One section of our rulers wants us to believe that this war is a war against fascism, and another section wants us to believe that this war is a defence of the homeland. Interestingly, both sides, at the same time, through their mass media claim that they have popular and global support for this destructive operation. The various states of the world are aligning themselves imperialistically in the interests of their ruling classes.
The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in his speech on 1 March said:
"Ukraine has fallen victim to the US policy of crisis-making. We are in favour of ending the war in Ukraine, but the cure for any crisis is to know its roots. The root of the crisis in Ukraine is the United States." (bbc.com)
In contrast, the Iranian workers see the root of the crisis not in this or that state, but in the capitalist world order itself. The workers of Haft Tappeh, the spearhead of the Iranian workers movement, those who initiated the slogan of “Bread, Jobs, Freedom – Soviet Power!”, the focus of the workers' protests in Iran, have expressed this in the following two declarations, which we republish here. It should be noted that we have translated the first note to English, whilst the second note was published on their Telegram channel in English.
This War is Not Our War!
Capitalists and capitalist governments use their policies for profit and investment in various ways.
Repression, arrest and imprisonment, torture and execution, unemployment and homelessness, and sometimes war and the killing of innocent people who have no role or get any benefit from the war, except death and displacement.This war is not our war!
Our war is the working class war against the capitalist class, against oppression, exploitation and discrimination.
Let us dismantle the capitalist governments in all parts of the world in order to get rid of war, insecurity, poverty, etc.
Long live the international solidarity of the working class!
(Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers Syndicate, 28 February 2022)
The War in Ukraine is a War Against Workers!
The war that the capitalist governments are waging on Ukrainian soil is also a war against the Haft Tappeh workers in Iran. It is also against all the workers of Iran and actually against all the workers of the world. It is not just a war against Ukraine or against Russia. This is actually not a war against a particular country; it is against the workers and wage earners of that country and the rest of the workers of the world.
Putin did not invade Ukraine for the benefit of Russian workers. Neither the United States, nor Europe, nor NATO have stationed troops under Russia's nose in the interests of the Ukrainian workers or the interests of the European and American workers. The expansion of NATO to Ukraine, or anywhere else, is capitalist militarism and hostile to the interests of workers. Just as the Russian military offensive is capitalist militarism and against all workers. The NATO presence in Ukraine, or Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are plans that end in favour of the world's capitalists. The blood and lives of ordinary people are being lost. Our homes are being ruined, but they are making their profits. They sell weapons, attack other places under the pretext of insecurity, or increase their military presence in other places. Their war and military budgets are increasing: all of which are being spent from the pockets of the workers on their own warlordism, instead of being spent on the public welfare of society.
Some say Putin is innocent because NATO was infiltrating Russia's borders; while others say the Ukrainian, European or American presidents are innocent because they are doing something against Putin's action. They are all guilty. It is true that NATO was wrong to recruit members along Russia's borders, but Putin and Russian capitalism are also to blame. America, Europe and NATO are also to blame. It is not just one side that is to blame.
Under the influence of the European and American media, some people are making the Ukrainian president into a hero. What hero? He is a pawn in the game of capitalism's and NATO's influence; and it is not a question of democracy at all, so that anyone can say that the president of Ukraine is fighting for democracy. For some, Putin is the hero, and for some Biden. What hero? These are the leaders of capitalism and they wreck workers' homes. The main dispute is between the great powers of capitalism. This is neither today's nor yesterday's dispute. It always has been that way. The problem is that the workers of Russia and Ukraine must strike a blow at their own governments. European and American workers have to strike a blow at their own governments, saying you have no right to wage war with our money.
This stupid, cruel and worker-killing war should not be defended by any side. Rather, the workers and wage earners on both sides, and all sides, should be supported and urged to unite against this war.
This war is not a war for the interests of the Russian workers or defending the interests of the Ukrainian workers. This war is not a war for the interests of any workers at all. It is a war against our interests. The current war between Russia and the other powers on Ukrainian soil is a reactionary and anti-worker war. We must all be against the war. We must not be just against Putin, not just against Biden and the European presidents, not just against the Ukrainian president. We workers, wage earners and toilers must be united against the war. We are against all you capitalists and warmongers. This is not our war. It is a war against all of us workers.
(Haft Tappeh Workers' Independent Channel, 28 February 2022)
For previous articles in English and Farsi on the struggles of Haft Tappeh and other workers in Iran, see: https://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2018-haft-tappeh-struggle and https://www.leftcom.org/fa
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