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Arabian Gulf

By VVAW

Dhofar Fights Invasion

On October 16, Iranian troops with the active support of the British military invaded Dhofar Province in the southern part of Oman in the Persian Gulf. Landing operations were conducted under the cover of air, sea and land shelling of the area. This attack is another in a continuing attempt by the US, Britain and Iran to dominate and control the oil-rich area surrounding the Persian Gulf.

Dhofar Province has been 90% liberated from the tyrannical rule of the Sultan Qaboos by revolutionary forces led by the Peoples Front for the Liberati9on of Oman (PFLO). British and US support for these invasions has continued through the Iranian army headed by the Shah of Iran. Because of the wealth of resources in the Middle East, and the potential of these resources for controlling the economy of Europe, the US has a huge stake in keeping "its man" in the Middle East, someone who will further US interests there. The Shah is that US puppet. During the last five years the US government has given the Shah $22 billion worth of military hardware, including fighter bombers.

The people of Oman and then Dhofar Province have lived under oppressive conditions for over 150 years since the British colonized the area. There is massive famine and starvation; living conditions are intolerable for the Omani people. Since 1968, the PFLO in Dhofar has introduced schools and hospitals, distributed land to the peasants, abolished slavery and recognized the role of women in society. Because of this the people in Dhofar support and are fighting for the end of the invasions of the Iranian military.

While the people of Dhofar are repelling the invasion, troops of the Iranian army have begun to resist the role they are being used for by the Shah. Last year 150 soldiers including 16 pilots refusing to fly missions against Dhofar were executed for their opposition to the Irani attacks in Oman. In mid-September, the PFLO captured an Iranian pilot who exposed a lot of what was happening in the Iranian military. He said that the Iranian military command tells the Irani soldiers that if they are captured they will be tortured and killed by having their heads chopped off by the Omani revolutionaries.

According to the pilot, he found this were all lies. When he was captured, the PFLO treated his wounds and nursed him back to health. During this time, the pilot was able to see first-hand that everything he was told by the Iranian military was untrue. He found people "opposite to what I was thinking and what I was told."

At a press conference the pilot spoken compared the situation in Oman to that of Vietnam. He said that they Iranian military command was predicting they would find the revolution within weeks or months. He said, "I confirm that the size of the Iranian forces in Oman will increase...America expected that it would be able to crush the revolution (in Vietnam) within four years, but the war continued for twelve years after which America came out defeated. I do not expect that we will come out with the result better than this."

This is a war between the just and the unjust,

On the one side there is the enemy of the masses
equipped with the most developed weaponry and technique,

And there is on the other side, the steel like determination of the toiling masses
and the callused hands of the workers and peasants.

The more you attempt to destroy us,
the more you sink in the mire which you create yourself.

Said Mohsen, An Iranian Martyr

Iranian Students Under Attack

The Iranian Student Association (ISA) is finding itself the target of repression by various government agencies, in close cooperation with the regime of the Shah of Iran. The ISA is a nationwide group of Iranian students in the US who actively oppose the Shah and in support of the liberation struggles of the people of the Middle East they have become a threat to the Shah. On a recent trip to the US, the Shah was met everywhere he went by ISA demonstrations.

As the movement against the Shah increases, his regime becomes more desperate and has openly outlawed "legal" political opposition. In August, the Shah resurrected the "Black Law of 1310" with provisions that any Iranian involved in objections to the government would be sentenced to 3-10 years in jail, and an Iranian involved in leading a demonstration or organizing opposition to the Shah would be executed.

Also in August, the ISA held their annual convention in Chicago. Immediately following the convention, the ISA began getting increased harassment, directly linked to the repressive laws passed in Iran and the close ties between the Shah's regime and the US government. Incidents of harassment include one ISA member having his house broken into finding his files were tempered with. ISA members have had their cars dented during the night and others have been beaten in alleys.

Recently in Houston, Texas, the ISA held a demonstration in support of the struggle in Oman and of the 150 demonstrators, 110 were arrested.

The most blatant case of repression against the ISA occurred in Jefferson City, Missouri when 27 members were arrested and charged with felonies. After the arrest, the mayor of the city held a press conference and stated that he would ask that these students be deported to Iran, (where they would face the brutal repression of the Shah's regime). Shortly after this announcement the mayor received a letter from the Iranian ambassador to the US thanking him for this cooperation with the Shah. The letter stated that the Shah would personally be pleased and would thank the mayor.

As a result of this incident, public support for the Iranian students is growing throughout Missouri and Oklahoma. People have rallied around the student's fight, seeing this case as typical of how the US government tries to intimidate people into silence. ISA and its supporters will continue to fight until all deportation threats are ended and until intimidation stops. The ISA will also continue to actively oppose the Shah's regime in Iran, the rulers of the US who prop up his dictatorship and support the liberation struggles of the people in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf area.