Stalinism in Action - p4
Socialist Press1978 1978-09-27Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 1 →
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VEE P0G FORD FAY WEWANT 1K 18 своєми STEEL: The Management Labour Party Conference Interview with Polisario Front leader IRELAND (Part Case Two)
500, workers mainly Iranian, and students a rally and demonthrough Central last Friday night in against the latest barbaric repression in which thousands ot demonstrators have been gunned down by troops.
But if they hoped for any political guidance in the struggle for the revolutionary overthrow of the Shah, they received none from the platform of the rally, which included Broad Left, Communist Party, Socialist Workers Party, and International Marxist Group speakers.
Broad Left spokesman Bob Wright offered only meaningless general calls for "solidarity" and the broadest alliance of "progressive" forces against the Shah.
Popular frontist
Meanwhile, the real meaning of such policies was shown when, outside the meeting leaflet produced by the Iranian Stalinist Tudeh Party, reflecting the Kremlin's tacit support for the Shah's reaime. called openlv for a popular-frontist "national coalition" government.
Yet self-styled "Trotskyist" Tariq Ali, clearly deciding to subordinate political clarity to the non-political 'unity' of the meeting, made no criticism of this position, and virtually confined himself to a historical survey of the relations between Britain and Iran.
Leading SWP member Steve Jeffries did at least refer to the scandalous role of the Labour government in propping up the Iranian dictatorship-though in place of policies for the Labour movement he could only offer a call for the cancellation of the Queen's state visit!
The willingness of the audience to respond to a clear political lead was indicated on the march, however, where large numbers of demonstrators readily took up the WSL slogans:
"Black all trade with Iran, Owen and Callaghan ut' and "Kick out the Shah; for a workers' government in Iran"
demonstration
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March ppon Icmedaım silamgglie