Iran Mass Protests Rocked the Regime
Iran has been rocked by the mass protests . They spread to almost all cities and towns . Starting from December 28 , 2017 the protests continued for a week . The Iranian government responded with iron hand . Around 21 people - including some policemen - died in the clashes . Officials admitted that around 450 people have been arrested .
The mass protests are not sudden incidents . They are part of Iranian peoples growing unrest and anger against the policies of government . In Arak , an industrial city 300 kms south west of capital Tehran , workers of two industries privatised in 2002 clashed with police for two days in the last September , when police swooped on them to break up their protest against the failure of the managements to pay back wages and medical insurance premiums . Hundreds of oil workers and truck drivers protested against the late payment of wages in last October . Workers of Tobriz tractor factory protested against closure of the factory . The workers of tyre factory in Tehran protested against non-payment of bonus .
The current wide spread protests are a continuation of the previous protests and an expression of growing unrest and anger of the people . The workers and youth are very much agitated by the mass unemployment , rising food prices and severe austerity measures . Conceding the right of workers to peacefully protest , the Iranian President Hasan Rouhani has said that “ we have no bigger problem than unemployment ”.
The mass protests are the result of deteriorating economical conditions of the people n official records , only 3.2 million or 12.7 per cent of the work force is unemployed in Iran . But the real unemployment among youth is as high as 40 per cent . The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps ( IRGC ) report says that 50 per cent of people live in poverty . The World Wealth Income Database ( 2013 data ) says that the top 1 per cent of Iranians monopolise 16.8 per cent of all the country ’ s income- almost equal to the entire bottom 50 per cent of people , while the top 10 per cent garner 48.5 per cent . 20
Adding to this , the government substituted the subsidies it used to give on petrol , gas , basic foods and essential services with cash payments since 2010 . In the current year , it slashed cash payments to essential goods . The price of petrol shot up to the extent of 50 per cent . Thus the peoples ’ anger against this situation got expressed in the mass protests .
Though the Iranian President conceded openly that unemployment caused the mass protests , the ruling elite ranging from Ayatollah Khomeini to IRGC deputy Commander General Rasoul Sanayee and former president Mahmmad Khatami blamed Iran ’ s “ strategic rivals ” ( meaning US , Israel and Saudi Arabia ) for inciting and supporting mob violence . At various times these ‘ rivals ’ called for regime change in Iran and are taking “ the war inside Iran ”. It seems all the factions of Iranian ruling class have come together in the face of mass protests .
It is true that US imperialism and its allies in West Asia have tried to incite people against the Iranian government in the past . In 2009 with the support of US and French imperialisms and western media , a section of the Iranian ruling class that wanted a rapprochement with US imperialism mislead the people into protests against the reelection of the then president Mohamoud Afmenijad .
It is equally true that the current mass protests are basically different from those of 2009 . The protests of 2009 were mainly centred in the capital city Tehran and drawn support from upper-middle class of the city , while the current mass protests occurred all over Iran engulfing nearly 15 cities and towns and drawn workers , youth and poorer sections into the protests . While the current mass protests opposed the austerity measures , rising prices and unemployment , the 2009 protests criticised the government for “ squandering ” money on the poor for social spending .
The economic crisis in Iran is a product of continuous economic sanctions and military pressure by US imperialism , the collapse of oil prices and brutal austerity measures President Rouhani has implemented . contd . on page 19
Class Struggle