Excerpts from the speech given by Comrade Ashraf Dehghani in the Mahabad mass rally on February 8, 1980; the 9^th Anniversary of the Siahkal Insurrection

The 9^th Anniversary of Siahkal

Salute to all combative Iranian nationals, in particular, salute to the people of Kurdistan! How can I respond to the great love and affection that you are expressing towards me? It is, indeed, impossible. I can only say to you that my whole life has been and always will be devoted to the revolution. I dedicate my life to the people of Iran and to the liberation struggles of our country.

I know very well that this love and affection expressed here today is not just addressed to me but rather to pay tribute to the essence of revolutionary sincerity, to the essence of revolutionary struggle and to commitment and perseverance in the course of struggle.

Thus, your love and affection is really directed toward all the Fedaee guerrillas; for those who died in the past for the revolution and for those who are decisively ready to give up their lives for the revolutionary cause.

Nine years ago, on a day like today, our combatant comrades echoed their shouts for liberty through the sound of their machine guns and people heard it well…. Today, however, they are not here to reap the fruit of their efforts. They were not here to see how the brave people of Iran rose up against the dictatorial regime of the Shah on the 21^st and the 22^nd of February shouting the same slogans as they had: “Armed struggle is the only path to freedom” and “We will create a people’s army to liberate our country”.

The blood that was shed by each and every Fadaee martyr flowed into the river of our 70,000 martyrs during the 19^th and 21^st of Bahman (February). Our comrades who gave their lives and gave birth to the legendary armed struggle in Siahkal were among the most sincere, the most courageous and the most genuine revolutionaries in our country. They gave up their lives to pave the road to freedom.

Although they are no longer with us, their loss has left a wound in our hearts; a wound that will blossom and turn into a forest of rage. What gave them determination and strength to fight selflessly was their love for the people and faith in their victorious path. They had only one hope and that was that their path would be continued by new comrades. So, what is the significance of 19^th of February?

The 19^th of Bahman is the anniversary of the initiation of armed struggle in Iran. On this day, by waging an assault on the Gendarmerie post in Siahkal, Our comrades proclaimed a war on their main enemy, i.e. imperialism and its lackey; the Shah. Nine years have passed since then. Our comrades believed the yolk of imperialism could only be crushed by armed struggle…. History has proven them correct. Take a look at the revolutions in Asia, Africa and Latin America! None of these revolutions could have succeeded if it had not been for the armed struggle carried out in these countries. Our martyred comrades began the struggle with the same belief….

All of you know now, under what conditions armed struggle began in Iran. Not only did fascism not allow the people’s voices to be heard and their objectives to be realized, but also, the historical-political wrongdoings and opportunism of the Tudeh Party and their betrayal of the working class caused the majority of the people to lose their trust in any leadership and be disillusioned in struggle.

However, armed revolutionary “Fedaee guerrillas” and “People's Mojahedins” changed this reality. Our comrades proved their revolutionary sincerity and faith to the people with the blood they shed…. And then you witnessed how the huge masses of people supported us and joined us in the struggle. All this was the outcome of the efforts of our martyred comrades…. This showed that people recognised their true vanguards and had faith in them. You witnessed what a massive number of people joined in the demonstrations and rallies, which were called in the name of The Iranian People’s Fadaee Guerrillas. Alas! I have to tell you that this organization, built and bloomed by the toil and blood of our martyred comrades, it is for quite some time now that it has been infiltrated by opportunists who are following the same path that the “Tudeh” Party set long ago. They consciously and purposely intend to mask their diverting policies and objectives under the cover of the magnificent name of the “Fadaee”. They are still using the name of this organisation, while they have no aims other than to discredit the IPFG…. As you know, I am only a member of the IPFG. However, both the enemy and these opportunists try to distort reality. They cannot admit to the existence of the IPFG, instead, they constantly speak of my person.

From the very beginning of the 1979 uprising, the Kurdish people warmly embraced, supported and joined our organization in great numbers. However, it did not take that long for the Kurdish people to realize that they were not dealing with the same OIPFG that had existed before. Since those, who had falsely used the name of this organisation, turned their backs to the Kurdish people when they were being massacred by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic. And now, the OIPFG is rapidly losing its mass support base in Kurdistan and among the Kurdish people. You, yourself, have been witnessing how the Fedaees’ reputation and integrity has been undermined in Kurdistan by these opportunists who deceitfully call themselves “Fedaeen”. So, do not mistake these for the true People’s Fadaee Guerrillas!

As you remember, in the early days of the people’s uprising, even the clergy was using the legends of the Fedaees’ heroic struggle in order to have an influence on the people. But now, everything has changed. Nowadays, it is considered a sin to talk about the Fedaees.

The new regime is so afraid of the revolutionary Fadaees that they cannot even tolerate a street to be named after the martyred Fedaees…. The new regime is afraid that the Fedaees’ names will remain in the people’s memory and, in time, this would turn the people against the current regime. How ineptly they try to do so. The Fedaees’ names and their struggle will always have its place in the people’s memory.

We, the IPFG will always remain true to our people and our comrades’ path until the day of victory.

Some people might ask: ‘what is your comrades’ path that you still want to continue?’ Or, ‘Isn’t the revolution over?’

But, when can we say the revolution is actually over? To answer this question, one must see as to what social classes participated in the revolution and whether they achieved their goals and demands!

As you know, in our revolution, it was the masses of people and, in particular, the working and toiling people, that took part in the revolution. It was they who weakened the rule of the dependent bourgeoisie. And, when the revolutionary movement was reaching its peak, it was the workers’ successive strikes and demonstrations that brought the dependent capitalists to their knees. Even when the present rulers asked the overthrown capitalists to return to Iran to do ‘business as usual’, the capitalists refused this generous offer! They would refuse saying that they would not work with those ‘rude’ workers! Of course, you have to note that when the bourgeoisie uses the term ‘rude worker’, it really means the ‘revolutionary worker’….

And right after that, it was the oil workers that waged the final offence on the regime. If you still remember, when Bazargnan (the first Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic regime) and his associates played an intermediary role between the government and the oil workers, the workers were given many promises. The workers agreed to start the production of oil only under the condition that their representatives would participate in the decision making process of the revolutionary council. But, do we see the presence of any of the workers’ representatives anywhere in the government? No! In fact, is there anybody in the revolutionary council who is the defender of the oppressed people and their class interests? The workers participated in the revolution against tyranny and repression so that their material and social conditions would change for the better. Yet, at the present time, three million people are unemployed and their socio-economic conditions have not changed at all. And if the workers ask for unemployment benefits or any type of social security, they are called counter-revolutionary. Therefore, none of the workers’ demands have been met and their economic conditions are, in fact, deteriorating. Of course, some workers might choose patience thinking that the conditions might change in the future. However, we believe this is not so. In fact, because of the present regime’s total dependency to imperialism; it neither intends to nor is it capable, due to its nature, of solving any of the workers’ problems. That is why the workers’ protests are increasing almost daily…. One of the most crucial problems in the present Iranian economy is a double-digit rate of inflation and a high cost of living, which has crushed the workers’ and other toiling masses’ backs while the government, through different kinds of taxes, is adding to the pressure….

What has the government done about these problems? Every government policy implemented, so far, has only worsened the people’s living and working condition…. So we see that nothing has changed for the oppressed classes and only the rich have become richer.

On the other hand, let us take a quick look at the condition of the farmers. You know very well how the Shah’s policies (known as “the White Revolution”) ruined the peasants’ lives. Many of them were driven from their homes and headed to the cities where they continue to live in poverty and endless misery. Those who remained in the country and became so called “landowners”, are debt-ridden so that the banks take everything. In addition, they must pay taxes for water plus 1001 other things.

Now, what did these rural dwellers, who came to the cities in order to participate in demonstrations, expect the new government to do? They expected the government to do away with the encroachment of the government agencies. They expected the new government to do away with bureaucracy of the past and to introduce a real land reform. Furthermore, they expected the government to tie the hands of the big landowners and so on. But as we know, this has not been the case….

If the overall conditions in Iran, as it is today, continue in the same direction, it will be very precarious. People did not sacrifice their lives and the lives of their young to bring about this new government. Our people know that their demands aren’t being met and we know that the revolution is, indeed, not over yet.

…Since the new regime took power, a bunch of dubious and infamous individuals and also a number of known reactionary bureaucrats of the old regime have filled influential positions in the new government.

The Shah’s high ranking military officers have been reassigned to various high posts within the military and civil agencies…. They are all, in one way or another, representatives of US imperialism. For example, Mr. Chamran was given the Vice Premiership post. He, in return, suppressed the Kurdish people’s movement and was promoted to the post of Defense minister after having done such a good job in massacring the Kurdish people. Death to him! Death to Chamran! Where has he really been in the last twenty years? Many people know that he was in the service of his imperialist bosses. This man, Dr. Chamran, the murderer of the Kurdish people, was also involved in suppressing the Palestinian movement. He was involved in the Tal-Zatar massacre which took place in Lebanon two years ago.

It is obvious that if our revolution had been truly completed, then individuals such as Chamran, would not have had any role in the leadership. Not much had passed since the Bazargan government took power that we, the Fedaee guerrillas, announced our stand concerning the class nature of the new regime. We maintained that the new regime was part and parcel of the dependent bourgeoisie. We exposed the fact that a deal had been made to disguise the new government with a revolutionary façade. What the new regime did with the military is a prime example of this. The government reorganized the Shah’s army and called it “The Islamic Republic Army”. So, it is only the names and titles of the bourgeois institutions and establishments that were changed; not their content. In 1953, the CIA spent a lot of money to bring the Shah back to Iran. But, in the case of this new government, the deal was made through straightforward round table talks and, in the end, the US was given strong assurances to the safety of its interests in Iran. The only difference between the 1953 coup and the 1979 regime change was that the executors and the bureaucrats of the Shah’s regime wore clean cut business suits and the new rulers wear long beards and robes. In other words, nothing has really changed for the people and no one can say that our revolution is over…

The other important issue facing our movement is the question of the nationalities in Iran. Under the Shah’s regime, it was in the interest of the Shah and the imperialist powers that the national minorities be kept in a backward economic and cultural condition so that they would never be able to organize themselves and fight against the Shah’s regime…

One would expect that after the revolution, the new government would immediately recognize the natural rights of the nationalities and help them drive away the feudal lords and the big land owners. But, the contrary occurred in Iran with the new regime… The new regime actually and officially helped the reactionaries and the big landowners harass the peasants and exploit them even more than before…. You know very well what the Islamic regime’s army did to the Kurdish people in Sanadaj and to the Turkmen people in Gunbad. Do you remember how the military shelled and bombed the Kurdish villages!? These attacks remind us of the Vietnam War and the massacres of the Vietnamese people by the American forces…

Today, I want to emphasize one thing in particular: The Kurdish people must stand on guard and do all that they can to stay strong. As much as the new regime is drafting more soldiers and is reorganizing its military strength, the Kurdish people must also stand ready for the forthcoming new attacks. The Kurdish people must not let themselves be deceived by the phoney negotiations set up by the new regime. Class struggle has its won laws. The enemy has never recognized the people’s rights on its own terms. As one old saying goes, justice must be taken; it is never given. Therefore, a revolutionary leadership should educate the masses politically on a wider scale. The leadership must outline the goals and the means of reaching them, and organize and arm the masses. It is only under the shield of organization and revolution that the Kurdish people can actualize their goals and their quest for freedom and justice…

We know that the question of national minorities has not been resolved… And we know that the struggle against imperialism is not limited to “occupying the US embassy”! The anti-imperialist struggles can succeed only when the people’s demands are met. For example, almost all food products are being imported from the US, and if the new regime really intends to fight imperialism, it should introduce a major land reform and give the land to the landless peasants…. It is only then that we will be able do away with US imperialism.

The crises of the dependent bourgeoisie are insolvable… and until the workers and peasants, together with the oppressed nationalities, materialize their demands….

We can not say that the revolution is over…

we will continue the IPFG’s path; the path that our martyred comrades started in the forest of Siahkhal… and until the domination of imperialism is not uprooted, we will continue the struggle in the same way. And if the conditions change in some respect, we will also change our tactics of struggle in those respectively. If in the past, we took up arms to show the people what the alternative was, today, in the face of the people’s actual uprising, we openly proclaim that our method of struggle is as follows: In places where people have already taken up arms, we will organize their struggles. And in places where people are deceived by the Islamic regime’s dubious policies, we will expose the facts to the people and we will show them that the actual way to fight the new regime is, in deed, the very same path the courageous people of Kurdistan have taken….

Therefore, this is our agenda today: forward to the armed organization of the masses!...

Long-live The Iranian People’s Fadaee Guerrillas!

Long-live the memory of all the people’s martyrs!

Down with opportunism!

Down with imperialism and its chained lackeys!

With confidence in the victory of our path

The Iranian People’s Fadaee Guerrillas

February 8^th/1980