This article recently had been published in socialist alternative of australia website.
Iranian socialist and student activist Amir Mohsen Mohammadi recently arrived in Australia, having escaped the brutal regime that persecuted him and many other students for their political action. Here he outlines the significance of the latest outbreak of protest under the Islamic Regime. The following article was translated by Afshin Nikouseresht. The original Farsi version of this article is available here.
On 3 October many residents of Iran’s capital city took part in demonstrations and strikes. The demonstrators were protesting the sharp rise in prices and the increase in the value of the dollar. Their intent was to impose a strike and force the closure of the bazaar. They chanted slogans against high prices, the dictatorial state and Ahmadinejad’s government. In the end they resorted to setting fire to and destroying the urban environment and were repelled, in an extremely violent manner, by the riot police. Some news outlets have published reports on the killing of one person and the injuring of another two people, which have not yet been confirmed.
By 4 October, the strike had reached the Bazaars of other cities such as Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Kermanshah and Ahvaz. There are two aspects to the protest movement. The traditional capitalists, such as the officials of the Hezbe Motalefe-ye Eslami (The Islamic Coalition Party), participated in the organising of them. Parts of Tehran’s Bazaar are in the hands of the traditional right and as a result of the threat to their economic interests they have been forced to side with this protesting current. However in the end it was “the people” who came to the streets and protested against the prevailing conditions. In light of the radicalisation and brutalisation of the protesters the Ettehadiyeye Asnaaf va Baazariane Tehran (The Guild of Trades and Bazaaris of Tehran) issued a statement against the people and condemned their behaviour.
Multiple stories reporting on Iranian workers strikes and their economic demands are published in Farsi on an almost daily basis. But we can label the recent events in Tehran as the “uprising of the hungry”. Other uprisings of the hungry have also taken place in past years. Violent protests have erupted in most cities in response to the acute rise of petrol prices, and there were many protests in response to the rise of chicken prices a few months ago. Unfortunately, in the case of the protests against the rise of chicken prices, many financially better off Iranians and those living outside of Iran belittled those participating in the protests. However, less than 10 percent of Iranians have access to the internet. The right wing opposition’s support or ridicule, which is mostly expressed online, is of no consequence to the conditions of hunger and poverty among these people.
This type of people’s uprising, the uprising of the hungry, which in the past occurred in response to the price petrol and chicken has a particular trait. Unlike the mostly reformist-organised Green Movement protests that occurred in the wake of the elections, there are no recognisable opposition forces participating in them. The people do not have any prescribed slogans handed to them and they do not feature any specific colours or symbols. There are two preconditions for the creation of the uprising of the hungry. On condition is the inability of the government to alleviate the economic pressures affecting the people and the lower social classes. The other is the incapacity of the opposition to organise these people’s protests. This leaves only the ad-hoc self interested parties such as the Bazaar merchants who are not serious about organising protests. As a result these types of protests remain largely spontaneous.
Reactions to the protests
Many of the Green reformists have refused to support this uprising on the grounds that traditionally the Bazaar in Tehran has been in the hands of rightwing fundamentalists. I have had personal encounters with sectarian individuals belonging to left wing and communist forces who have used the excuse that these protests are not “workers’ protests” to justify their silence. Some of the traditional right wing forces have claimed that Ahmadinejad’s supporters have participated in the organisation of these protests. Some of the right wing forces within the establishment have, through media outlets affiliated with the Ministry of Intelligence, announced that that Israel and opposition forces have organised these protests. But the important point in this discussion is that those who participated in the radical street protests were only hungry people.
There are reasons other than the sanctions for the severe decline in the value of the Iranian currency and the increase in the price of the dollar. Mohammad Khatami’s reformist government tried very hard get rid of subsidies for staples. Subsequently, Ahmadinejad’s government, in pursuit of free market economics, completed this project and from that point onwards a severe wave of inflation hit Iran. The International Monetary Fund has published many different documents since 2008 praising Iran for eliminating government subsidies. Last July and August, the IMF published two documents which not only praised Iran but also asked other countries to replicate Iran’s practice.
The working class in Iran is being crippled under these economic pressures. On two occasions last summer, they sent petitions with around 20 thousand signatures to the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Mr. Sheikh al-Eslami. In these petitions, the signatories had protested low wages, unpaid wages, and the prevailing difficult economic conditions. We have reached a point where in a letter to his superiors, the Islamic Republic’s Minister of Intelligence, Mr. Heydar Moslehi, has warned of the potential for social unrest and protests in response to the economic situation. In the current situation Iran is like a powder keg which needs only one spark to explode.
Unfortunately instead of having a practical impact on the nuclear or terrorism exporting activities of the Islamic Republic, the sanctions are harming ordinary Iranians. The sanctions do not allow for the importing of many medical goods and many people are having difficulty in obtaining vital medicines. Apart from small industries, even the bigger industries, such as textiles, petrochemical and auto industries have all collapsed. With the closure of many industries and factories many workers have become unemployed.
In this situation where every day we are getting close to another war in the region, it is certain that economic sanctions are merely a softer form of war. More than half of Iran’s population is under the poverty line and many people do not have the means to continue their lives. The crises of beggary, unemployment, unpaid wages and child labour are very serious. The Islamic Republic’s authorities are in the process of planning voucher schemes for food items and staples. World capitalism has through the IMF’s prescription of economic liberalism and economic sanctions disintegrated Iranian society. In this situation the uprising of the hungry will only succeed when a radical and revolutionary leadership in emerges that society and guides them towards a widespread street protests and a general strike.
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