Campaign for the
release of imprisoned
workers and teachers
and in defence of
immigrant Afghan
workers in
Iran
Note:
Since the start of the campaign, eight of the
detained May Day activists have been released
following sustained protests by the National Union
of Dismissed and Unemployed Workers and the families
and colleagues of the detainees, as well as by
international labour and rights organisations. In
messages issued shortly after their release, the
workers thanked all those who campaigned for their
release and have called for continued support until
all the imprisoned activists are set free. The
campaign for the release of Mahmoud Salehi, Sheis
Amani and Sedigh Karimi and the jailed teachers, as
well as against the government’s current fascistic
assault on immigrant Afghan workers continues.
Please support the campaign in every way you can.
* * *
To:
·
Labour, teachers’ and
human rights organisations around the world
·
Socialists and
defenders of workers’ rights
·
Workers and students
throughout
Iran
·
The people of Sanandaj
This May Day a number
of participants and organisers of the May Day rally
in the city of Sanandaj were arrested. 13 are still
in prison. They are all worker activists and
organisers and members of the National Union of
Dismissed and Unemployed Workers, who were arrested
during the violent attack by the security forces on
the rally on May 1st and on the following
day. Mahmoud Salehi, the May Day organiser from
Saqez, has repeatedly been arrested in the past
three years and is also currently in detention.
The Worker-communist
Party of
Iran has been campaigning for the release of
the jailed workers through its TV International and
by informing international labour and human rights
organisations and labour sites and the international
media regarding the arrests and continued
persecution of workers. The International Trade
Union Confederation (I TUC ) and Amnesty
International, among others, have issued statements
condemning the arrests and calling for the
unconditional release of the detained workers.
The arrested workers
include:
Sheis Amani,
head of the National Union of Dismissed and
Unemployed Workers
Khaled Savari,
deputy head of the Union
Sedigh Karimi,
member of the Union ’s governing board
Eghbal Latifi,
member of the Union
Yadullah Moradi,
member of the Union
Najmeddin Rajabi,
member of the Union
Farogh Gavilian,
member of the Union
Anvar Mafakheri,
member of the Union
Sedigh Amjadi,
member of the Union
Habibullah Kalkani,
member of the Union
Mahiyeddin Rajabi,
member of the Union
Sedigh Sobhani,
member of the Union
Tayyeb Chatani,
worker activist from Sanandaj
Mahmoud Salehi,
May Day organiser from Saqez, who was re-arrested
prior to May Day
The Islamic Republic
regime is trying to stop the growth of the labour
protests in Iran . In particular, by arresting
members and activists of the National Union of
Dismissed and Unemployed Workers, it is hoping to
smash this newly-formed organisation and thereby
also dampen the fighting spirit among the people in
Iran .
In addition, in the
past few weeks the regime has stepped up the
fascistic campaign of arrest and deportation of
immigrant Afghan workers. Many of these workers have
been living in
Iran for decades. An Afghan worker died and
several others were injured when they were thrown
off a building while being chased by the security
forces.
A number of teachers,
who were arrested during the teachers’ strike and
protests, are still in prison. Some have been sacked
by being handed so-called Termination of Service
Orders. This is the response of the regime to
hundreds of thousands of teachers who are demanding
a living wage and better conditions.
Much more work is
required, both in
Iran and internationally, to get the
imprisoned workers and teachers released and lend
support to the immigrant Afghan workers. WPI is
launching a campaign with this aim and calls on all
labour and human rights organisations and political
parties, communists and socialists, and all
supporters of workers’ rights and civil rights to
join this campaign.
We also call on all
workers, students, women and the youth in
Iran to stand firmly in defence of the rights
of workers and teachers and for full citizenship
right for Afghan workers and all immigrants in
Iran .
We call on all labour
and human rights organisations and all those who
stand for equal rights and liberties to support
these demands:
1-
immediate
and unconditional release of all the detained May
Day activists;
2-
immediate
and unconditional release of all imprisoned teachers
and the withdrawal of the Termination of Service
Orders;
3-
unconditional freedom of expression, strike and
organisation; unconditional freedom of assembly and
protest;
4-
release of
all political prisoners;
5-
strong
condemnation of the Islamic Republic regime for the
crushing of the May Day rally in Sanandaj, the break
up of the May Day rally in Kermanshah, the attack on
the May Day demonstration in
Tehran and the arrest of worker activists in
Sanandaj;
6-
strong
condemnation of the fascistic and inhuman policies
of the regime against immigrant Afghan workers
residing in
Iran, calling for an end to the deportation
of immigrants and recognition of equal citizenship
right and the right to work and live in
Iran for all immigrants residing in
Iran.
Worker-communist Party
of
Iran
6 May 2007
