After the bombing.. n's Left under fire

Scan page 5

to stand together BREAK OUR STRIKE claimed the lives of Ayatollah Beheshti (leader of Iran's ruling Islamic Republican Party), 27. Parliamentary deputies and 44 others, has not shaken the hold of the right-wing clergy one bit.

It has merely contributed to the growing sense of chaos, disintegration and powerlessness among the Iranian masses.

By contrast, the massive demonstration organised in Tehran by the People's Mojahedeen and supported by the Fedayeen (Minority) a few days before, on June 20th, clearly stung the government.

Hundreds of thousands - the People's Mojahedeen claim 500,000 marched in protest against the clerical counterrevolution which had just removed President Bani Sadr. The chief slogan of the Mojahedeen today is for the return of Bani Sadr.

The Islamic Republic Party reacted by dispatching its club-wielding thugs against the marchers and then ordered troops to fire on the demonstrators. A doctor who treated those injured on the demonstration was later executed along with RECENTLY A resolution was put to the Anti-Apartheid Movement executive calling on it to assist in developing fraternal links at factory-to-factory level between South African and British unions involved in fights against the same multinational companies, and to promote exchange visits and international combine committees.

Last week the AAM executive replied, rejecting the resolution. They asserted that all links with South African unions must be channelled through SACTU, the trade union wing of the South African Communist Party and the ANC.

They argued that "most active trade unions in South Africa are organised in semi-legal or clandestine conditions" and that direct contacts would "provoke further harassment" from the state.

This is not true. Most trade unionists work openly in legal unions, though there is intense repression.

Direct contacts with British unions have never been harmful, quite the contrary, but contacts mediated through the outlawed SACTU would indeed be dangerous.

The AAM exec argued that visits to South Africa are not necessary, since trade unionists can learn the facts about apartheid here. (But the nature and strengths of the black union movement are scarcely publicised in this country].

Third, they argued that international combine committees are impractical and dangerous for workers in South Africa. [However, workers from NUMARWOSA recently participated in just such a committee for GM, in Detroit]. his wife and eight year old daughter.

(This is not the first case of children being executed. The Tehran 'revolutionary' prosecutor, Hassan Lajevardi, denied that anyone under 18 had been executed, but then added: 'We cannot show clemency towards young girls of 13 or 14 years of age who AAM general secretary Abdul Minty Finally, they attempted to substitute their disinvestment campaign for the trade union struggle, asserting the need to ensure that "workers in this country are aware of and campaign against involvement of their companies in South Africa"

The fact is that in the last ten years unions have developed in South Africa quite independently of SACTU and in some cases in antagonism to SACTU. SACTU itself is largely an exile organisation.

It is therefore quite wrong to insist that SACTU should monopolise channels of support for South African unions. Such a policy can only bold back solidarity with those unions that are actually organising, mobilising and representing black workers in South Africa. SUPPORTERS of the Mojabedeen and Fedayeen [Minority) were arrested in Manchester recently after they had fo ught back against an attacl . on them by supporters of the regime.

The comrades have been released on bail.

have transformed themselves into inhuman elements and attacked revolutionary guards with knives... If the hypocrites (the in-term for the Mojahedeen, on account of their claim to be true interpreters of Islam] wish to use little girls nine years old that will not affect our sentiment... ").

Bob Fine A NEW success the in growing struggle the of hlack working class the apartheid was scored last at Colgate-Palmolive.

The union there - the Chemical Workers' Union. an affiliate of the Federation of South Atrican Trade U'nions (FOSATI) - demanded that the company negotiate directly with them over wages and conditions.

The management refused, saying that they would only negotiate through the 'Industrial Council', the highly bureaucratised and white-dominated official negotiating channel.

The union threatened a strike. It was potentially the first legal strike in South African black trade union history — legal because the union had gone through the lengthy maze of tortuous procedures required by the state before industrial action can be undertaken.

The company subsequently surrendered: they agreed to negotiate directly with the union, outside the oppressive rubric of the Industrial Council.

At Leyland, the strike of black workers continues to hold its ground. Organised by NUMARWOSA, the 17,000strong affiliate of FOSATU, the black workers have so far successfully resisted the company's offensive.

After management fired the entire black workforce (illegally and in violation of prior agreement with the union, claiming that the workers had 'dismissed themselves' by going on an illegal strike), it went all out to break the strike. It sent long telegrams to each employee, urging them to return to work.

It sent cars to the homes of workers to bring them to work. It flooded the local townships with propaganda to attract but every effort needs to be made to get declarations of solidarity with them.

There is no guarantee that an attempt to deport them will not be made. Certainly, if they are deported, they will face the firing squad on arrival.

The Mojahedeen continue to be the target of government attacks along with the Fedayeen Minority and the Peykar organisation - most other large movements having completely capitulated to "the Imam's line". In the last ten days of June, 90 people were executed in Iran — many of them for the 'crime' of • Leyland • Immed • Grou scabs. So far, Leyland's vile campaign has not worked.

Somewhere between 250 and 500 workers have entered the factory: the skilled and semi-skilled workers have remained solid. Joe Foster, regional secretary of NUMARWOSA, told a public meeting that, "according to workers who have been the Shah was still in power.

The purge of state institutions goes hand in hand with the witchhunt

----- pull-quotes -----

Inanians arrested forself- dietience

• Minimum ra • 44 hour wee • 15 working