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| Socialist
Party USA: Statements |
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Statement on Iran
by Eric
Chester, Chair SPUSA International Commission
The brutal repression of the popular upsurge against Iran's ruling
clique of Islamic clerics only postpones the inevitable. Iran's
theocracy has lost the confidence of its people, as militant protests
continue on the streets of Tehran.
The
Socialist Party USA stands with the people of Iran in demanding an
immediate end to arbitrary rule and the holding of genuinely free and
open elections. We believe that the complete separation of religious
institutions and the state is an essential prerequisite for a
democratic society. Every resident of a nation should have the same
rights and privileges, no matter what her or his religious belief may
or may not be.
Women
have been systematically oppressed under the rule of the mullahs in
Iran. It is the Socialist Party's hope that the insurgency in Iran will
lead to a new society where women are guaranteed full rights. Women
should be able to fully participate in the workforce. They should be
able to dress in accordance with their own wishes, and not have their
life style be coerced by those holding rigid interpretations of
religious dogma. It is time for Iran to move beyond outmoded
puritanical repression, and to recognize the equal rights of gays and
lesbians.
Iran
is a wealthy country, with immense oil resources and a highly educated
populace. Nevertheless, poverty is widespread, and corruption endemic.
Independent trade unions are persecuted and strikes are crushed.
Although the popular movement protesting the theocratic regime's
autocratic policies has been a broadly based, inter-class, coalition,
segments of the movement have presented a more radical critique. The
Socialist Party USA supports the Iranian Left, with its base in the
working class, in the call for an economic program that will provide
essential services to all, while narrowing the vast gap between rich
and poor.
Barack
Obama and the U.S. government are not interested in a democratic Iran.
For decades, the United States has shored up reactionary theocracies
such as Saudi Arabia, where it found it served its imperial interests.
The Iranian people remember the U.S. role in overthrowing the popular
regime of Mossadegh in 1953, leading to the return of the Shah, a
repressive dictatorship that lasted until the popular revolt of 1979.
Iranians will make sure that the government that replaces the current
theocracy will continue to maintain its independence from U.S. foreign
policy.
Iran's
effort to develop nuclear power has caused disquiet in the region.
Nuclear power is a threat to the future of the planet. There is no
valid reason why a country with vast oil resources should rely on
nuclear power for energy. Iran should be in the forefront in converting
from oil to sustainable alternative energy sources, particularly solar
power. The Socialist Party USA has consistently opposed the use of
nuclear power in
the
United States, and we call for a rapid conversion here to alternative
energy
sources.
Nuclear
power frequently acts as a precursor to nuclear weapons. The problems
confronting the Near East will not be resolved through wars.
Furthermore, nuclear weapons only make a volatile situation more
dangerous. The Socialist Party USA believes that the entire region
should become a nuclear free zone. This would mean that Iran would
forego the development of nuclear weapons, as Israel dismantles its
arsenal of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
The
popular insurgency in Iran is of historic importance. It has
demonstrated to everyone that a reactionary theocratic regime cannot
provide a desirable alternative to capitalism. It is up to us in the
United States, and in the rest of the industrialized countries, to
build a democratic socialist movement that can pose a positive
alternative to religious fundamentalism.
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