Post by Maz on Dec 1, 2004 19:08:44 GMT -5
The crime of carrying a book
29 November 2004. A World to Win News Service. The Canadian authorities are holding Mahmoud Namini, a former Iranian political prisoner, for carrying a book displayed and sold in many bookstores and stands in European countries. Now a Dutch citizen, he has been imprisoned for more than a month with no release in sight. Formal charges have yet to be announced.
As one of the petitions for his release states, “Mr Namini was detained in Toronto after his arrival at Pearson Airport 27 October, 2004, largely due to alleged concerns over a book in his possession, Parandeh ye No Parvaz (The Bird About to Fly). This publication documents an uprising against the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mahmoud spent five years in the regime’s horrible prisons. Now he has been detained in Canada for having in his luggage a history of the Iranian people’s struggle against the dictatorial regime of that country.”
This book, which of course is forbidden in today’s Iran, was recently published in Europe in the Iranian language Farsi. It features an extensive interview with one of the comrades who participated in the historic Amol uprising as well as other writings about it. The uprising was organised in January 1982 by Sarbedaran, an organisation initiated and led by the Union of Iran Communists. The UIC was a founding member of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement. It ceased to exist in May 2001 when the Communist Party of Iran (MLM) was formed.
In 1979, the Iranian people overthrew the US- installed monarchy of the Shah. Within two years, the Ayatollah Khomeini and his reactionary clique of mullahs – also with US backing –consolidated their grip on power and sought to violently roll back the achievements of the revolution. The communists responded by organising armed struggle against the regime. During the Amol uprising, many people enthusiastically joined Sarbedaran in an effort to liberate the northern Iran town of Amol from the Pasdaran (the so-called Revolutionary Guards) and other agents of the Islamic Republic. Although the Sarbedaran forces were finally forced to retreat, this uprising and other Sarbedaran activities during that period marked the opening of a new chapter in the history of the communist movement in Iran. It was the first time Iranian communists had ever made a serious attempt to seize political power through the force of arms.
This book is a summation of that experience. It analyses the communists’ ideological and political thinking at that time as well as their understanding of how to carry out war. It includes a list of the comrades murdered by the criminal Islamic regime. Obviously this book has nothing to do with the fundamentalist religious groups the Western powers claim their repression is aimed at.
The introduction to the book says, “In June 1981, the counterrevolution decided to finalise the fate of the revolution. But our generation was not willing to let them ruin the people’s achievements just like that … A major armed battle was launched on 25 January 1982 in Amol, and the enthusiasm quickly spread. Amol witnessed a whole day of intense military engagement. The news of the bravery and heroic acts of Sarbedaran spread everywhere. Finally the regime was able to concentrate overwhelming forces and defeat the uprising.
“Everyone wanted to know what exactly went on and why the Union of Iran Communists organised this uprising. They wanted to know how the uprising was prepared and what happened during that period. Why was this heroic uprising, which shook the whole country and planted a seed of hope in the hearts of the majority of the oppressed, finally defeated? In this book you will find the answers to these questions as recounted by one of the comrades who took part in that struggle.”
With Mahmoud’s arrest, the Canadian government is persecuting even the idea of fighting – and learning lessons from the fight – against the dictatorial regime in Iran. This stand goes beyond supporting a theocratic dictatorial regime in Iran. It also amounts to banning a book. The Committee to Free Mahmoud analyses this incident as a move by the Canadian government to limit freedom of speech and other civil rights.
Many Western countries used 11 September as a pretext to pass laws limiting civil rights and giving the police and other organs of repression far more unrestrained powers. Bush’s appointment of an outspoken advocate of torture, Alberto Gonzales, as his new attorney general, the new raft of crime and security bills presented by Tony Blair’s government in the UK and the new security measures in the Netherlands are only some examples. Despite the Canadian government’s opposition to the US invasion of Iraq, it has much unity with the US and has cooperated with it in anti-people activities. For example, Canada is one of the main suppliers of occupation troops in Afghanistan. Along with three other English-speaking countries (the UK, Australia and New Zealand), Canada has been working with the US in operating the notorious hi-tech system called Echelon to spy on the whole world’s communications.
The arrest of Mahmoud Namini for possessing a book describing the crimes of the Iranian regime and an uprising against it has another side as well. As the statement by the Committee to Free Mahmud writes, “The close relations (of the Canadian government) with the Islamic Republic regime represent a very important factor in this affair – and no doubt, the same cordial relationship was the reason for the hesitation and delay of the Canadian authorities in protesting the brutal murder of Zahra Kazemi.”
Zahra Kazemi was a Canadian-Iranian journalist arrested in 2002 by the Iranian authorities while producing a report on prisoners there. She was brutally tortured and murdered. Protests by progressive Canadians, Iranians and other people finally compelled the Canadian government to lodge a diplomatic protest against the murder of one of its own citizens, and in the face of world public opinion the Iranian regime promised to investigate its own henchmen. A low-level torturer was arrested, convicted of unintentional homicide and released. The Canadian government met this verdict with stunning silence.
The Committee to Free Mahmuod argues, “It must be pointed out that Canada is one of the resorts and financial safe havens of the Rafsanjani clan and other ruling class thieves and big shots of the Islamic Republic regime.” Akbar Rafsanjani, one of the most influential mullahs within the Iranian regime, was president of the Islamic Republic for eight years. He has reportedly become one of the country’s wealthiest capitalists.
The arrest of Mahmoud is also related to the officially promoted racist atmosphere in Western countries against immigrants, especially those from the Middle East.
The statement by the defence committee ends with an appeal: “This move by the Canadian authorities is alarming. These things show that the big powers want to tell people: ‘Don’t think!’, ‘Don’t write!’ and ‘Don’t protest!’ They want to write off and stamp out the struggles of the peoples of the world as ‘terrorism’. This cannot be allowed… We call upon the progressive people in Canada to stand united with immigrants and progressive people of the world and say NO! to these outrages before it is too late for everybody.”
For more information and to send protests to the Canadian authorities, contact the Committee to Free Mahmoud: Freemah2004@yahoo.com.
29 November 2004. A World to Win News Service. The Canadian authorities are holding Mahmoud Namini, a former Iranian political prisoner, for carrying a book displayed and sold in many bookstores and stands in European countries. Now a Dutch citizen, he has been imprisoned for more than a month with no release in sight. Formal charges have yet to be announced.
As one of the petitions for his release states, “Mr Namini was detained in Toronto after his arrival at Pearson Airport 27 October, 2004, largely due to alleged concerns over a book in his possession, Parandeh ye No Parvaz (The Bird About to Fly). This publication documents an uprising against the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mahmoud spent five years in the regime’s horrible prisons. Now he has been detained in Canada for having in his luggage a history of the Iranian people’s struggle against the dictatorial regime of that country.”
This book, which of course is forbidden in today’s Iran, was recently published in Europe in the Iranian language Farsi. It features an extensive interview with one of the comrades who participated in the historic Amol uprising as well as other writings about it. The uprising was organised in January 1982 by Sarbedaran, an organisation initiated and led by the Union of Iran Communists. The UIC was a founding member of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement. It ceased to exist in May 2001 when the Communist Party of Iran (MLM) was formed.
In 1979, the Iranian people overthrew the US- installed monarchy of the Shah. Within two years, the Ayatollah Khomeini and his reactionary clique of mullahs – also with US backing –consolidated their grip on power and sought to violently roll back the achievements of the revolution. The communists responded by organising armed struggle against the regime. During the Amol uprising, many people enthusiastically joined Sarbedaran in an effort to liberate the northern Iran town of Amol from the Pasdaran (the so-called Revolutionary Guards) and other agents of the Islamic Republic. Although the Sarbedaran forces were finally forced to retreat, this uprising and other Sarbedaran activities during that period marked the opening of a new chapter in the history of the communist movement in Iran. It was the first time Iranian communists had ever made a serious attempt to seize political power through the force of arms.
This book is a summation of that experience. It analyses the communists’ ideological and political thinking at that time as well as their understanding of how to carry out war. It includes a list of the comrades murdered by the criminal Islamic regime. Obviously this book has nothing to do with the fundamentalist religious groups the Western powers claim their repression is aimed at.
The introduction to the book says, “In June 1981, the counterrevolution decided to finalise the fate of the revolution. But our generation was not willing to let them ruin the people’s achievements just like that … A major armed battle was launched on 25 January 1982 in Amol, and the enthusiasm quickly spread. Amol witnessed a whole day of intense military engagement. The news of the bravery and heroic acts of Sarbedaran spread everywhere. Finally the regime was able to concentrate overwhelming forces and defeat the uprising.
“Everyone wanted to know what exactly went on and why the Union of Iran Communists organised this uprising. They wanted to know how the uprising was prepared and what happened during that period. Why was this heroic uprising, which shook the whole country and planted a seed of hope in the hearts of the majority of the oppressed, finally defeated? In this book you will find the answers to these questions as recounted by one of the comrades who took part in that struggle.”
With Mahmoud’s arrest, the Canadian government is persecuting even the idea of fighting – and learning lessons from the fight – against the dictatorial regime in Iran. This stand goes beyond supporting a theocratic dictatorial regime in Iran. It also amounts to banning a book. The Committee to Free Mahmoud analyses this incident as a move by the Canadian government to limit freedom of speech and other civil rights.
Many Western countries used 11 September as a pretext to pass laws limiting civil rights and giving the police and other organs of repression far more unrestrained powers. Bush’s appointment of an outspoken advocate of torture, Alberto Gonzales, as his new attorney general, the new raft of crime and security bills presented by Tony Blair’s government in the UK and the new security measures in the Netherlands are only some examples. Despite the Canadian government’s opposition to the US invasion of Iraq, it has much unity with the US and has cooperated with it in anti-people activities. For example, Canada is one of the main suppliers of occupation troops in Afghanistan. Along with three other English-speaking countries (the UK, Australia and New Zealand), Canada has been working with the US in operating the notorious hi-tech system called Echelon to spy on the whole world’s communications.
The arrest of Mahmoud Namini for possessing a book describing the crimes of the Iranian regime and an uprising against it has another side as well. As the statement by the Committee to Free Mahmud writes, “The close relations (of the Canadian government) with the Islamic Republic regime represent a very important factor in this affair – and no doubt, the same cordial relationship was the reason for the hesitation and delay of the Canadian authorities in protesting the brutal murder of Zahra Kazemi.”
Zahra Kazemi was a Canadian-Iranian journalist arrested in 2002 by the Iranian authorities while producing a report on prisoners there. She was brutally tortured and murdered. Protests by progressive Canadians, Iranians and other people finally compelled the Canadian government to lodge a diplomatic protest against the murder of one of its own citizens, and in the face of world public opinion the Iranian regime promised to investigate its own henchmen. A low-level torturer was arrested, convicted of unintentional homicide and released. The Canadian government met this verdict with stunning silence.
The Committee to Free Mahmuod argues, “It must be pointed out that Canada is one of the resorts and financial safe havens of the Rafsanjani clan and other ruling class thieves and big shots of the Islamic Republic regime.” Akbar Rafsanjani, one of the most influential mullahs within the Iranian regime, was president of the Islamic Republic for eight years. He has reportedly become one of the country’s wealthiest capitalists.
The arrest of Mahmoud is also related to the officially promoted racist atmosphere in Western countries against immigrants, especially those from the Middle East.
The statement by the defence committee ends with an appeal: “This move by the Canadian authorities is alarming. These things show that the big powers want to tell people: ‘Don’t think!’, ‘Don’t write!’ and ‘Don’t protest!’ They want to write off and stamp out the struggles of the peoples of the world as ‘terrorism’. This cannot be allowed… We call upon the progressive people in Canada to stand united with immigrants and progressive people of the world and say NO! to these outrages before it is too late for everybody.”
For more information and to send protests to the Canadian authorities, contact the Committee to Free Mahmoud: Freemah2004@yahoo.com.