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Iranian People Say: Down With The Shah

By VVAW

One thousand angry demonstrators in Washington, DC highlighted a number of actions in US cities from May 15 to 18, targeting the Shah of Iran, who was in the US to visit with Ford. Led by the Iranian Student Association (ISA), the large, militant demonstrators opposed the Shah's visit here, voiced support for the struggle of the Iranian people, and attacked the role of the US in the Middle East.

In 1941, the British imperialist overthrew the 20-yeard dictatorship of Reza Khan, father of the peasant Shah, and assumed power in Iran. Not wishing to be dominated by a foreign power, the Iranian people, after a bloody struggle, and attacked the role of the US in the Middle East.

In the period following the ouster of the British, the National Front, a progressive nationalist party supported by masses of the Iranian people, came to power in 1951. The first order of business for the new government was the nationalization of the oil industry in Iran, which dealt the British economy a severe blow. The Iranian democratic government was to have a short life.

The American and British imperialists, long-time rivals for control of Iran and the Arabian Gulf countries, realizing the danger that the independent government of Iran represented to their control, began to work out a plan to regain control of Iran. On August 19, 1953, the CIA with British cooperation over-threw the government of Iran and installed the Shah as dictator and front man for US oil industries. The coup cost the American State Department 19 million dollars, and the Iranian people thousands of lives in a struggle that continues to this day.

The importance of US control of Iran cannot be over-emphasized. Iran and the Arabian Gulf contain 70% of the world's known oil reserves. Western Europe depends on the Gulf area for ? of its oil supplies, and Japan, another highly industrialized nation, depends on the gulf area for 95% of its oil consumed annually. This accounts for the massive US military aid that in the last year alone totaled more than any previous year's total military assistance to Indochina. The US is determined to maintain its grip on this area. Using the Iranian government as a vehicle of control, the US and England have sent over 50,000 Iranian troops into the nearby oil-rich county of Oman. An intense struggle of national liberation in man, led by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO) has already liberated Dhofar, a major province of Oman, and threatened the Us and British petroleum interest there. Hence, the Iranian invasion to make sure the "right people," as the US sees it, keeps things under control, a task the Iranian Army, under the direction of the US military, has been unable to accomplish because of determined resistance of the people of the Arabian Gulf area.

A major contribution to the struggle of the Arabian Gulf has been the fight waged by the Iranian people. Since the early 1900's, the Iranian people led by the working class of Iran, have waged a determined struggle for independence and liberation against foreign domination in Iran. Thousands of people have lost their lives in the fight that continues to this hour.

Today, with a population of 30 million people, Iran has a 60,000 member secret police force (SAVAK) and an estimated 40,000 political prisoners. Additionally, Iran has a 33,000 member rural police force under the direction of US "advisory" teams. The US military admits to having at least 3,200 military and civilian Pentagon employees in Iran. Two high-ranking official, both top US Air Force advisors, were executed recently by the Iranian Peoples' Fighters Organization in retaliation for the killing of 9 student political prisoners by SAVAK on April 19th. The presence of the Us military propping up the Shah's regime is a major source of struggle among the Iranian people.

On May 15th, the day of the Shah's arrival in Washington DC, 1000 people, led by the ISA, demonstrated and picketed the White House. In California, 1500 people demonstrated against the Shah in Berkeley, after a march and car caravan of over 100 ISA members from Los Angeles to the San Francisco area.

On May 16th, 650 people demonstrated at Georgetown University in Washington, where school officials gave an "honorary degree" to the Shah's wife. Later the same day, 600 people demonstrated at the Iranian embassy where DC police attacked the demonstration, arresting 7 people. The demonstrators, nearly all Iranian students, fought back, and under heavy pressure the police released those arrested with no charges being brought against them.

The four-day demonstrations in Washington ended with a demonstration of 900 people, including a VVAW/WSO contingent, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the evening of May 18th. The Shah was at the Center to attend a cultural performance as a brief respite from his visit to discuss the purchase of more military hardware, eight nuclear reactors, and several multi-million dollar technical assistance contracts. Because of the large, militant demonstration, the Shah was forced to enter the building by a helicopter landing on the roof of the Center.

Several other large demonstrations occurred around the country during the Shah's visit to the US, including Houston, Texas where 450 people staged a 48-hour vigil at the Iranian Consulate; there were also actions in Lansing, Michigan and Chicago. On May 12th, demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, confronted another visiting official from Iran.

Internationally, earlier in May, Iranian students held large demonstrations in Hamburg, Rome, Vienna, and Paris, to protest the murders of 9 students and the continued US presence in Iran.

The demonstrations in the US, particularly in Washington, were a tremendous success. Large, militant demonstrations co-ordinated perfectly with a high degree of discipline enabled the Iranian students and their supporters to effectively reach thousands of people. Across the US, demonstrators distributed hundreds of thousands of leaflets about the Shah and the struggle in Iran, in the face of continual police attacks and intimidation, coupled with a national media blackout of the demonstrations.

The determined fighting spirit and courage of the Iranian people, as exemplified by these demonstrations, will most certainly be the major force that will drive US imperialism and its puppets such as the Shah out of the Arabian Gulf?a struggle to be shared by all freedom-loving people of the world.

DOWN WITH THE SHAH!! SUPERPOWERS--HANDS OFF THE MIDDLE EAST!!