Download PDF of this full issue: v9n1.pdf (8.8 MB)

Millions Target Oppressor: Uprising in Iran Hits Shah's Rule

By VVAW

The clock has run out for the Shah of Iran. Hard-pressed by demonstrations of the Iranian people numbering in the millions, nation-wide strikes that have almost shut down the country, and the inability of a military government to keep a lid of the peoples' struggles, the bloody rule of the Shah has come to an equally bloody end.

Placed in power by the CIA sponsored coup in 1953 which overthrew the democratic government of Iran, the Shah bartered Iranian oil deposits for a vast arsenal of weapons unmatched by most countries in the world—weapons which have, in part, been turned against the Iranian people. While the Shah and U.S. oil companies (as well as other U.S. corporations) grew rich from these collaborations, the people of Iran saw little of the new-found wealth living at a level of unimaginable poverty, and brutalized by the murderous agents of SAVAK, the Iranian secret police directly controlled by the Shah.

The rich oil reserves were only one of the vital interests that the U.S. government saw in Iran; of crucial important is the strategic location of Iran on the borders of the Soviet Union, standing between the USSR and the Indian Ocean. Fear of the growing power of the USSR has lead the U.S. government to beat a path to the Shah's door, fulfilling his every whim. U.S. president after president have praised the Shah as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and as a stabilizing force (meaning U.S. puppet) in the Middle East. Most recently, Jimmy Carter, self-styled advocate of human rights and self-proclaimed "activist" in this are, managed to conveniently overlook the history of political prisoners, murder, torture, and outright dictatorship to welcome the Shah to the U.S. last year. But the rebellion of the people of Iran spilled over to Washington, DC, and Carter and the Shah got a snoutful of their own teargas as thousands of Iranian students in the U.S. stormed the White House hoping to kick the hell out of this dictator. It was all a sign of things to come.

By the end of the summer of 1978, students were carrying out almost daily anti-Shah demonstrations. By the end of December almost every segment of Iranian society—workers, peasants, intellectuals and students, religious leaders, anti-Shah politicians and other revolutionary forces and virtually shut down Iran. Hardest hitting among striking workers were those in the oil fields who turned off the flow of oil—and, at the same time, money into the Shah's coffers—not only for export but to the point that the U.S. had to start exporting fuel to one of the richest oil producing countries in the world. Among the demands of the oil workers was that Iran immediately cease its oil exports to the government of South Africa for its brutal repression of the Black majority in that country, and to Israel whose policies refuse to recognize the legitimate demands of the Palestinian people.

The Shah has reacted with every weapon and trick in his bloody book. Turning loose his U.S. equipped and trained military, the Shah has gunned down demonstrations from every walk of life. On September 8th when millions of demonstrators marched all over Iran, the military slaughtered 6000 people in Tehran alone. And the attempt of the Shah's regime to downplay their "body count" has not disguised the fact that thousands upon thousands of demonstrators have been shot down in the streets all over the country.

As the strikes and turmoil grew, long outlawed labor organizations surfaced to lead the workers into battle. The Shah tried to buy off the workers' economic demands, promising huge wage increases totaling $7 million and making it clear that the workers were hitting him where it hurt—in the pocketbooks. But the workers continued to strike. Troops sent to break the strikes and force the workers back to their job failed miserably. In fact the military had its own problems with troops shooting their officers rather than firing on crowds of demonstrators.

The Shah added to his by gunning down a group of Islamic religious trainees, brining the full brunt of influential Islamic forces against his government, refusing to accept anything less than the complete ouster of the Shah and the institution of a democratic government.

As a last-ditch effort, the Shah tried to maintain control with minor concessions and reforms; the people continued to respond, "Death to the Shah!"

Faced at last with the realization that people of Iran were going to string him up from the nearest lamp post, the Shah has now dealt his last card. Setting up a government of nominal opposition leaders whom he chose, the Shah has now announced that he's "tired" and is leaving the country on "vacation." The Shah's escape was greeted with loud celebrations throughout Iran. And by continuing their demonstrations (in the face of continued government killings of demonstrators) the people of Iran are making it clear that they do not want a government hand-picked by the Shah (nor do they want the constitutional monarchy that he Shah is pushing), but instead a government of their choice. The present government is Shah's last stab at control, a puppet government for a puppet dictator.

At the time of this writing, all indications point to likelihood that the Shah's "vacation" will last forever. The Shah, his vast family and his cronies have raped the country for billions of dollars, all safely put away in European and U.S. banks and property for the inevitable day when their reign would be overthrown. Most of the Shah's family has already snuck out of the country, but they will hardly face poverty. A sister owns a huge estate on Majorca; a nephew owns an island. Cronies illegally sent $2.4 billion out of the country, and so many Iranians have bought million+ dollar homes in one Southern California suburb and its being called "Iran West." But just like the Shah's tearful visit last year, the Shah and his family are finding that they are not yet safe from those who refuse to accept his bloody past of the last-minute plunder of the country's wealth: Iranian students in the U.S. have already attacked the home of the Shah's mother, driving her into a secret hideaway (see editorial).

The people of Iran have made it clear that they want "independence": independence from the Shah, independence from the U.S. corporations, and no deals with the Soviet Union. The latest government may be able to maneuver around for a while, but will not be able to deter the Iranian people in their drive for freedom.