Although one might not necessarily agree with every word of this, Peyvand Khorsandi writes:
What
is going on in Iran? Nobody knows. Perhaps
somebody does but they’re not telling us. One thing is for sure: there is
one man who can actually pivot things in a good direction – and it’s not Donald
Trump.
The world may be
watching, as the President says, but that’s
what it should have been doing in 2009 when John Kerry and President Obama
refused to offer Iran’s Green Movement protestors their backing in a few simple
words.
Instead, they
washed their hands. Just a soundbite of support? No chance. The Ahmadinejad
government violently crushed those protests, with killings, mass arrests,
torture and rape.
Today few could give a hoot
what Donald Trump says – he achieved an amazing thing last year, creating unity
among Iranians with his preposterous travel ban which has caused havoc among
students and families in America.
But we do need a
figure in the West to do what Trump simply hasn’t the moral standing to do.
It is time, ladies
and gentleman, for Jeremy
Corbyn to step up – in turn, he can prompt the Prime Minister
and the EU to stand up for what Iran now
needs: freedom of speech.
Crikey, no one
even knows what is happening on the ground and how the demonstrations that
kicked off on Thursday even started. There is hearsay. But very
little reporting. Conjecture from pundit after pundit.
The mechanics of
what’s going on are so obscure that analyst after analyst is left to shrug
their shoulders and say we will have to “wait and see”.
Twelve people have been
killed. Chants have included “Death
to Rouhani” and “Political prisoners must be freed”. The West must hear these
remarkable calls.
Corbyn in
particular must put his head above the parapet and it’s surely the duty of
every Corbynista to remind him of this.
For if Corbyn has an Achilles
heel it’s his association with the Iranian government, having worked for its
broadcaster Press TV and having chaired an organisation, Stop the War
Coalition, which regards the Islamic Republic as a friend in the struggle to
free Palestine and as a stalwart against Western imperialism – and,
lamentably, defender of the Assad regime.
Corbyn’s
connection with the pro-Islamist, and pro-Islamic Republic element of
the political left is a blight on his record that may yet negatively impact his
chances of winning the next election. Imagine if things get even uglier in Iran.
Where is Corbyn’s record of denouncing Islamist extremism and calling for human
rights in the country? [You think that that is a rhetorical question. But it is not.] Speaking out for
the people would be the constructive and intelligent way to engage with Iran –
the antidote to Trump’s effort to stir up trouble and create the kind of chaos
that his allies in Saudi Arabia and Israel crave.
Corbyn can take
the lead in recognising that the Rouhani project is dead. The West then has a
chance: acknowledge that ‘reformists’ are but frauds in the Iranian context,
announce it, and push for freedom of speech and the freeing of all political
prisoners.
For evidence look
no further than the Iranian president himself. First elected in 2013, this is the best he has to offer his voters
today: “These [demonstrators] are not all people acting on
instructions from abroad but some are people out on the street because of their
feelings and problems… it’s not just because of economic problems ... they
don’t just want money or bread … they want a more openness”.
Wrongly dubbed a
“reformer” Rouhani is a conservative, dedicated to keeping Shia, Khomeiniist,
Islamist rule intact. Boris
Johnson was ridiculed by the leader of Friday prayers in Mashad
shortly after visiting the country. A cleric said: “The newspapers in England
called him a clown, a liar, and he comes here to tell us to release two spies,
who’ve sold out their country”.
Corbyn, on the
other hand, is respected across the competing sources of power within Iran
– and he can nudge Theresa May and other leaders to toughen their line on
Iran and push for the protection of human rights. Freedom of expression is a
greater threat to Iran than, say, Israel.
And perhaps it’s to Israel that
Corbyn must look to see the power of righteous individuals to shake the very
bones of an oppressive state. Harsh? Israel can only be inspired by its arch
foe to stoop to the level of keeping Ahed Tamimi, a 16-year-old girl, in detention
for slapping a soldier in the face, as it is currently doing.
Narges Mohammadi and Arash Sadeghi are
but two of the many Iranians imprisoned for expressing unwelcome ideas in their
own country. (Then there are those who simply happened to be in the wrong place
at the wrong time, such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratlcliffe, Kamal Foroughi and Ahmadreza Djalali, the
Stockholm-based scientist who has been given a death sentence.)
This is Corbyn’s
chance to prove he is a world leader. If he takes it, the chant “Oh Je-re-my
Corbyn” will resound through the cells of the notorious Evin prison.
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