Drawing the pro-Tehran line

The Stop The War Coalition In Britain has refused to accept the affiliations of Hands Off The People Of Iran and Communist Students. Mark Fischer writes on these developments.

The logic of the decision taken on October 12 by the Stop the War Coalition’s officer group to reject the affiliations of Hopi and CS could be pretty drastic.Andrew Murray’s terse email announcing the exclusions made it clear that this is a political decision. He wrote that a “study of statements and articles issued” had convinced the officers that both Hopi and CS are “entirely hostile to the coalition, its policies and its work”. A sub-committee of the STWC leadership, the steering committee, made this decision. It has 11 members, 3 are members of the SWP (Lindsey German, John Rees, Chris Nineham), 2 are members of the Morning Star’s Communist Party of Britain (Andrew Murray and Kate Hudson). This small group runs the STWC on a day-to-day basis and effectively subverts the democracy of the STWC as a whole.

What repercussions follow from this particular decision? If Hopi and CS are now defined as ‘hostiles’, what about the CPGB itself - currently an accepted affiliate to the STWC? Like Communist Students, we have hardly made a secret of our support for Hopi’s principled approach to solidarity work. Are we to be purged? And what fate awaits those prominent members of the STWC that have also signed up to Hopi - the likes of Ken Loach, Mark Steel, Respect councillors Fozol Miah and Rania Khan, Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Harry Cohen and John McDonnell, prominent members of the Green Party including principal male speaker Derek Wall, Caroline Lucas MEP, Robin Harper MSP, the co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, Patrick Harvie Scottish Green Party MSP or Jenny Jones, London assembly member for the Greens? Can they soon expect to be informed by comrade Murray that - unnoticed previously - they are “thoroughly hostile” elements and are to be turfed out?

Full story here:
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/693/stwc.htm

Open letter to Andrew Murray
From Yassamine Mather, Hands Off the People of Iran

You also refer to the objectionable “statements” of our campaign. Perhaps you and the other StWC officers could draw out what you find so “hostile to the Coalition” in our founding statement?a

This founding statement has two core elements to its political platform:

a) Unconditional opposition to any imperialist military attack/sanctions against Iran and the demand for the immediate withdrawal of all imperialist troops from the Gulf region. Surely there can be no objection to this, comrade? We assume this is a position we share with all the officers of the StWC, the steering committee and the vast bulk of its membership.

b) Opposition to the theocratic regime and solidarity with and practical aid to grassroots movements - of women, workers and students - fighting for democracy and freedom in Iran.

We have already had experience of how leading members of the StWC have characterised this strand of the Hopi platform. Does that mean that the StWC’s ‘policy’ is that the theocracy must not be opposed by people who are simultaneously against the imperialist war?! And on pain of excommunication?!

Are you seriously saying that there is no place in this broad movement against imperialist war for comrades who say we should support grassroots movements for democracy and socialism in Iran? And what about the brave activists of these movements - the women beaten and arrested on International Women’s Day; the 100s of Tehran busworkers arrested for going on strike; the 1000s of workers in the car industry or the Hafte sugar cane plant; the students who protested against the presence of the barbarian Ahmadinejad ? Are they to be left to stand alone against this regime; is the anti-war movement in this country telling them that they have to abandon their struggles and get behind ‘their’ government?

This would be a betrayal not only of these people, but of the cause of peace and anti-imperialism itself.

Full text of letter:
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/692/Y%20open%20letter.htm

Reject exclusion of Communist Students

Ben Lewis takes Owen Jones (Socialist Youth Network) to task over his enthusiastic support for the undemocratic exclusion of Hopi and Communist Students from the Stop the War Coalition.

Full story:
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/693/stwc%20owen.htm

Reply to Andrew Murray

Amir Javaheri Langaroudi (Etehadchap Kargari) replies to allegations

HOPI's Iranian activists and speakers include:

Mohamad Reza Shalgouni - Founder of the Revolutionary Organization of Iranian Workers - Rahe Kargar Member of Irons' Palestine Group who spent 8 years in the Shah’s prisons.

Torab Saleth a former member of the International Executive Committee of the USFI (United Secretariat of the Fourth International) and currently an activist of Workers Left Unity Iran.

Ardeshir Mehrdad - author and activist on the Iranian left with over 35 years of political activity. Also of Workers Left Unity Iran.

Ruben Markarian a former member of the Central Committee of Rahe Kargar and a cadre of this organisation.

Nader Sadeh - member of Haste Aghaliyat ( Fedayin)

Azar Sheibani, Firouze Rad - activists in the Campaign for Abolition of all Misogynic Gender Based legislation & Islamic Punitive Laws in Iran

There are many other that we can refer you too and that would be more than happy to givce you a rundown of their history in the movement.

Is Andrew Murray suggesting that the CPGB has recruited all of these Iranian activists or infiltrated their organisations in order to set up HOPI?! This is beyond comprehension.

But let us assume for a moment that the ludicrous suggestion by Murray is correct and the Weekly Worker group set up HOPI as a rival to StWC. Why would it want to now affiliate to the Coalition? In order to take it over? How on earth would this be possible? So, your ‘political’ reason for excluding it seems rather sectarian!

We, in Etehadchap Kargari, are determined to continue our activities in HOPI. The support we got in response to our call in Farsi to unite in a campaign like HOPI has been impressive. This is one of the most successful campaigns we have undertaken in the last few years.

In Solidarity

Amir Javaheri Langaroudi

On behalf of the coordinating committee of Etehadchap Kargari
http://www.etehadchap.org
email etehadchap@yahoo.co.uk

Full text of letter:
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/693/Hopi%20Amir.htm