This year we had an exemplary May Day in Iran. It was a great victory for the workers and the people at large They got to showcase their power against brutal Islamist oppression. Despite the regime’s undeclared martial law, dozens of workers’ organisations across the nation celebrated May Day in Tehran and some other cities in a uniquely united fashion unseen in the past 30 years. They also issued a nationwide comprehensive resolution outlining and emphasising the most fundamental and immediate demands of their own and of the great majority of the people in Iran. This, in itself, was a great, valuable achievement for all the people led by the working class on its international day.
In the early hours of May Day the Islamic Republic of Iran executed Delara Darabi –who was 17 years old when she allegedly committed murder in order to further terrorise the society. This child-killing act of the ruling criminals in Iran received immediate international response; it was reflected widely in the world media and strongly condemned by international organizations, world political institutions, etc. Following that heinous crime, the Islamic regime brutally attacked the May Day public gathering in Tehran. It mobilised its police and its paramilitary thugs (known as baseeji) in other cities too in order to take over the streets and prevent May Day celebrations. However, despite the regime’s cowardly precautionary measures, May Day was celebrated much more gloriously than ever.
In Tehran some two thousand people gathered at the May Day meeting arena during the very first moments. In order to prevent the continuous increase in the number of participants, police and paramilitary forces blockaded the meeting arena and attacked the demonstrators with batons and teargas. The police barbarically beat the demonstrators and wounded many. More than 170 people, some half of them women, were arrested and sent into custody.
In Sanandaj, in order to prevent May Day celebrations, 5 worker leaders were kept in custody until the evening of May 1. The police also arrested 6 other worker leaders during the celebrations and kept them in custody until the next day. In spite of all these, the workers succeeded in holding their ceremonies.
Since May Day the families of the detainees have been gathering in front of the court in Tehran everyday, demanding the release of their relatives. Due to the efforts of the families a number of the detainees have been released. However, about 130, including renowned worker leaders and activists, are still in custody.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has set unbearibly hefty bails for the release of those Who remain in detention. The regime seeks to subdue worker leaders and activists. This is a measure aimed at weakening the workers’ ability to organise and protest.
The workers and people in Iran need international support and solidarity in order to acquire their rights; they count on this support. The Islamic Republic uses the weapon of death penalty and executes children and adolescents in order to terrorise the society. The people in Iran expect you to condemn these atrocities. They expect you to condemn suppression of workers on May Day. They expect you to use all your power to pressure the Islamic regime for the immediate and unconditional release of May Day detainees and all imprisoned worker leaders and activists. Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the regime-made so-called workers’ organisations should be condemned and expelled from the ILO for their numerous crimes against the workers and people in Iran.
Long Live International Workers’ Solidarity!
Khalil Keyvan
Secretary of Worker-communist Party of Iran-Organisation Abroad
The following May Day detainees have been identified so far:
1.Jafar Azimzadeh, 2.Shahpour Ehsani-Rad, 3.Bahram (Isa) Abedini, 4.Saeed Youzee, 5.Behrouz Khabbaz, 6.Younes Arjhang, 7.Maryam Mohseni, 8.Mohammad Ashrafi, 9.Laleh Mohammadi, 10.Sharif Mohammadi, 11.Afsaneh Azimzadeh, 12.Fatemeh Eqdami, 13.Fatemeh Shah-Nazari, 14.Mohammad Lotfi, 15.Masoud Loqman, 16.Qolamreza Khani, 17.Mansour Hayat-Qeybi, 18.Behnaz Farmanbar, 19.Parvaneh Qasemiyan, 20.Misam Jafarnejhad, 21.Amir Yaqoub-Ali, 22.Kaveh Mozzafari, 23.Jelveh Javaheri, 24.Alireza Saqafi, 25.Mohsen Saqafi, 26.Asadollah Pour-Farhad, 27.Alireza Firouzi, 28.Pourya Pishtazeh, 29.Taha Valizadeh, 30.Homa Ajhdarnia, 31.Hamid Khademi, 32.Eynollah Basiri, 33.Omid Shafiee, 34.Navid Yazdi, 35.Nasrin Alizadeh, 36.Sajjad Sabz-Alipour, 37.Aysan Zarfam, 38.Khoshbakht, 39.Ahmad Davoudi, 40.Mohammad Salimi, 41.Mohammad Ehsani, 42.Saleh Kia-abadi, 43.Hamid Yaqoub-Ali, 44.Sirous Fathi, 45.Maryam Mir-Bahari, 46.Maryam Yaminifar, 47.Mahmoud Hosseini, 48.Homayoun Jaberi, 49.Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, 50.Hamid Malakzadeh, 51.Sadeq Keyvan, 52.Ajhan Poursharifi, 53.Zanyar Ahmadi, 54.Behzad Khabbaz, 55.Mehdi Shandiz-Farahani, 56.Farajollah Saadi, 57.Najmeh Ranjbaran, 58.Ali Moaddab, 59.Saeed Sojoudi, 60.Hamid Qorbani, 61.Yekzad Zanganeh, 62.Asqar Yavari, 63.Qolamreza Rajabi
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