Masses Resist Khoment's Crackdown

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Purge and power struggle; sackings, wage cuts repression and strikes. Those have been more dramatically than ever in the last three weeks the themes of Iran's mounting new political crisis.

Under the direction of Khomeini and the reactionary Islamic hierarchy a massive purge has been launćhed against all vestiges of the old regime in the ministries, universities and state-owned industries.

Everywhere purification committees have been set up and literally thousands have lost their jobs-well over 500 in the oil ministry alone.

Left wingers

Nominally the purged are supposed to be those who had anything to do with the Shah's regime.

But in fact this purge is. being used by the reactionary Islamic forces to drive out all their enemies, including known left-wingers and anyone more inclined to look to President Bani Sadr than to the Ayatollahs for leadership.

The purge of state employees has gone hand in hand with a continuation of the bloody work of the purification commission entrusted by Khomeini nominally with the control of drugs and other vices.

The commission, under Ayatollah Khalkhali, interprets its brief broadly and brutally.

In the last six weeks it has summarily executed shot or stoned to death) 250 peoplemost of them alleged drug addicts and traffickers but also "prostitutes and homosexuals".

President Bani Sadr has attempted to curb the zeal of the commission by appealing for lighter sentences.

But for this appeal, the commission has said, it would have executed 500 more.

Women

Thousands of "suspect" students have been thrown out of the universities and Khomeini has demanded that nothing is taught in the universities which is not consistent with Islam.

Women continue to be under attack as well. Last week an edict was issued that all women in government offices should wear "modest clothes" including a veil, or at least a headscarf.

This edict produced an angry demonstration, which has in turn been followed by the threat of summary sacking for those women civil servants who refuse to comply.

But this attack on lranian women is not the only aspect of the Islamic purge to provoke resistance:

A natiohal meeting of doctors led to a doctors' strike in protest against the arbitrary execution of a doctor, Ismail Narimisa in Ahvaz allegedly for having collaborated with Shah supporters.

The strike was reported to be only partially successful, as many doctors were "persuaded" back to work by committees of Islamic zealots in the hospitals.

A much more successful strike was that of the water workers, who stopped work and occupied their director's office in protest against measures which would have virtually halved their real wages.

The measures were rescinded by the frightened authorities and work resumed.

This attempted economic attack on the water workers is an indication of the fact that it is not only an ideological and religious purge that is underway. It is also a full- blooded assault on the jobs and wages of workers in the public sector.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the failure of this attempt is one thing which has convinced the reactionary Islamic leaders that they need to launch a new political attack against the mass organisations to their left and which have influence in sections of the working class.

The two main ones are the Bani-Sadr 'left' Islamic Mujahedin Marxist Fedayin.

Last Friday's prayers was used as the opportunity for the religious hierarchy to launch into the Islamic masses a new and chilling 16 point manifesto which includes the dissolution of left wing groups, the enforcement of Islamic rules on women, the speeding up of the purges and a thorough "cleansing" of Kurdistan by the army.

An attempt to implement these new edicts would be a massive step.

The Mojahedin and the Fedayin are both large organisations with a good deal of influence in sections of the popular masses. And they are armed.

An attempt to disband them would almost certainly initiate a wholesale bloodbath.

The ultimately pro-imperialist "moderates" around President Bani-Sadr are anxious to avoid this.

But their power is waning. Bani-Sadr was forced last week to make a ceremonial offering of his resignation to Khomeini.