(The following article is from the September 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

In August, the communist newspaper Junge Welt (Berlin) interviewed Ali Khavari, leader of the Tudeh Party of Iran, on recent developments in that country. Born in 1923 in northeastern Iran, Comrade Khavari joined the Tudeh Party in 1941, the year the party was founded. He spent years in exile as a result of the policy of brutal persecution of communists and suppression of the Tudeh Party by the Shah's regime. In 1963, during a mission to organise party structures inside the country, he and another comrade were arrested by the Shah's secret police, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Comrade Khavari was released from the Shah's prisons on the eve of the February 1979 revolution. After the arrest of the majority of the Tudeh leadership in 1983, he played a major role in reviving and reorganising the party. We reprint here excerpts of the Junge Welt interview.

Q: Comrade Khavari, your party took part in the Islamic Revolution and the overthrow of the Shah in 1979. In 1983 the party was banned by the regime and brutally suppressed. Under which conditions does the Tudeh Party work nowadays, and what problems and repressions do the members have to face in Iran?

A: The Tudeh Party of Iran essentially, but not solely, operates in exile. Utilizing electronic communications has revolutionized the operations of every opposition party and organization against the police regime and censorship of the Supreme Leader regime (Theocratic regime).

     The goal of every activity in the struggle of our party outside the country is to have a bearing on the events inside Iran, and to secure more active participation in the process of political struggles of the masses and labour movement in the country.... The ruling regimes in Iran, both before and after the 1979 revolution, see the Tudeh Party of Iran as one of the most serious and effective opposition forces operating against them...

Q: Mahmud Ahmadinejad won the elections in 2005, above all with the help of the votes from the poor population. Did these people benefit from his politics in the last four years?

A: During the first four years of Ahmadinejad in the presidential office, every possible means of propaganda was utilized to prepare and arrange for his re-election. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Service (the state-run radio and television) and other state media were put at the service of his demagogic propaganda.

     Some of Ahmadinejad's practices to pave the road to his re-election for a second term are: his fully stage-managed visits to provinces and making worthless promises to the local people, taking bold gestures of fanaticism and religious fundamentalism, spending millions of dollars on extravagant propaganda shows, securing the support of the most reactionary factions of the clergy and Khamenei himself, feeding and empowering security-military organs such as the Guard Corps and Islamic Basij militia, tying and linking the financial interests and privileges of major sections of these state organs to the continuation of Ahmadinejad government, etc.

     Electoral fraud on the scale of displacing millions of votes, which is the subject of today's serious protests, should be added to this introduction. Considering the negative and anti-people performance of the Ahmadinejad government, whether the in economic arena or in the area of social and individual freedoms, or in the foreign relations policy of the country, the overwhelming majority of the population went to the polls consciously in this election. Only a few hours after the polls were closed, the result of the 40 million votes cast was announced. This fact, and many other documented evidences and information released afterwards, revealed the obvious fraud of the authorities. This vote rigging enraged the public and clearly substantiated a reality in the political life of the people, shattering trust in the official government.

     The reason for what has happened after the elections during people's protests and what is expected to happen in future should be sought in this deep crisis, the deep and irreparable rift between the ruling regime and the people.

Q: The Iranian protest movement has found many sympathizers around the globe. Which social groups are parts of this protest movement? How do you evaluate the influence of the political left within the protest movement?

A: The popular protest movement has engaged all strata of society. The people find themselves exposed to the risks and threats of an unprofessional, voluntaristic, demagogic, and adventurous regime.... The left forces with their belief in the interests of the workers and working people and the importance and significance of freedom and democracy, have always participated in every instance of the struggle of our people, including this great mass uprising. Our party has rightly been at the side of and together with the people, both prior and during the elections and the popular movement for democratic rights that emerged from it.

Q: What kind of political aims do the oppositional groups have in common, apart from the overthrow of the regime?

A: Not all the participating groups in the current demonstrations and mass protests are in support of overthrowing the current system of government. The current constitution has essentially set the pillars of the regime on two bases of republicanism and Islamism. The despotic theocratic regime of the Supreme Leader is constantly shifting this balance against the principle of republicanism and the influence of the peoples' will in the running of the country. Now the majority of the people of our homeland have risen up to protest against this breach of their right to governance, i.e. eliminating the principle of republicanism. There is now a grave battle going on between the deeply reactionary clerical leadership and its supporters among the ruling forces on the one hand, and the general public that is fighting to defend its right to elect and its will to decide the way the country should be governed, on the other hand. The essence and core substance of the current movement is this battle.

Q: Mir-Hossein Mousavi is a man of the establishment. While communists were persecuted in the Iran, he was Prime Minister until 1989. Today, the Tudeh Party of Iran supports him. Is this not a contradiction?

A: It is true that during the crackdown on our party Mir Hussein Mousavi was the prime minister, But it is also true that particularly in those years, the person who ultimately and conclusively decided on the macro policies of the regime was Khomeini himself. The same is true today, as Khamenei deems this to be his task, and the reactionary article in the current constitution gives this right to him. Nonetheless, and taking all these into consideration, during the sensitive and critical moments of the uprising and protest of people against the extremely despotic regime, our party sees itself at the same side and alongside the people and to a certain extent at the head of the protests, and correctly avoids any issue that may harm the unity and integrity of the broad movement of people. Tudeh Party of Iran, and all the progressive forces of Iran, bear the past in mind for the future. All those who ordered and committed that grand crime and other anti-people crimes of the regime, must answer to the people of Iran for those terrible crimes.

     Mir Hussein Mousavi himself, with his declared programs and position against the rule of deceit, tyranny and despotism of the present regime, so far has stood up on the side of the people's movement. This is why the protesting people of our homeland, considering all the existing limitations, have accepted his leadership. Tudeh Party strongly supports this great movement of the people of Iran.

Q: How do you evaluate Western support of the protests, above all coming from the USA? Do you see a possibility that the protests could be used for international interests? Is there a treat of a colour CIA-"Revolution"?

A: Tudeh Party of Iran welcomes the support of people and democratic and left forces and parties in the western countries for the protests of the people of Iran... However, taking position by the western governments that are in conflict with the regime, not only would not help the popular protest movement under the current circumstances, but it might be exploited by the regime and even argued as a reason to confront the movement, as has happened already. It is also true that security and intelligence agencies of some countries attempt to stir up dissatisfaction and protest against the ruling regime in the country. This ploy has been extensively exploited by the regime against the people's movement and its leaders.

     But the movement of the people has entered this difficult and unequal arena of struggle against the despotic regime solely on the basis of their liberating and patriotic motivations, totally spontaneous, and with absolute reliance on its own power. This devious provocation of the despotic regime (to portray the protest movement as being influenced externally) must be comprehensively and firmly exposed.

Q: The Western World wants to prohibit the use of nuclear power, despite international law. They even threaten to use military power. Which opinion does the protest movement have in the matter of war and peace? Is a regime change from abroad, like in Iraq, an option for you? What does the Tudeh party of Iran think about the nuclear dispute?

A: Our party and all the popular forces of our nation are in favour of the right to enjoy nuclear energy and the technology of this vital and important field. Tudeh Party of Iran and the forces and individuals participating in the popular protest movement oppose any interference, military or otherwise, of foreign states in the internal affairs of our country. The peaceful characteristic of these forces stems from their popular and democratic nature. Regime change from outside, such as occurred in Iraq, is neither possible nor acceptable by any means in Iran. Any foreign force that attempts such a dangerous provocation will burn its hands and set the whole region on fire and will seriously endanger world peace. It is impossible to predict total repercussions of such a provocation. As for whether the regime's promise to use nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes is trustworthy or otherwise, we must say that such possibility is not totally out of question. The right of nations and countries to obtain nuclear energy and technology is not exceptionable. The right way to prevent the likelihood of this to happen, is confidence building and to build trust between Iran and the countries that are concerned about Iran achieving this energy. That could apply to any country; no one country should be deprived of its natural and legitimate right.

Q: Ahmadinejad has been accused of anti-Semitism due to his polemics in the struggle with Israel. How does one interpret his words on the Holocaust in Iran?

A: In general, the vast majority people of Iran, all left and progressive parties and groups, deem the reality of massacre of Jews by the Nazi Germany (the holocaust) as a known historical fact. But a regime that relies on force and repression and demagogy, needs excuses to advance its policies. The solidarity between the people of Iran and the people of Palestine, and the invasive and brutal policies by Israel against the people of Palestine, have provided this excuse to the ruling regime in Iran.  An overwhelming majority of Iranians, and all the progressive and democratic forces of Iran, realize and appreciate the principle of respect for reaching an agreement and the need to resolve the critical and dangerous problem of the conflict between Israel and the Arab world, and call for its final and comprehensive resolution through peaceful means, embracing the violated rights of the Palestinians, and establishing peace in the region and among the involved parties.

Q: In the eyes of Israel and the USA, Iran is a main opponent in the Middle East. Third World countries and left-wing governments express solidarity with Iran against imperialism. Does the Iranian foreign policy have an anti-imperialistic point of view, objectively speaking?

A: The issue of struggle against imperialism does not have the same meaning and content for the ruling regime in Iran as it does for the left, democratic and progressive forces. The 1979 revolution put an end to the monarchical regime, that significant base of the West in the region, and terminated the exclusive advantages and privileges of imperialist states, and first and foremost the US, in Iran. The conflict emanates from the fact that the US could not and did not accept the regime emerging after the revolution. This has became the basis for defining the foreign policy of Iran with the outside world and the US, and even has left a long lasting effect on domestic policies. Calling this conflict an anti-imperialist struggle is irrelevant and ridiculous.

     The type of conflict and anti-imperialist struggle of the theocratic regime in Iran is of the same character as the struggle of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Al-Qaeda and Bin-Laden against the US and the West. If this could be called anti-imperialist struggle, that could be named the same too!

Q: The big demonstrations have been defeated, the protests have become calmer. Did the movement give up already? What is your current perspective?

A: The anti-regime demonstrations could not continue as extensively as in the early days. What occurred has been the splendid start of one of the epics of the century that will lead Iran and its people to freedom, independence and social justice. In our country now the eminence, invincibility, and holiness of the power of the theocratic regime has seriously cracked. The people of our nation have realized that it is through their movement and struggle that their future will be shaped, and are now advancing this unequal and difficult struggle with their own creative and innovative methods. In this spontaneous struggle, the masses are leading their own leaders. After 30 years of suppression, demagogy, tyranny and despotism ruling over our homeland, we are now once again witnessing the bright horizons of a tomorrow with social justice and freedom, which has filled the hearts of millions of our suffering people with hope. The seething society in our homeland is pregnant with great and epoch making events.