Industrial Workers of the World

"natarseen, natarsee, ma hameh baham hasteem." "be not afraid, be not afraid, we are all together." And then at the end of the video they shout "down with the dictator."

NEWS: Tuesday June 23rd: all citizens should strike, not go to work or school in honor of those who were killed in the demonstrations. call by students supporting the legal rights movement Iranian

Bus Workers Join the Resistance http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/iranian-bus-workers-join-resistance By Al Giordano The Autobus Workers Union of Iran (Sendikaye Sherkat Vahed, in Farsi) has just made the following declaration (translated for The Field by Iraj Omidvar):

https://www.ina-newsagency.com/Report-Details.aspx?reportId=2330&back=0&type=3

In recent days we have witnessed the passionate presence of millions of women and men, the old and the young, and ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, people who want their government to recognize their most basic right, the right to freely, independently, and transparently elect, a right that in most societies around the world is not only recognized officially but for whose protection no effort is neglected.

In the current situation, we witness threats, arrests, killings, and naked persecution, which threaten to grow in dimension and lead to the shedding of innocent people's blood thus bringing a rise in popular protests and not in their decline. Iranian society is facing a deep political and economic crisis. Million-strong protests, which have manifested themselves with a silence that is replete with meaning, have become a pattern that is growing in area and dimension, a growth that demands a response from any responsible person and organization.

The Autobus Workers Union in an announcement issued before the elections declared, "in the absence of the freedom for political parties, our organization is naturally deprived of a social institution that can protect it." "Workers of the Autobus Workers Union consider their social involvement and political activity to be the certain right of each member of society and furthermore believe that workers across Iran as long as they submit the platforms of presidential candidates and a practical guarantee about campaign slogans can choose to participate or not participate in elections."

The fact that the demands of the vast majority of Iranian society go far beyond those of unions is obvious to all, and in the previous years we have emphasized that until the principle of the freedom to organize and to elect is not materialized, any talk of social freedom and labor union rights will be a farce.

Given these facts, the Autobus Workers Union places itself alongside all those who are offering themselves in the struggle to build a free and independent civic society. The union condemns any kind of suppression and threats. To recognize labor-union and social rights in Iran, the international labor organizations have declared the Fifth of Tir (June 26) the international day of support for imprisoned Iranian workers as well as for the institution of unions in Iran.

We want that this day be viewed as more than a day for the demands of labor unions to make it a day for human rights in Iran and to ask all our fellow workers to struggle for the trampled rights of the majority of the people of Iran. With hope for the spread of justice and freedom, Autobus Workers Union Add the bus workers to the auto workers and the industrial union sector that creates the means of transportation has emerged as the vanguard in what - thus speaks The Field - will soon become a coalition of industrial workers with the power to spark a general strike in Iran.

And there is not a regime on earth that can survive a general strike aimed at its heart. It's significant that the bus workers set a date, a week from now, for its International Day of Support for Imprisoned Iranian Workers.

The call carries with it a prima facie acknowledgement that no matter what happens in the streets on Saturday, the party is just getting started. The regime can take out Mousavi. It can take out every operative in his orbit. But it cannot force an educated and organized workforce - with long memories of 56 years of struggle against Western and Eastern regimes alike - to show up on the job. As I like to say: Watch, listen... and learn.

Iran Khodro is unionized, a combative union that went on strike in May and beat the company bosses, which sells 65 percent of all autos in Iran and dominates many African markets, too: "The strike of the Iran Khodro workers to get their unpaid wages and convert temporary contracts to permanent ones ends in victory Last week the workers of Iran Khodro were successful with their glorious strike which started in the assembly hall and continued in the shuttle (body) hall and ended with the press hall strike. The workers’ immediate demands were payment of their unpaid wages (productivity and last year’s production record bonuses) and to switch workers on temporary contracts to contracts of the Iran Khodro Company itself." http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/iran-khodro-auto-workers-begin-work-slowdown-protest-regime

The workers of the Khodro automobile company in Iran today issued the following declaration http://www.jonge-khabar.com/news/articlekhabar.php?id=60781

(translated for The Field from the original Farsi by Iraj Omidvar):

Strike in Iran Khodro: We declare our solidarity with the movement of the people of Iran. Autoworker, Fellow Laborers (Laborer Friends): What we witness today, is an insult to the intelligence of the people, and disregard for their votes, the trampling of the principles of the Constitution by the government. It is our duty to join this people's movement.

We the workers of Iran Khodro, Thursday 28/3/88 in each working shift will stop working for half an hour to protest the suppression of students, workers, women, and the Constitution and declare our solidarity with the movement of the people of Iran. The morning and afternoon shifts from 10 to 10:30. The night shift from 3 to 3:30. Laborers of IranKhodor

More:

The Vigilante Journalist - Independent Reporting on Human Rights and Social Issues in Conflict Zones and Times of Crisis http://vigilantejournalist.com/blog/

Regrouping Against Repression in Iran by Al Giordano - June 21, 2009 What's amazing is that they've accomplished this with so many means of communications blocked and with much of the visible leadership arrested or disappeared. They're not following orders from "leaders." Today's demonstration is a manifestation of a collective impulse toward organization. I agree with Gandhi when he said, “My non-violence does not admit of running away from danger and leaving dear ones unprotected. Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice." http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/regrouping-against-repression-iran

Interesting Iranian leftist site; lists names of students arrested, missing, and released, so may be of use to people in country. Seem to have good links to Iranian workers' movement, with info about current thinking of key sectors. Provides analysis of regional contexts too. http://hopinewsfromiran.wordpress.com/

BIZ As USUAL Profits NOTE: some Iranians have begun to find a way around the censors using a new technology known as the "Tor Project," a Web site that lets the user disguise his Internet provider address through other proxy sites around the world. Also on Twitter, a call went out on Thursday for all non-Iranian users to change their time zone to Iran in order to confuse Internet censors. Nokia Siemens Networks does have a choice about whether to do business in any country. In our case 'doing business' means connecting people via global telecoms and Internet networks. We believe providing people, wherever they are, with the ability to communicate is preferable to leaving them without the choice to be heard. Ben Roome Nokia Siemens Networks http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/20/iran-has-tech-to-track-tweets-texts/

VIDEO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_2n_tgBzVk

Sarbaze Irani (iranian soldier)

Translation To English:

Always - storm begins with a wind and start of a roaring flood is a drop of water

let me say this better with simple language that this song of mine is only a voice

amongst sixty million other voices flowing from other people's voice-box whom

like me are an Iranian soldier and are unsatisfied with their country's situation

because after twelve centuries of struggle they're still under the rule of the Arabic Caliphates

other than toppling them there's no other way this is the hard lesson of history

the place for light is after darkness Iranian soldier,

anytime you stand up freedom begins while you

sit alone the dark and black night continues

decision is your, it's your choice, you personally have to want freedom Iranian soldier,

Iranian soldier what you hear is voice of a new generation demanding the right

for freedom of speech and for the freedom of anyone whom are jailed

for voicing their opinions our struggle will continue on

until the lion-and-sun is displayed on our flag

lion-and-sun is a type of weapon and their fear

of it is only a testimony of that they're afraid of a flag uniting us

so they're shaking it's time to believe in one faith

and that's "patriotism" the official religion of the true Iranian soldier is that countryman

our problems have solution and to hope for victory is the only way

let me tell you about this hope that's a thorn in our enemy's eye

if you have an addiction, put it away

have too much resentment, put that away too

and with the help of hope, love and each other we'll rebuild our homeland again

it's time to not ask ourselves what this country has done for us

and instead for even once see what we have done for our homeland

after all this country has a right to us too and there's a limit to being unappreciative amongst

every hundred personal steps taken how nice it'd be to take one step for the homeland