour in January. Neither workers’ rights nor any other aspect of the Iranian regime’s repression came up during that trip! Similarly, in pursuit of big profits British capitalists and their Tory facilitators will be completely ignoring the rights of workers, women, national minorities or refugees, as well as the plight of the hundreds of political prisoners languishing in jail. They are not going to ask for the murder of jailed labour activists like Shahrokh Zamani to be investigated!

While nobody is against trade deals, particularly those involving investment, the transfer of technology, or restoring the production capacity of many industries, we think that these should not come at the cost of overlooking executions, torture, brutality and injustice that Iranian workers, women and other layers face daily. That is why we will be picketing outside the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone from 12:00 on March 9th 2016.

Long live independent workers’ organisations and the right to strike!
Investigate Shahrokh Zamani’s death!
Free all political prisoners now!
Iranian workers are not alone!

Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network
5 March 2016

Today, Tuesday, February 23rd 2016, comrades of the Workers’ Action Committee in Alborz province distributed leaflets in support of Amir Amirgholi, a political prisoner.

Amir Amirgholi, a former student activist and leftist political prisoner in No. 8 wing of Evin prison, was charged with “blasphemy”, “insulting the Supreme Leader”, “gathering and colluding to act against national security”, “disturbing public order by participating in illegal gatherings” and “propaganda against the system” by branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison. According to Article 134 of the Penal Code and the aggregation of crimes, a maximum of up to seven and a half years will have to be served in jail.

In such circumstances, the duty of defending Amir Amirgholi and other imprisoned labour activists undoubtedly falls on the shoulders of the vanguard of the movement. Due to dispersion and fragmentation within the movement, this support can only be tangible and serve its purpose if it returns confidence to the movement and jailed activists. This can only come about through “unity of action”.

The different tendencies in the movement can have their united action, such as distributing leaflets and posters and joint activities in various localities, by demanding the release of imprisoned activists such as Amir Amirgholi. Especially now, during the week that the Islamic Republic is advertising the sham elections, we can combine the “active boycott” of the elections with these activities.

Workers’ Action Committee has had activities during the boycott of the 2014 presidential election and the upcoming parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, including in Kermanshah, and we suggest that others also start activities in this context.

Workers’ Action Committee
23 February 2016

Photos and videos.

Republished from the Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network website.

On February 19, as part of the ‘active boycott’ of the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, a number of Workers’ Action Committee comrades put up posters in one of the busiest areas of Kermanshah (western Iran). These posters, featuring five political prisoners and Shahrokh Zamani, had earlier been suggested to the Committee for distribution.

Boycotting the elections does not mean staying at home, but that the election charade must actively be boycotted within the election campaign itself. Boycotting the elections is to continue the struggle and not a rest break. Active boycott of the elections is at the same time a method of struggle against passivity and pacifism. With their recent activity the Committee’s active comrades have demonstrated this matter. Let us build a broad united action on boycotting the elections by supporting political prisoners.

Photos sent by these comrades will be published.

Workers’ Action Committee

20 February 2016

Republished from the Iranian Workers’ Solidarity Network website

Photographs and video (in farsi) from the picket on 26 February in support of the active boycott of the Iranian elections and freedom for political prisoners.

February 11th: Trade Union leaders show support for workers struggling for free and independent Trade Unions in Iran. (at London Trade Union rally, protesting the anti-Trade Union Bill, see also Right To Strike campaign).

Liz Lawrence, National President, University & Colleges Union

Martin Powell-Davies, National Executive Committee member, National Union of Teachers