Since the murder of Jina-MahsaAmini on September 16 by the morality police [for wearing a loose headscarf], a popular uprising unprecedented in its scope, depth and duration has shaken the Islamic Republic of Iran. In less than 48 hours, the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” spread throughout the country, then around the world.
The fight for the fall of the Islamic Republic is on
Soon other slogans flourished: “Death to the dictator,” “Death to the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Supreme Guide,” “Bread, Work, Freedom,” “Poverty, corruption, high cost of living, we will go until the overthrow.”
This radical protest movement brings together women, young people, national minorities, workers with or without jobs, in a total rejection of this theocratic, misogynistic and totally corrupt regime. The uprising is anchored in the long term and affects more than 160 small and large cities. With more than 50% of the population below the poverty line and the absence of elementary democratic and social rights, it is the whole system that the people of Iran want to overthrow.
Calls for strikes are increasing, especially among university teachers, workers in petrochemicals, steelworks in Isfahan, public transport in Tehran and its suburbs, truck drivers… The strikers suffer dismissals,arrests and torture.
Fierce and unlimited repression
To date, the repression has caused more than 500 deaths, including 69 minors, thousands of injuries, more than 19,000 prisoners and missing persons, kidnappings. In Iranian Kurdistan and SistanBalochistan, the Revolutionary Guards are waging a bloody war against the rebellious population. Kurdish towns are undergoing a state of siege that does not say its name.
The violence of this criminal regime knows no bounds. Numerous testimonies attest to the incredible brutality of the conditions of detention aimed at breaking the determination of the detainees. The prisoners are tortured, raped, beaten to death.
In order to create a climate of terror and put an end to protest, the judiciary pronounces increasingly heavy sentences against demonstrators. Despite this, the mobilization does not weaken. With courage and determination, students, young people, women, workers, artists and journalists continue to challenge the regime, and it has decided to take it a step further.
The proliferation of death sentences
For the simple fact of having demonstrated, at least 65 people (including 11 women and five children) have been charged with “enmity with God,” “corruption on Earth,” insurrection or murder. The judiciary connects parodies of trials, without any right of defense and multiplies death sentences.
After the executions of Mohsen Shekari and MajidrezaRahnavard on December 8 and 12, the Iranian authorities proceeded, on January 7, to hang Seyed Mohammad Hosseini and Mohammad Mehdi Karami. Their crimes: having dared to express their revolt in the face of the death of Jina-MahsaAmini in Tehran or of Hadis Nadjafi in Karaj. The worst is to be feared for those who wait on the death row of Iran’s sordid prisons and more broadly for all prisoners.
The people of Iran must be masters of their destiny
In this context and faced with the specter of a political and social revolution in Iran, the leaders of the great powers are working, more or less discreetly, for the constitution of a Transitional Council, bringing together all the currents of the opposition of the Iranian right, including the monarchists. These currents, liberal on the economic level and authoritarian on the political level, are the opposite of the dynamics of the mobilizations and the social and democratic aspirations which are expressed in Iran.
From the 1953 coup organized by the CIA and the British secret services against the Mossadegh government and its policy of nationalizing oil, to the Guadeloupe conference in 1979 where the heads of state of France, Germany, of the United Kingdom and the United States accelerated the Shah’s departure into exile and decided on his replacement by Khomeini, the great powers have always acted, unsurprisingly, in favor of their own interests against those of the peoples of Iran.
Contrary to the solutions imposed from outside, we defend a real campaign of international solidarity with all those who are mobilizing in Iran to put an end to the Islamic Republic.
To live up to the determination and courage of the Iranian people
The outcome of the current uprising will be decisive for the peoples of the region and the world. It is therefore our responsibility, within our means, to help the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising achieve its emancipatory aspirations.
Indeed, the repressive machine that is the Islamic Republic will not be broken without a powerful international campaign and without a strong mobilization of world opinion.
- We demand an immediate end to death sentences, executions and the abolition of capital punishment.
- We demand the immediate release of all imprisoned political and trade union prisoners, teachers, students, doctors, artists, activists and demonstrators, etc.
- We demand the establishment of an international committee made up of jurists, trade unionists, journalists and NGOs to carry out an independent investigation into places of detention in Iran.
- We support women’s fight for the right to control their bodies. We demand with them the abolition of all misogynistic laws as well as gender apartheid.
- We support the fundamental and democratic rights of Iranian men and women, whether they are Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, Azeris, Lors, or Persians.
- We support the workers of Iran in their struggle for dignity, their rights to defend themselves through strike action and the building of trade unions and political organizations.
- We strongly demand from France and Europe the freezing of the assets of the highest leaders of the Revolutionary Guards and the Islamic Republic, including those of the Guide Ali Khamenei and his entourage, the total amount of which is estimated at $95 billion. These fortunes acquired through the plunder of resources, the overexploitation of workers, predation and corruption must return to the peoples of Iran.
- Like what was done against the Russian oligarchs, we demand the freezing of the assets of the Iranian oligarchs.
- We demand the lifting of banking and commercial secrecy in France, in Europe and in the world to block the wealth accumulated by the leaders of the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guards and the companies linked to them.
- We demand the cessation of all industrial, economic and diplomatic collaboration with the Islamic Republic.
As signatories to this platform, we reaffirm our full and complete support for all those who fight in Iran for equality, social justice, democracy and against all forms of autocratic and authoritarian power.
We are at their side by all the means at our disposal, and we are committed to multiplying initiatives of solidarity with the peoples of Iran. Until the victory of this irrepressible revolutionary momentum!
Signatures:
- Nicole ABRAVANEL, historian EHESS (France)
2. Gilbert ACHCAR, Professor SOAS London (UK)
3. Christophe AGUITON, anti-globalization activist (France)
4. Mateo ALALUF, Professor emeritus of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
5. Tassos ANASTASSIADIS, journalist (Greece)
6. Valério ARCARY, National Leadership of the PSOL, (Brazil)
7. Behrouz AREFI, Socialist Solidarity with the Workers in Iran (France)
8. Janie ARNEGUY, Ensemble ! (France)
9. Rolando ASTARITA, professor of economics – Universidad Nacional des Quilmes (Argentina)
10. Manon AUBRY, European MP, LFI (France)
11. Clémentine AUTAIN, Member of Parliament for Seine-Saint-Denis (France)
12. Ludivine BANTIGNY, historian (France)
13. Alain BARON, International Commission of the Union syndicaleSolidaires (France)
14. Jean BATOU, University Professor, University of Lausanne (Switzerland)
15. Abraham BEHAR, doctor (France)
16. Emma BELLE, British civilizationist, Savoie Mont Blanc University (France)
17. Olivier BESANCENOT, spokesperson of the NPA (France)
18. Alain BIHR, Honorary Professor of Sociology University of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (France)
19. Sophie BINET, General Secretary of the UFICT-CGT, member of the CGT Executive Committee, leader of the women’s collective (France)
20. Laurence Boffet, spokesperson of Ensemble ! (France)
21. Jean-Jacques BOISLAROUSSIE, Ensemble ! (France)
22. Alexandra BOJANIC, international sector of the FSU (France)
23. Manuel BOMPARD, Member of Parliament for Bouches du Rhône (France)
24. Michel BONNIN, director of studies at the EHSS, center for studies on modern and contemporary China (France)
25. Nicolas BOUCHAUD, actor (France)
26. Mickaël BOULOUX, Member of Parliament for Ille et Vilaine (France)
27. Alima BOUMEDIENE, lawyer (France)
28. Tiago BRANQUINO, cultural and political activist, trade unionist, elected political representative (Suisse)
29. Nicole BRENEZ, academic (France)
30. Michel BROUÉ, mathematician (France)
31. David LIBREROS CAICEDO, Professor, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
32. Raul CAMARGO FERNANDEZ, spokesperson of Anticapitalistas – Spanish State
33. Ana CAMPOS, doctor (Portugal)
34. Robert CANTARELLA, director (France)
35. Daniel CERIOTTI, nutritionist (Uruguay)
36. Fernando CHARAMELLO, trade unionist (Uruguay)
37. Claude CALAME, historian, director of research, EHESS (France)
38. Salavatore CANNAVO, journalist – Jacobin Italia
39. Carmen CASTILLO, filmmaker (France)
40. Hélène CHANTEREAU, CGT info’Com trade unionist and Aplutsoc activist (France)
41. Lou CHESNE, spokesperson, ATTAC (France)
42. Ramiro CHIMURIS, lawyer and economist (Uruguay)
43. Florence CIARVOLA, Ensemble ! (France)
44. Herbert CLAROS, Secretary for International Relations of CSP Consultas (Brazil)
45. Eliana COMO, trade unionist, CGIL Executive Committee (Italy)
46. Jorge COSTA, Bloco de Esquerdo (Left Block, Portugal)
47. Pierre COUTAZ, international sector of the CGT (France)
48. Léon CREMIEUX, aeronautical unionist Solidaires (France)
49. Joseph DAHER, academic (Suisse)
50. Christian DANDRES, PS National Councillor (Suisse)
51. Cybèle DAVID, National Secretary of the Union syndicaleSolidaires, in charge of international affairs (France)
52. Sonia DAYAN-HERZBRUN, sociologist (France)
53. Bruno DELLA SUDA, Ensemble ! (France)
54. Sophie DESROSIERS, retired lecturer EHESS (France)
55. Bernard DREANO, president, CEDETIM (France)
56. Valérie DREVILLE, actor (France)
57. Penelope DUGGAN, editor International Viewpoint
58. Sabine ENDERS, activist, ATTAC (France)
59. Behrouz FARAHANY, Socialist Solidarity with the Workers in Iran (France)
60. Patrick FARBIAZ, PEPS (for a popular and social ecology) (France)
61. Silvia FERRARO, Councillor of São Paulo, (Brazil)
62. Emmanuel FERNANDES Member of Parliament for the 2nddistrict of Bas-Rhin (France)
63. Nejat FEROUSE, confederal adviser to the International Space of the CGT (France)
64. Marina FERRERUELA, Substitute and parliamentary assistant (France)
65. Berivan FIRAT, Spokesperson for External Relations of the Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F)
66. Jacques FONTAINE, Ensemble ! (France)
67. Téo FREI, climate strike activist (Suisse)
68. Gizelle FREITAS, Councillor of Belém (Brazil)
69. Bernard FRIOT, economist and sociologist of work (France)
70. Mario ROSSI GARRETANO, trade unionist (Uruguay)
71. Franck GAUDICHAUD, historian, Jean Jaurès University, Toulouse (France)
72. Sigrid GERARDIN, national secretary in charge of women’s rights of the FSU (France)
73. Paolo GILARDI, teacher unionist (Suisse)
74. Liliane GIRAUDON, poet (France)
75. Matheus GOMES, State Deputy, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil)
76. Alain GONTHIER, town councilor in Vevey (Switzerland)
77. José María GONZALEZ, Mayor of the city of Cadiz (Spanish State)
78. Sébastien GUEX, Honorary Professor, University of Lausanne (Suisse)
79. Murielle GUILBERT, national co-delegate of the Union syndicaleSolidaires (France)
80. Marie HOLZMAN, sinologist and human rights activist (France)
81. Jocelyne HALLER, Ensemble à gauche member of the Grand Council (Genève)
82. Ernesto HERRERA, journalist (Uruguay)
83. Carolina IARA, Co-representative of the State of São Paulo (Brazil)
84. Chantal JAQUET, philosopher, professor at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (France)
85. Claire JOBIN, sociologist, feminist strike activist (Suisse)
86. Samy JOHSUA, member of the Scientific Council of ATTAC (France)
87. Leslie KAPLAN, writer (France)
88. Andy KERBRAT, deputy of Loire Atlantique (France)
89. Babak KIA, Socialist Solidarity with the Workers in Iran (France)
90. Aurore KOECHLIN, sociologist, feminist and anti-capitalist activist (France)
91. Isabel KOIFMANN, trade unionist (Uruguay)
92. Pierre KHALFA, economist, Fondation Copernic (France)
93. Jacques KIRSNER, producer and screenwriter (France)
94. Nicolas KLOTZ, filmmaker (France)
95. Hubert KRIVINE, physicist, (France)
96. Dominique LABOURIER, actor (France)
97. Michel LANSON, retired professor (France)
98. Michel LAUVERS, historian, University Côte d’Azur (France)
99. Michèle LECLERC-OLIVE, Associate Professor of Mathematics, sociologist. CNRS (France)
100. Olivier LE COUR GRAND MAISON, academic (France)
101. Charlotte LEDUC, LFI-NUPES deputy for the 3rddistrict of Moselle (France)
102. Irma LEITES, plenariamemoria y justicia (Uruguay)
103. Fred LEPLAT, Anticapitalist Resistance (Great Britain, Wales)
104. Elodie LOPEZ, member of the Vaud Grand Council, Ensemble à Gauche, town councilor, décroissance alternatives (Suisse)
105. Francisco LOUÇA, economist, University of Lisbon (Portugal)
106. Iza LOURENÇA, Councillor of Belo Horizonte (Brazil)
107. Mickael LOWY, Director of research emeritus at the CNRS (France)
108. Christian MAHIEUX, international trade union network of solidarity and struggles (France)
109. Jan MALEWSKI, journalist, editor of Inprecor (France)
110. Gilles MANCERON, historian (France)
111. Pierre MARAGE, professor emeritus at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
112. Maguy MARIN, choreographer (France)
113. Gustave MASSIAH, CEDETIM (France)
114. Sonia MEIRE, Councilor of Aracaju (Brazil)
115. Omar MENONI, trade unionist (Uruguay)
116. Roland MERIEUX, member of Ensemble! animation team (France)
117. Silvia Fernandes MICHELI, teacher (Uruguay)
118. Anwar MIR SATTARI, ecologist (Belgium)
119. Mathilde MONNIER, choreographer (France)
120. Manuel AGUILA MORA, historian, Autonomous University of Mexico (Mexico)
121. Noel MOREL, external relations, libertarian communist platform network (France)
122. Mariana MORTAGUA, Member of the Portuguese Parliament (Portugal)
123. Olivier NEVEUX, academic (France)
124. Stanislas NORDEZ, director of the Théâtre National de Strasbourg (France)
125. Paula NUNES, Co-representative of the State of São Paulo (Brazil)
126. Françoise NYFFLER, feminist strike activist and member of parliament of Ensemble à Gauche (Switzerland)
127. Danièle OBONO, LFI deputy of Paris (France)
128. Solenn OCHSNER, trade unionist and feminist strike activist and member of parliament of Ensemble à Gauche (Switzerland)
129. Andrés OLIVETTI, trade unionist (Uruguay)
130. Annick OSMOND, socio-anthropologist (France)
131. Ugo PALHETA, sociologist (France)
132. Mathilde PANOT, deputy of Val de Marne, president of the LFI group at the National Assembly (France)
133. Ian PARKER, Professor University of Manchester (Great Britain)
134. Olivier PARRIAUX, Professor emeritus at the University of Lyon-Saint Etienne (France)
135. Henri PASCAL, sociologist (France)
136. Jaime PASTOR, political scientist and director of the magazine “Viento Sur” (Spanish State)
137. Roland PFEFFERKORN, sociologist, University of Strasbourg (France)
138. Elisabeth PERCEVAL, filmmaker (France)
139. Jean-François PELLISSIER, spokesperson, Ensemble ! (France)
140. Martyne PERROT, sociologist (France)
141. Serge PEY, writer (France)
142. Nicole PHELOUZAT, sociologist, CNRS (France)
143. Boris PLAZZI, CGT confederation, CGT Confederal Secretary for International Relations (France)
144. Christine POUPIN, spokesperson, NPA (France)
145. Philippe POUTOU, spokesperson, NPA (France)
146. Stéphanie PREZIOSO, Member of the National Council, Ensemble à gauche (Switzerland)
147. Nadège PRUGNARD, author, actress, director (France)
148. José Manuel PUREZA, Professor, University of Coimbra (Portugal)
149. Martine RAIS, doctor (Switzerland)
150. Rebeca RIELA, economist (Uruguay)
151. Laurent RIPART, historian at the University of Savoie Mont Blanc (France)
152. Teresa RODRIGUEZ, former deputy and spokesperson of Adelante Andalucía (Spanish State)
153. Ema Graciela ROMERO, lawyer (Uruguay)
154. Pierre ROUSSET, internationalist, director of the online journal ESSF (France)
155. Henri SAINT-JEAN, responsible for an association (France)
156. Sara SALEMI, Socialist Solidarity with the Workers in Iran (France)
157. Pauline SALINGUE, spokesperson of the NPA (France)
158. Catherine SAMARY, altermondialist economist (France)
159. Mariana SANCHEZ, journalist and editor, activist of the SNJ CGT and Ensemble! (France)
160. Cobas SARDEGNA, UNICOBAS (Italia)
161. Jacob SCHÄFER, trade unionist (Germany)
162. Janick SCHAUFELBUEHL, Associate Professor Faculty of Social and Political Sciences University of Lausanne, Switzerland
163. Marc SCHLESSER, Décroissance Alternative (Switzerland)
164. HoushangSEPEHR,editor of Iran Echo – Socialist Solidarity with Workers in Iran (France)
165. Yasmine SIBLOT, sociologist (France)
166. Cécile SILHOUETTE, Ensemble ! (France)
167. Francis SITEL, Ensemble! animation team (France)
168. Omar SLAOUTI, teacher, anti-racist activist, elected in Argenteuil (France)
169. Alda SOUSA, mathematician, University of Porto (Portugal)
170. Claude STAZAN, CEDETIM (France)
171. Isabelle STENGERS, philosopher (Belgium)
172. Quentin TALON, mathematician, town councilor in Montreux (Switzerland)
173. Daniel TANURO, ecosocialist author (Belgium)
174. Imad TEMIZA, secretary of the Palestinian Postal Service Workers Union (Palestine)
175. Benoît TESTE, General Secretary of the FSU (France)
176. Julien THERY, historian at the University Louis Lumière Lyon 2 and president of the Media (France)
177. João TEIXERA LOPES, sociologist, University of Porto (Portugal)
178. Sylvie TISSOT, sociologist (France)
179. Marc TOMCZAK, research professor at the University of Lorraine (France)
180. Pascal TORRE, Deputy head of the international sector of the PCF (France)
181. Éric TOUSSAINT, political scientist, Universities of Liege and Paris 8, member of the International Council of the World Social Forum (Belgium)
182. Enzo TRAVERSO, historian (France)
183. Josette TRAT, academic, feminist activist (France)
184. Stéphanie TREILLET, économiste, Ensemble ! (France)
185. Anne TRISTAN (France)
186. Aurélie TROUVÉ, Member of Parliament for Seine-Saint-Denis (France)
187. Franco TURIGLIATTO, former Senator (Italy)
188. Charles-André UDRY, economist and director of the Alencontre website (Switzerland)
189. Mario UNDA, sociologist (Ecuador)
190. Miguel URBAN, MEP (Spanish State)
191. Roseline VACHETTA, former member of the European Parliament – NPA (France)
192. Eleni VARIKAS, professor emeritus at the University of Paris 8 (France)
193. Christiane VOLLAIRE, Philosopher (France)
194. Léo WALTER Member of Parliament for Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, parliamentary group LFI-NUPES (France)
195. Thomas WEYTS, SAP – Anticapitaliste, (Belgium)
196. Youlie YAMAMOTO, spokesperson forATTAC (France)
197. Erika DEUBER ZIEGLER, art historian (Switzerland)
198. Jean ZIEGLER, sociologist, internationalist, politician (Switzerland)
Courtesy Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières
