Independent Media Centre Ireland     http://www.indymedia.ie

Iran: Islamist, Socialist Revolutions Don't Mix Says Aleida Guevara

category international | anti-capitalism | other press author Thursday October 04, 2007 14:30author by pat c

The Iranian Junta attempted to use the daughter and son of Che to whip up support for the Islamists and to do down Socialism. This backfired spectacularly when Aleida Guevara made it clear that Che was a Communist and an Atheist.

An attempt to rope in the son and daughter of the Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara to forge a parallel between Iran’s Islamist revolution and the socialist revolution in Latin America through a four-day conference has ended in fiasco. After Aleida Guevara protested from the podium against perceived distortions of her father’s ideology by the first Iranian speaker, Haj Saeed Ghasemi, the four-day ‘Che Like Chamran’ conference, that started Sep. 25, was aborted and the Latin American guests whisked away.
Aleida Guevara
Aleida Guevara

"The people of Cuba, Fidel (Casro) and Che Guevara were never socialists or communists. Fidel has several times admitted that he and Che and the people of Cuba hated the Soviets for all they had done. Today communism has been thrown into the trash bin of history as it was predicted by Ayatollah Khomeini," Ghasemi told the conference and added that the only way to save the world was through the ‘’the religious, pro-justice movement’’.

An indignant Aleida, however, started her own address "in the name of the people of Cuba". "We are a socialist nation," she asserted. She advised him to "always refer to original sources instead of translations to find out about Che Guevara’s beliefs. My father never talked about God. He never met God. My father knew there was no absolute truth. "

At a meeting later with students of Amir Kabir University of Technology, where the leftist groups are particularly strong, Camilo Guevara told students he approved of all that his sister had said at the conference, ISNA reported.


Full story at:

Related Link: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39503

Comments (31 of 31)

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author by iosafpublication date Thu Oct 04, 2007 23:58author address author phone

Felix Ismael Rodriguez born 1941 Cuba, granted US citizenship 1969 [alias Máximo Gómez, codename Lazarus] was officer in charge of the unit who arrested Ernesto Che Guevara. He admitted under oath in cross-examination during a 2004 trial of a fellow CIA SOA agent that he was guilty of the human rights violation which saw Che Guevara murdered & mutilated on the 9th of October 1969, the presiding judge decided on that basis to disallow his testimony in defence of that other agent. He has since made quite a thing about it, here's a transcript of a 2005 interview :-
http://www.canf.org/2005/1es/ensayos/2005-ago-19-el-gue...s.htm
Felix Rodriguez is still alive, received further military decorations in South Vietnam & dedicates himself to anti-communist propaganda, campaigned against John Kerry in 2004 and as of 2005 is chairman of the board of the "bay of pigs" museum as well as being president of the Bay of Pigs veterans.
http://www.bayofpigsmuseum.org/felix_rodriguez.html

Rodriguez led the group of Bolivian soldiers who then drew lots after the last photo was taken of Che Guevara with the CIA agent so as to decide who would fire the fatal shot. Mario Teran, a Bolivian army sergeant, drew the short straw & Che Guevara. The group then mutilated the corpse firing shots into the limbs.

Now Mario Teran has availed of a life saving heart operation which is only possible thanks to Health care & grants provided by Cuba throughout South America. For many years now both Cuba & China have exported doctors & medical equipment to the continent offering services which would otherwise be impossible.

The news report from the BBC ought allay any further insistence by "sceptic" that the CIA were not involved with the murder of Che. IT's like this. I've said they were & offered you a copy of the debriefing & the last photo of Che with life, perhaps not as snuffish as the last picture of Diana Spencer & her entourage with life, or even as repugnant as the last photo of an unknown monk in Burma ( http://indymedia.ie/article/84304#comment207596 )

________________________

......"The operation on Mr Teran took place last year and was first revealed when his son wrote to a Bolivian newspaper to thank the Cuban doctors for restoring his father's sight. But Cuban media took up the story at the weekend as the island prepares for commemorations to mark Che Guevara's death 40 years ago. "Four decades after Mario Teran attempted to destroy a dream and an idea, Che returns to win yet another battle," the Communist Party's official newspaper Granma proclaimed. "Now an old man, he [Teran] can once again appreciate the colours of the sky and the forest, enjoy the smiles of his grandchildren and watch football games.".........

read it all :-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7023706.stm

author by observerpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 09:52author address author phone

PIty they can't restore the tens of thousands of people murdered by Che before he went off on his mad adventure.

BTW, mutilation gives the impression that Guevara was tortured while alive. He was not. More than can be said for many many of his victim in the Isle of Pines and elsewhere. Nice tee shirt, shame about the reality of the man it represents and seeks to canonise.

author by Observantpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:38author address author phone

"PIty they can't restore the tens of thousands of people murdered by Che before he went off on his mad adventure"

Yes, it is a pity that medical science hasn't reached the level of being able to bring non-existent people back to life. Go off now and spin your fairy tales somewhere else. Maybe try reading some of the scholarly biographies of Guevara by Jon Lee Anderson and others and see if they find any evidence to back up the hysterical claims of the Cuban exiles - I'm afraid it's a case of projection on their part, they would have murdered tens of thousands of people if they had been restored to power in 1961 so they project that desire onto their enemy.

author by Gwenpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 15:07author address author phone

She has an interesting view on history as do some others here but back to the real world today............

Real socialist leaders who are standing up to the US and Israel support Iran in this time of danger when propaganda against it is being generated from US/UK/Israeli supporters worldwide. It's hardly surprising some of these propaganda agents are nesting within so-called 'Communist' groupings.

Real Socialists love Iran
Real Socialists love Iran

author by pat cpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 15:14author address author phone

Are you suggesting that Ms Guevara is a US Agent? Do you think that she should have supported the speaker that claimed Che was a communist?

Real socialists oppose all US aggression against Iran but they also support Iranian Workers, Women and Socialists who are struggling to overthrow the Theocratic Iranian Dictatorship.

If you support a workers right to strike in Ireland then you should also support it in Iran.

If you oppose the death penalty in the USA then you should also oppose it in Iran.

author by observerpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 15:21author address author phone

I'm glad you find the murder of people by a totalitarian regime - every bit as bad as Iran - amusing. A state that locks up gay men and won't let people use the internet! Some legacy.

author by pat cpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 15:37author address author phone

Cuba does not lock up gay men. It did so in the past and admits its errors. It never at any stage executed people because of their orientation. Cuba would now br more LGBT friendly than the US.

I

author by observerpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 16:22author address author phone

Nice of them to stop one barbaric practise. Elections and internet access and free travel should be just around the corner. BTW, the generally accepted (not "right wing" exile) estimate of executions in Cuba since 1959 is around 20,000.

author by pat cpublication date Fri Oct 05, 2007 17:06author address author phone

Its not so long ago that gaymen were imprisoned in the US. Some States still have laws which outlaw gay activity.

I dont believe that Cuba is by any means a perfect society. I think its wrong that someone should be imprisoned for insulting the President or for setting up an "illegal" website. I'm on the record here before making these criticisms.

Where do you get your figure of 20,000 executions?

I would say that a lot of the problems are due to the US economic blockade of cuba, more are due to the CIA financing terror attacks by Batistaite exiles. These attacks have killed more than 3,500 Cuban citizens. The vast majority of the attacks are on civilian targets.

author by pat cpublication date Sat Oct 06, 2007 18:56author address author phone

Statements by various people regarding what Che means to them. Comments in full at the link

I consider Che Guevara to be one of the greatest personalities of the 20th century, and one of those who has most influenced my personal values. My ideas about independence, equality and social justice might not be quite as utopian as those of Che's generation, but essentially they are the same.
Juan de Marcos González, founder of the Buena Vista Social Club and musical director of DM Ahora! Records

As a liberal democrat, I would have to take a largely negative view of Che Guevara. To achieve his ends he was brutal. But as an observer of modern history, the tenacity of Che Guevara's image is amazing to me. In my novel I speculated that Che Guevara would return to create a "radical republic" in Cuba, a third way between the corrupted capitalism of America and the corrupted communism of Cuba.
Gary Hart, former US presidential candidate and author of I, Che Guevara

Morales, a former coca farmer, holds up Guevara as his example to follow: "Che realised that the only way to resolve the social/ economic problems in the world is through socialism, he realised that equality is collectivism," he says. "We have to try to redistribute wealth to the people and we have to recover our natural resources. Bolivia is not going to be the poorest country in Latin America for long."
Evo Morales, Bolivia's president

Evo Morales
Evo Morales

Related Link: http://www.newstatesman.com/200710040027
author by Gwenpublication date Sat Oct 06, 2007 22:26author address author phone

Yes indeed Pat, what a man Che was. I like Morales too. Great guys.

Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has pledged to invest $1 billion in Bolivia over the next five years. La Paz and Tehran established diplomatic relations recently and Evo Morales pledged that Bolivia and Iran, "will work together from this day on, for our people, for life and for humanity."

President Hugo Chávez recently embraced the Iranian president, calling him "one of the greatest anti-imperialist fighters" and "one of the great fighters for true peace." Yet you Pat cannot see anthing good about the Iranian Government.

What would Che say!

Morales - "Iran is doing great work fighting  American Imperialism"
Morales - "Iran is doing great work fighting American Imperialism"

Morales - "Ahmadinejad is our friend"
Morales - "Ahmadinejad is our friend"

Morales - "We will fight alongside Iran until victory"
Morales - "We will fight alongside Iran until victory"

author by Gwenpublication date Sat Oct 06, 2007 22:33author address author phone

This is a picture of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posing in front of a large picture of Che Guevara.

Ahmadinejad honour Che Guevara
Ahmadinejad honour Che Guevara

author by stylistpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 00:17author address author phone

Achieving the Che look is really a matter of going to any high street store & buying a t-shirt or badge (button as they're called for American readers). This will immediately identify you to all your friends as a South American who motorbiked across the continent as a medical student & led a revolution. Of course you don't need to know that. You'll probably spend anything between 1€ for a badge, 10€ - 15€ for a t-shirt & for the more label conscious,luxury Che icon wear can be a steep - anything up to 500$.
Less chav or stinking rich fans of the Che look will chose the inexpensive scraggy beard growth and unkempt hair & army surplus jacket. An army surplus jacket could be yours for anything between 20€ and 50€ depending on whether it is taser proof & has original bullet holes or opium smoking burns.
A word of advice to the gentlemen with red or blonde beards & also the more mature men whose natural tones have turned to grey - you'd be best applying some cheap tint or dye to your scraggy beard on a regular basis which will mean a maintainance cost of about 5€ every time your roots show too much & you less "Che" like & more like a member of the traditional folk band "the Dubliners" or an out of work Viking re-enactment actor.
The Ladies might consider avoiding the Che beard look & simply go for the green t-shirt with a red star and some vaguely ripped stocking tights on their arms and of course piercings. hmmmmmm.
she looks nothing like Che but he wouldn't have overlooked her after a hard day's outreach.

The Ahmadinejad look is infinitely cheaper, wearable, practical in most weathers & will not only get you through customs but help you assume an air of computer science knowhow. You'll never be short of pals then. The only drawback with the Ahmadinejad jacket is it requires a good dry cleaners. You might need to include anything from 40€ to 100€ a year depending on how skuzzy you get & how skuzzy is too skuzzy for you. You can get an "ahmadinejad anorak" for only 5$ according to Iran news who reported or invented a story from Aftab an Iranian website which said "clothing manufacturers in Iran have begun marketing a new style of jacket, referred to as Ahmadinejad Windbreakers. Around the old bazaar in the south and central Tehran, street vendors selling these jackets can be heard sounding off: “We got Ahmadinejad jackets, Ahmadinejad jackets over here.” The jackets are only $5" http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/008669.html

Of course the true style of the street is what the individual makes for themselves, to stand out from the crowd. Surely no-one would forget seeing a lad or ladette in an ahmadinejad jacket with piercings, dubliner beard & che badges. Yes indeed. surely they won't. There they shall say galivants a cool dude - where's me yashmak?

author by Barry - 32 csmpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 00:40author address author phone

Asides from this one news source (ipsnews) Ive googled for an account of the Cuban Iranian summit and can find no mention of Che Guevaras daughter being whisked off a stage by seething mullahs . The few sources which carry this tale rely solely on this ipsnews account and quote directly from it.
Personally Im astounded that the Iranians would react with such horror to the news that a world reknowned communist didnt worship allah . Youd think someone might have pointed this out to them before they invited ms Guevara to Tehran .
As regards an attempt to rope ms Guevara in to some dastardly mullah plot youd have thought maybe somebody wuld have told her in advance Iran was an Islamic country before she went . And that they were trying to use her fathers picture and legacy for some nefarious purpose . Sounds like she was just sitting on some stage in Tehran for the crack and then this conference was hurriedly organised around her without her prior consent or knowlege , merely as show for the cameras .
Dear God what was the woman doing in Tehran . Surely not attending a conference that sought to demonstrate similarities and solidarity between cuba and Iran ? Of course not because as the ipsnews story tells us Ms Guevara refused to be used for such a purpose .

so what was she there for then ?

Im also astounded that a daughter of Che Guevaras would meekly permit herself to be silenced in the manner the article suggests .

Which brings us to an Iranian/Iraqi/American conundrum .
Solidarity between the international revolutionary left and Iran presents particular problems for one group of people , the Peoples Mujahideen . They are an Iranian exile group that tried to blend socialist and islamic principles . Thay allied themselves with saddam hussein during his US inspired attack on the Iranian republic and until Iraq was invaded maintained bases there , where saddam supplied them with tanks , guns and of course lots and lots of money which also propped up a european network. In the run up to the Iraq invasion the various governemnts accross europe went nuclear on the grouping . They were basically put out of business in france , germany and belgium . Millions upon millions of euro was seized .After the loss of their benefactor the group were seriously up shit street .

Seemingly until recently that is as theyve upped their political activity and propaganda to a previouisly unseen level in the european capitals where they were smashed just a few years ago . And here in Ireland as well , touring bars in west belfast as well accross europe in the company of local leftist individuals offering free trips abroad to young studenty types on condition they attend anti Iranian rallies . And of course theres no surprise at all where the finance is coming from and who their latest benefactors are . Sadly a group that once held some promise is nothing more than a willing tool of the CIA today . Id be interested in finding out if the ipsnews author has any connection to the Peoples Mujahideen grouping .

Im sorry , I seriously doubt the credibility of this tale and the ipsnews account . The other quotes from a variety of sources attributed to ms Guevara where she makes statements in support of the Iranian revolution while acknowleging the profound differences dont back up this account of her being "whisked away" and silenced . That a bi-lateral conference between 2 states exploring themes of solidarity between one another didnt utilise basic protocol and seek to smooth over problematic areas beforehand simply beggars belief . I doubt either the Iranians or the cubans are that stupid quite frankly . Their enemies would certainly like to portray them as such though .

author by Barry - 32 csmpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 01:08author address author phone

"Others, like New York City Democratic congressman Gary Ackerman, agree with that kind of "enemy of my enemy" approach. "I don't give a shit if they are undemocratic," he told the Voice. "OK, so the [MEK] is a terrorist organization based in Iraq, which is a terrorist state. They are fighting Iran, which is another terrorist state. I say let's help them fight each other as much as they want. Once they all are destroyed, I can celebrate twice over."

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0149,fard,30476,6.html

http://wopared.parl.net/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn43.htm

http://www.rediff.com/us/2003/apr/29iraq4.htm

As we speak the leftist governemnts of Venezuela , Bolivia, Cuba , Nicaragua and Ecuador have all moved simultaneously to establish firmer and cordial relationships with Iran . The yanks dont want these latin american governemnts , they dont want an alliance between these latin american countries themselves . Add an alliance with Iran into the equatyion and theyre going cuckoo . While theyve a foothold on Irans doorstep Iran now has a tentative toehold on theirs .

In such circumstances Ill fully expect more fantastic tales aimed at driving a wedge between such alliances .

author by Gwenpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 01:43author address author phone

The sole source of this story, ipsnews, is a little mysterious. No proper registration of the domain except a partial address: Via Panisperna 207, Rome 00184, ITALY.

SOCIETY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (SID)
http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/asp/form.asp?RegID=all...=1273

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:poJ-YPdK7TMJ:www.s...gl=ie

Ms Siobhan Kelly, Programme Officer Society for International Development ( SID )
http://www.landcoalition.org/events/ev03aomp.htm

http://www.ifad.org/ngo/events/2003/listfeb.htm

Some interesting names and addresses at their conferences. A lot of Embassy staff and UN offshoots. I suppose this stuff could be more closely associated with the Diplomatic Service and it's 'Cultural Attaches' (as the KGB used to call it) than some sort of quest for social justice.

The facts, apart from what these guys are putting out and what the likes of PatC are echoing, is that Aleida and Camilo Guevara were very happy to be in Teheran.

Aleida Guevara said she was glad to be able to visit Iran, adding, "We are here as representatives of Cuba to announce the solidarity of the Cuban nation with the people of Iran."

http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?N...fairs

author by Barry - 32 csmpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 01:57author address author phone

'Che would not only have approved our trip to Iran but also (would have) supported the country in its current struggle against the US,'

'There might be different cultures and different standpoints, but at the same time there are also common aspects which should be strengthened,' said Aleida Guevera, who just like Iranian women wore a long coat and scarf to hide her hair and body contour to conform to Islamic dress codes.

She gave as an example the sanctions imposed by the United States on Cuba for the last 45 years, and recent threats by Washington to expand sanctions against Iran through the United Nations Security Council over Tehran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.

'Although we (Cubans) are not as rich as Iran and have no oil, we nevertheless resisted for over four decades. I have learned that the Iranian nation is resistant, too, and that is a very important common point between our two nations,' she said.

Camilo called it a 'global necessity' to form an anti-US front -without regard to nationality, religion or race - a mission that is in line with his famous father's ideology and enthusiasm for exploring different countries and peoples.

'Since the revolution and the imposed sanctions, Cuba learned who the real enemies and the real friends are,' Aleida said. 'Iran is definitely one of Cuba's new friends.'

http://sonsofmalcolm.blogspot.com/2007/10/almeida-camil....html

author by Barrypublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 02:13author address author phone

the title of the conference was called " che like chamran" . How could Ms Guevara have had the slightest clue that the purpose of the conference was to compare her father with a martyred shia islamic activist ?
I suppose the confusion must have originated from the misleading title or something like that .

Im sure that explains it .

yup .

and oh look . This paris based Iranian website is carrying something rather familiar as its top story . same pic and all .

http://www.iran-press-service.com/ips/articles-2007/sep...shtml

author by Veilpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:57author address author phone

Do you think people would listen to her if she had worn a veil or is that a 'tad' naive. (?)

There is no 'Collectivism' in sexism- projecting and manipulating wealth and industry based
on masculinism and repression of the woman is doomed to failure- and Iran is as guilty as
the US of both the above.

author by Barrypublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 14:38author address author phone

I dont think they wear a veil in Iran , a simple headscarf is the usual custom . And it seems the iranians did listen to her and were very eager to listen to her , which is probably why they invited her to iran in the first place .

author by pat cpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 17:55author address author phone

You are a Republican & a Socialist. Given that I thought you would support the Iranian People against both US Imperialism and the Iranian Dictatorship which outlaws trade unions, bans strikes and bans all opposition parties, stones adulterous women to death and hangs gays.

There is nothing progressive about the Iranian Dictatorship. They are not anti-imperialist.

You can oppose US Imperialism and also support Iranian Workers, Women and Socialists by opposing the Iranian Junta.

author by Barry - 32 csmpublication date Sun Oct 07, 2007 19:15author address author phone

Pat you are fully entitled to your opinions and principles which i fully respect and probably agree with most of the time . However whatever the merits and demerits of Irans rulers its quite clear Che Guevaras daughter did not announce that "islamic and socialist revolutions do not mix " as the storys title suggests . Its also quite clear she and her brother did not travel from Cuba to Iran to denounce Islam , the Islamic revolution or the Iranian governemnt. The title of the piece therefore is gravely misleading .
The Guevaras mission to Iran was to promote solidarity , mutual understanding , mutual trade and mutual co-operation between the nations of the leftist bloc in latin and central america and the nation of Iran . We can safely include the struggling people of southern lebanon in there too who pretty much support Hizballah to the hilt .
The purpose of the conference they attended was to discuss the similiarities between Che guevara and fellow revolutionary martyr Mostafa Chamran as part of the discourse of revolutionary solidarity .
Therefore to state the Guevara siblings "refused to be roped in" to such a project , as the ISN article explicitly claims , is patently false . They travelled accross the globe from central america to the Persian Gulf ( during Ramadan) for the express purpose of participating in the promotion of that very project . The purpose of their personal presence was to give the Guevara seal of approval to Iranian resistance to imperialism during a period of very belligerent imperialism in the midlle east.
Its quite likely that had the zionists been victorious in their imperialist proxy war against Hizballah we would be on the very brink of imperialist war in Iran today . Iran is becoming pivotal in global resistance to imperialism , if it has not become so already .

Therefore if ones personal convictions dictate one must denounce the Iranian governemnt and support its overthrow whatver the circumstances , fair enough , thats ones prerogative . But in doing so the duty also falls upon a progressive to do so honestly . Its very clear that the leftist bloc in the southern Americas view the Iranian governement as a key strategic ally and vice versa . Articles such as the above attempt to suggest that is not the case . Blinding progressives to the reality of the alliance against imperialism isnt really helpful to anyone but the imperialists , as it only creates confusion . The logical approach therefore is to accept and admit fully that Cuba , Venezuela , Bolivia , Nicaragua and Ecuador ARE actually engaged in an alliance with Iran and are promoting mutual revolutionary links with the regime you oppose . Following that one must seek to challenge those governemnts and their supporters directly with the force of argument . Promoting the view that they arent in alliance and are only being cynically roped in to such an exercise by the crafty mullahs serves no real purpose than to create confusion . And its in the nature of things that attempts to create deliberate confusion only make people very suspicious . As such Im very suspicious of this ISN articles provenance and challenge it on that basis .

It relies much too heavily on quotes from various anonymous sources too for my liking .

author by Baffledpublication date Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:44author address author phone

Can I ask a question - who, exactly, are all these left-wingers who are infatuated with Ahhmadinejad and the Iranian regime? Indymedia seems to be infested with them, they have a different handle every time they post, yet I've never met a single one of them in real life - and I regularly meet leftists of all shapes and sizes from social democrats to anarchists, trotskyists etc. Who are you Gwen? Where do you come from? What, if any, group are you affiliated with? Where do you place yourself on the political spectrum?

As far as I'm concerned, Chavez and Morales are bloody eejits if they start praising Ahmadinejad - let them do economic deals with Iran if necessary, but this rhetoric suggesting that the theocratic dictatorship in Iran is a true friend and ally of democratic anti-imperialists makes me want to puke - left-wingers in Latin American should consider the trade unionists and feminists in Iran opposing the regime to be their true allies.

But to repeat - who are you Gwen? Are you Irish? Cos I've never met anyone in the real physical world who argued a position remotely like yours...

author by Alden Pylepublication date Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:59author address author phone

It's good to see that not all the people in Ireland are confused on the suppression of the Iranian people by the semi-fascistic rulers of that mullah- infested country. During the course of my work in the area of third-world economic development , it amazes me how often leftists I meet commit the error of regarding their enemy's enemy as their friend.
Let's face it , Iran is a totalitarian dictatorship - just like Iraq was under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Saddam has gone now thankfully ,but that doesn't mean that the battle for freedom has been won. We still have a lot of work to do on that score which ,I believe is a battle for hearts and minds as much as anything else.
I also agree with Baffled that leftist supporters of the Iranian dictatorship should have the courage to identify themselves and not skulk behind the cowardly cloak of anonymity .

author by Behnampublication date Tue Oct 09, 2007 13:46author email sin66x at yahoo dot comauthor address author phone

I am a socialist from iran. Isalmic republic killed thousands of us (Tudeh party of iran, fadaian-e khalgh, Peykar,...) in 1982 and 1989 and we are still under pressure. no one of us cant say that he is Atheist, he will be killed if say! now how you can say " REAL SOCIALIST SUPPORT IRAN", ahmadi nejad is a populist like Chavez.
we, workers and students of iran will free ourselves. hey populists hans off Iran!

author by pat cpublication date Tue Oct 09, 2007 14:38author address author phone

Its quite clear from the article that the Guevaras came to Iran to condemn Imperialism but they did not come there to have their fathers name misused or to back up the regime against Iranian Workers and Socialkists. Opposing US Imperialism does not mean that you have to oppose Workers & Womens rights.

Hands Off the People of Iran opposes any US aggression against Iran but also opposes the Iranian Junta. HOPI is supported Noam Chomsky, John Pilger, Ken Loach, Naomi Klein, Michael Mansfield QC. They support Regime Change in Iran from within.

Barry, please take some time out to read the articles and statements at the HOPOI site. http://www.hopoi.org/

We have nothing to do with the PMOI/MOKI, as far as we are concerned they are in cahoots with US Imperialism. Take a look at the names of those who suport HOPI: http://www.hopoi.org/supporters.html

author by Barry - 32 csmpublication date Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:28author address author phone

Regardless of what is quite clear from the article I question the articles honesty .
The Guevara siblings were there in the vanguard of the co-ordinated and multilateral promotion of strong links of solidarity ( political , diplomatic , economic and military) being forged between the Iranian governemnt and the leftist bloc of latin america which includes cuba . If what you are saying is true then the purpose of their trip was to oppose domestic foreign policy regarding Iran . I seriously question the very notion that was the purpose of their trip in the midst of those very open and transparent links of solidarity and support between the governemnts of 6 respective nations . If true that would mean the Guevaras visit to Iran was simply a co-incidence and completely unrelated to the alliance between the different governemnts on numerous levels .
That sounds a little more than far fetched .

author by pat cpublication date Sat Oct 13, 2007 16:25author address author phone

Please dont put words in my mouth (or pc). I never wrote some of the things you wrote there. I'm sure the Guevara siblings went to Iran to oppose Imperialist aggression against Iran. But I dont believe they went there to support the suppression of workers, women or socialists.

We keep getting back to the same point: it is possible to oppose Imperialism without at the same time supporting the Dictatorial Iranian Regime. There are many people who believe that workers, womem and socialists in Iran are entitled to strive for regime change internally. Chomsky, Pilger, Ken Loach, Naomi Klein, Diane Abbott, David norris all oppose US aggression towards Iran, but they also support Internal Regime Change From Below.

author by Barrypublication date Sat Oct 13, 2007 23:36author address author phone

Im simply pointing out the obvious , that the leftist bloc in latin america currently supports the Islamic Iranian government and is forging links of solidarity on every level with it . That is what is currently happening and theres absolutely no secret about it nor any attempt to disguise that fact from any of the governements involved in this emerging alliance . The leftist leaders applaud them as freinds , anti imperilaists and fellow revolutionaries . Therefore if you dispute that its an argument best taken up with them directly . But theres no cause served by pretending it isnt happening . Because it very clearly is .
I sincerely believe those governemnts also oppose imperialism , therefore its not impossible . I believe Hizballah and HAMAS are opposed to imperialism also ( as indeed does the syrian government when its in its national interest) , and indeed are in the current vanguard against it , even though i do not personally agree on various levels with elements of their respective political programmes .
Chomsky et al may indeed support regime change but the facts are that Chavez , Morales etc are allied with the current Iranian government . They arent calling for regime change in the slightest and bearing that in mind I doubt ms guevara was either .

author by patpublication date Sun Oct 14, 2007 18:58author address author phone

Show me any statement by Morales, Chavez etc where they support the imprisonment of striking workers or the stoning of women to death. I think you'll find that they support the Iranian Regime against US Imperialism. I have yet to read any statement by them in support of the Ultra-Capitalism practised in Iran.

author by Watcherpublication date Mon Oct 15, 2007 08:30author address author phone

Surely by now Pat, aside from any other points being made, you must realise that people are becoming very uneasy with your incessent attacks on Iran . You trawl the net looking for pieces that do that and cut and paste them. The word Iran always appears in the headline and never distigiushes as between the religious leaders and the citizens of Iran. There is great concern that the maddest mullah of them all, Bush, is building up to attack Iran and like your posts, his bombs will not distinguish either and innocent people will as usual play the price. You are involved in a very dangerous game.
It must be made clear that regardless of what is happening in Iran at present, the Iranian people do not want their country attacked and that whatever else we do, we must not give succour to those that want to invade.
Whatever else the Guevara's did or did not say, there is no way that they would condone their name being used as a justification for another attack on the Iranian people.


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