Open letter to President Chavez from Iranian labour and student activists

international | worker & community struggles and protests | other press Tuesday January 15, 2008 18:35 by pat c

This is an open letter from from Iranian Worker & Student activists to President Chavez. They are asking him to intervene on behalf of imprisoned students and workers. Full text at the link.

Dear Mr President:

We hear the news of the release of two of the FARC's hostages with renewed hope for the future of Colombia. The release of Clara Rojas and Consuela Gonzalez is not only a joyous event for their families but a development with great potentials for Colombian society.

We believe that your negotiation and persuasion skills can be put to further use in the release of captives in other parts of the globe. In particular, as you have developed very close relations with successive Iranian presidents, we hope that you can use your influence to help free the genuine trade unionists, democrats and socialists locked up in Iran.

In December 2007 40 students were arrested for demanding freedom, liberty and singing the Internationale. Over 30 of them are still in prison - with rumours that Saeed Habibi may have committed suicide. Iran's jails are full of labour activists who have tried to set up trade unions. Mahmood Salehi, who has just one kidney, is in a critical state. He was arrested in 2004 because he tried to organise a May Day rally. Mansour Osanloo is the leader of the Vahed Bus Company trade union. He was beaten up by vigilantes connected to the regime and imprisoned.

These are not criminals: they are people who merely protested for better rights for workers, students, women, journalists and other sections of society. We are sure that your intervention in this regard, with a government that is much friendlier to Venezuela than Uribe's Colombia, can bring about a positive outcome.

Yours respectfully,
Iranian Workers' Solidarity Network
Workers' Action Committee (Iran)
Militant, journal of revolutionary socialist youth in Iran
http://militantmag.blogfa.com/
January 13, 2008