"We will smash the state of siege!"

June 23, 2009. A World to Win News Service. Following are excerpts from one of the Communist Party of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) frequent statements to the people, put out on the night of June 20.

The intensity of fighting in the streets and alleys of central Tehran tonight, and the number of women and men who, with their lives in their hands, stood firm in the front lines and drove back the armed herds of violent thugs, was unprecedented. If you want to see how weak and desperate the regime is, look at the only thing it can rely on: its security forces. That's all! Illusions have evaporated. Cunning religious preaching and the myth of the Imam Zaman [the Shia messiah] can no longer fool the angry people. The lies of the national media can no longer put the masses to sleep. Instead it increases their anger and hatred a hundred-fold. So the only thing left for the murderous ruling gang is guns, batons, teargas, chains, and herds of anti-riot and law and order forces, Basijis and finally the army.

This afternoon's brutal attack against scattered but numerous crowds did not end the demonstration—instead, it spread it to other areas of Tehran. The Basij units and anti-riot police used the tactic of dividing the crowd into smaller groups and then encircling and beating up each group. It worked at first, but before long the scattered masses regrouped in the streets and alleys in the surrounding area, this time with a spirit and methods totally different from that of the demonstrations of the last couple of weeks. This time the slogans directly targeted the Islamic Republic and its leader. There was not much room for"God is great!" A young person wrote in blue spray paint on a street corner, "Even Shah heard the cry of my revolution! [and resigned]. Jamaran [the Leader's headquarters] is deaf! "...

Tonight, from east to west, from the north to south of Tehran, there is a state of siege. Tonight many eyes will stay open. Many people are thinking about tomorrow, the road forward, the methods that need to be taken up to advance the uprising of the masses and lead it to victory. Today, in the short moments that were found for discussion, there was talk of the need for a widespread general strike. Some said nothing can be done without weapons. One thing is clear: We still have a long way to go on what we've started. People should prepare themselves for days and months ahead, to remain in the streets in different forms. The slogans of the uprising should become clearer and deeper, and the level of struggle raised so that it can seize victory.

A World to Win News Service is put out by A World to Win magazine (aworldtowin.org), a political and theoretical review inspired by the formation of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, the embryonic center of the world’s Marxist-Leninist-Maoist parties and organizations.

Send us your comments.

If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.