Republican News · Thursday 31 January 2002

NCRI President ordered released

A Paris appeals court has ordered the release of Mrs Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council for Resistance of Iran.

Mrs Rajavi was arrested on 17 June, when more than 1,200 members of the French Special Forces attacked the homes of NCRI supporters and arrested 165 people. Almost all were released without charge shortly afterwards, but until this week 17 people had remained in custody - including Mrs Rajavi, who is in ill health.

Although they remain under investigation for "association with criminals in connection with a terrorist enterprise", all have now been released.

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy defended the witch hunt, claiming that France would not become a "stomping ground for any terrorist organisation" but an Iranian lecturer who has lived in exile for more than 20 years says the French government's stance has nothing to do with terrorism and more to do with scoring political points with the current regime at the expense of the Iranian people.

"The Iranian Resistance refuses the label of terrorism and criminalisation of their struggle," he says. "There is no evidence against them. There hasn't been one shred of evidence, one single case, in which any Mojahadin member, sympathiser, or even supporter, has been convicted of what is defined as 'terrorist' activities. This is simply a political manoeuver by the French government and the Iranian regime and has more to do with a several billion-dollar oil deal between Iran and France than any legitimate charges of 'terrorism'.

"The Americans and the British have a very strong foothold in the Middle East since the Iraqi war. They could influence the economic future of the Middle East and beyond. The French dragged their feet and now they are taking their frustration out on us. They know that once the Americans and the British are able to establish themselves in the area, they are going to be left out, they are going to be isolated. So they have come out pushing this whole agenda of 'constructive engagement' with the Iranians, hoping that something spectacular will emerge from this government - a moderate faction or whatever the case may be. But that is not going to happen, this regime in its totality will be overthrown by the people of Iran.

"The ones who actually matter are the people in Iran, and they see the sheer hypocrisy of the Europeans - on the one hand talking about human rights, on the other shaking the hand of people who behead women, who hang women in public, who have records of massive human rights abuses. What kind of signal does this send to the current Iranian regime? What signal is it sending to those who are opposing it? Just how genuine are the French?"

The arrests in France sparked worldwide demonstrations by supporters of the Iranian opposition. A dozen people took the drastic step of setting themselves alight outside French embassies to protest both the arrests and the crimalization of their struggle. Two women died as a result of their injuries and several others remain in hospital on life support. A further 350 supporters went on hunger strike outside French embassies around the world.

Embarassed French authorities sputtered that the protests were "fanatical".

"Of course we are fanatical," says one Iranian supporter. "We are fanatical about establishing democracy, about establishing freedom and getting rid of fundamentalism. If that's a crime, we are prepared to accept that.

"It doesn't matter how much the French or Europeans try to appease the Iranian government, the Iranian government is doomed to failure.

"The future of Iran will not be decided in Downing street, or Brussels, the Elysée Palace or the White House. The Iranian people have paid the heavy price - under two dictatorships of the Shah and the Ayatollahs. Iranian people are the masters of their own destiny. All the Americans, British and Europeans are doing is prolonging their suffering. The west needs to face the reality, back off and understand and recognise the legitimacy of the Iranian resistance, and the fact that the Iranian people want change."

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Independence Day in Venezuela

BY JIM SLAVEN in Caracas

Latin America`s colonial past is apparent as you fly into Caracas. St Georges, Kingstown, Port of Spain all come and go from the screen mapping our descent into the aptly named Simon Bolivar Airport. Known as the Liberator, Simon Bolivar`s revolutionary wars ended colonial rule in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Equador and Bolivia in the 19th century. Such is his stature in Venezuela that on taking power in 1999' one of Hugo Chavez's first acts was to rename the country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

This week saw Chavez lead the country in its Independence Day celebrations. The fact that he is still in power to do so is remarkable in itself. After failing in a coup attempt in 1992, Chavez was imprisoned. He spent the time planning to take power through the ballot box and having formed an electoral alliance with other radical forces, won the presidential elections in 1999. He immediately announced radical plans for a country of wealth, from its huge oil industry and of poverty, from decades of economic mismangement and corruption.

Chavez has found some powerful enemies, both in and out of Venezuela. He has announced plans to radicalise OPEC and has taken a high profile internationally. Almost any nation the United States wanted isolated Chavez embraced, from Iran and Iraq to China and Cuba. Rejecting the neoliberal orthodoxy that has been forced down the throats of Latin American countries for decades, he announced Venezuela would find an alternative. Obviously, any alternative would have to be paid for by a drop in multinational profits.

Last year, Chavez was briefly removed from power by a coup. The US-backed instigators dissolved the parliament and the courts and scrapped the new constitution. This led to 48 hours of political violence, as the people erupted and demanded Chavez`s reinstatement. Finally, with many dead, the coup was defeated and Chavez returned to power, stronger than ever. Undaunted, the United States, one of the few countries to endorse the coup, moved on to plan B. In December, Washington supported the bosses' decision (with the support of some leading trade unionists) to shut down the oil industry. Reported as a strike at the time, it was more of a lockout, which collapsed after two months, exacerbating the country`s economic problems

So Chavez`s presence at the Independence Day celebrations is a triumph for him and his supporters. Hundreds of thousands came to take part, despite an explosion at an army base that morning. Amid tight security, people waited for hours for a glimpse of the man. Every ten minutes someone would shout "he`s coming" or "he`s here" and the crowd would go mad, chanting and cheering until they realised it was in fact someone else. Speaking to people in the crowd, they were desperate to know how the world viewed "our president".

"Are you with Bush or with Chavez?" they would ask over and over again. "Is Gerry Adams with Bush or with Chavez?" Everyone wanted to tell of last year's coup attempt. The memory of Chile and the 1973 coup against Allende hangs in the air with every conversation. For now, they have repelled the foreign aggressor but only for now. They celebrate the moment, never knowing when the next attack on their president might come but sure there will be more.

When the President did arrive, he did not disappoint, travelling the route of the crowd waving and smiling before he took his seat in the stand. As the band played the national anthem, it was drowned out by thousands of voices singing every word towards Chavez, hoping he could hear them, and he could and he waved and smiled and sang back. After eight hours, people began moving back through Caracas, still singing.

As you walk through the city, the social problems are very evident. Between the skyscrapers the oil money has built, you can see the barrios, ingeniusly built one on top of another into the side of the mountain. What is inspirational about Venezuela is that they have a plan for every problem. For the barrios a rebuilding program giving residents rights and safety. For education a plan, for health a plan. Perhaps the most ambitious is Chavez`s plan to reverse decades of urbanisation. Unlike previous governments, he has guarenteed those who move from the barrios to the country a home, work and health and education provision. He instills confidence in the people that the government will see it through.

Venezuela is living proof that an alternative to neoliberal globalisation can be attempted where the political will exists.

The future will be just as difficult as the past has been. Recent border clashes with Colombia, which claims FARC is being given refuge in Venezuela, have been seen by some as the beginning of a plan to use this as an excuse for action against Chavez with the pretext of defending Colombia and the US war on drugs.

Chavez, for his part, appears to relish the challenge, grinning from ear to ear as he derides his opponents at home and abroad during one of his many television adresses. Only last month, Rafael Ramirez, the Venezuelan energy minister, moved the issue of national sovereignty of oil producing countries onto the political agenda, telling reporters at an OPEC meeting in Qatar on 11 June: "We need to emphasize that the world has left behind the colonial era, when one power could take by force another country`s resources."

For Irish republicans, the message is clear. Independence and national self-determination is not the end of struggle. The struggle merely moves on to another level and as in Venezuela it will be every bit as difficult to obtain economic sovereignty. Whether from London or Brussels, the same vested interests that are at work in Venezuela will be against radical change in Ireland. By keeping one eye on Venezuala, we may indeed be given an insight into the struggles we have ahead.