iasw1.html

Last week this letter was published on the website of IASWI , http://www.workers-iran.org/News/Stop%20the%20Slander,%20Response%20to%20Yassamine%20Mather%27s%20article%20in%20Weekly%20worker.htm
Find below Yassamine Mather's response

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26 Jan 2009

Many of us in the solidarity movement have shown a lot of restraint in exposing International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI), mainly to save further embarrassment for this ‘Alliance’. However as they seem keen to endure total exposure let us give facts, dates, links to their politics. Of course the Farsi reader is already familiar with their recent history and no research is necessary, it certainly isn’t rocket science: over the last three months our mailboxes have been full of resignation letters from activists of this organisation, each exposing yet another aspect of the group’s shady politics and lack of principles.

None of this is new; their soft line on imperialism was publicly exposed in 2004 during open discussions held for setting up a unified campaign in solidarity with Iranian workers and plans for a fund to support them. During those discussion, some of us were adamant that the campaign and the fund should take a principled stance in opposition to imperialist war in the region and that the activities of a campaign in solidarity with Iranian workers should not be tarnished by association with right wing unions such as ICFTU, AFL/CIO, which have a history of collaboration with successive US administrations. This line was opposed by some of the leading activists of IASWI, who defended ICFTU text and audio files of some of these meetings exist on line and can be verified (1). Indeed they disrupted all attempts to set up a united campaign and continued with this ‘Alliance’ precisely so that they can continue with such collaborations.

At the same time a number of leftist activists in Canada were telling us that ICFTU and the CLC were working closely with Solidarity Centre and we should be weary of approaches by these organisations.

The joint campaign did not happen. In the open meetings held in Iran Socialist Forum, Torab Saleth and myself argued against any collaboration with pro US organisations and criticised IASWI, amongst others, for failing to take a consistent anti war position. They did not respond. When they eventually wrote a short statement opposing the war it was not published in English.

If we believe their protestations, in their letter to Weekly Worker ‘Slanders ..’, throughout 2006 ,2007 and 2008 when there was a constant threat of war against Iran, when sanctions were getting harsher every month, IASWI managed three leaflets on the important issue of war and imperialism. Strangely enough these leaflets only appeared on their site in late 2008! In fact in stressing their anti war stance, IASWI’s letter refers to a leaflet dated the 20^th of Jan 2009 (four months after the publications of the article where I mention IASWI and a month and a half after Torab’s speech at HOPI’s Conference!). There is no mention of war, sanctions or imperialism in the main slogans of any of the protests they have organised over the last 4-5 years, most of them in support of calls by ICFTU.

However, our comments were also backed by a number of recent articles in Farsi, from their own ex members, showing that in internal discussions leading activists of IASWI had openly expressed the opinion that there was nothing wrong with accepting financial help from Solidarity Centre (2). In the summer of 2006, activists in Canada exposed that members of IASWI had given details and addresses of labour activists in Iran to an ICFTU team visiting Iran, especially as innocent labour activists inside Iran were being arrested accused of “collaborating with US agencies”. One would have thought at this stage IASWI would have expelled those responsible and ended such relationships with Solidarity Centre. They now claim they did, by expelling Mr MK who was responsible for these links. However, again according to their own former members, it was in fact MK, who having gained support in Solidarity Centre/ICFTU circles via his membership of CLC was distancing himself from IASWI. It was for this reason that leading IASWI members, Mr YK & FP were sent to “discuss the situation with him”.

Following this visit they announced with joy in alleter to their members in August 2006 that Mr MK had agreed to continue his collaboration with IASWI. Later that year in December 2006, when the relationship with Mr MK was not getting anywhere IASWI leadership wrote an internal letter to members of the Alliance in Farsi explaining how “the trade union position held by MK in Canada does not allow him to accept decisions which run counter to his union’s rules, therefore we have amicably separated but will continue to cooperate with him”.(3)

Even this poor excuse of a letter was not published on IASWI site until late 2008 but emailed to a few individuals. At the time, not one word was said against Solidarity Centre or ICFTU.

IASWI continued collaboration with ICFTU and despite all the protestations it hasn’t changed its htpolicy towards this Federation. In the last few weeks, IASWI has denounced Mr MK, but wait for it, not for his unsavoury associates, but because he has used his contacts wiCLC to get them to denounce ISAWI !!

On the 22^nd of November 2008, at an open internet meeting where labour activists inside and outside Iran discussed the issue of solidarity with Sugar Cane workers, a number of activists inside Iran expressed disgust at those who were irresponsible in their attitude to workers solidarity in Iran and whose relations with ‘US regime change organisations’ had endangered the lives of labour activists inside Iran.

Some speakers named Mr MK and by association IASWI as forces guilty of such behaviour. On the 26^h November 2008, four days after ’‘shit had hit the fan’, IASWI issued a public statement, (again only in Farsi) announcing that they had expelled Mr MK and that this expulsion took place in early 2007!

Mr MK has subsequently claimed whatever he did, during the many years when he was a leading member of IASWI was with the full knowledge of the rest of the leadership and accusations against him are attempts by these individuals to cover their own tracks.

The revelations have opened the floodgates. Hardly a day goes by when there isn’t another letter of resignation from IASWI, when there isn’t another article by an ex- member, exposing this or other aspects of past policies.

In an open internet meeting held on 19^th December 2008, former associates of IASWI spoke at length about IASWI’s involvements with the Solidarity Centre. Audio tapes of this meeting are available from a number of sites including

http://www.salam-democrat.com/spip.php?article20495, and Khaneh Kargar Azad

(4 )

The following points were made by these forme associates of IASWI: - As early as 2005 people from IASWII in Canada and Europe were approached by CLC members to introduce them to the Solidarity Centre. A joint meeting between IASWI and Solidarity Centre in Canada was held and IASWI were offered financial help and assistance with visas for activists from Iran to be trained in Canada . None of this was announced publicly and even within IASWI only a few knew what was going on.

These former supporters confirm what has already been said about collaboration between Solidarity Centre and ICFTU in the summer of 2006 when the latter sent a delegation to Iran (with a list of names and addresses of labour activists to contact) . Completely unaware of the background regarding ICFTU, some of these activists got into serious trouble with the regime. It is only when members of IASWI in Canada protested about this to their own leadership that the close collaboration became public. The leadership's response was that they had checked with activists in Iran if they were willing to give their address, forgetting to mention that, those who agreed had no idea of the connections between ICFTU delegation and Solidarity Centre. They were also kept totally in the dark about the history of ICFTU. - They also spoke about rivalry between some members of IASWI and Mr MK regarding who would be the main contact with ITF (International Transport Federation).

During this meeting, BS a well known labour activist from inside Iran, kept on asking IASWI members: why did you not tell us earlier about any of this? Yet, none of IASWI , members responded.

Of Course the official line of IASWI is that with the expulsion of Mr MK, they have ’‘dealt with the issue of Solidarity Centre.’ However the fact that they kept this expulsion an ’‘internal’ matter (a secret) speaks volumes.

No wonder their own members don’t believe their explanations, that is why so many have resigned and exposed what was going on. Over the last few months, the Farsi reader, has been inundated by information about the shenanigans of IASWI.

This is not the first time that opportunists have attacked those who stick to basic leftist principles: a refusal to work with pro imperialist trade unions, as ‘sectarian’ and it will not be the last time, however, given the sorry state of IASWI, I will wear this particular accusation of sectarianism with great pride. They couldn’t have given me a better compliment.

Let me end by emphasising that none of the workers or labour activists who fell into the trap of this organisation had any knowledge of their connections with ICFTU/ITF or Solidarity Centre until very recently. All of them, including those in the regime’s prisons are completely innocent of accusations of links with ’‘US regime change’ funds. It is in fact the perseverance of labour activists inside Iran that has lead to these revelations and respecting their wishes Ican only end by repeating what they keep telling anyone who listens: any kind of worker solidarity tainted by US fund, pro imperialist unions … is harmful, you are endangering workers lives and you are in fact creating problems for the labour movement in Iran to receive genuine international labour support, stop it!

1- http://www.socialist-forum.com/manabe/KHYadollah.htm on ICFTU ‘s visit to Iran – Farsi text

Torab Saleth on the needs for workers Fund audio files – including interventionsby IASWI activists including Mr AF and others repudiating Torab’s restrictions onthe kind of support one can accept. See part2 minute 17 onwards. Farsi

در مورد صندوق کمک مالی به کارگران ایران

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a- http://www.wsu-iran.org/azad/rm_kater_fesad.htmThe dangers of corruption in the Iranian Labour Movement- Reza Moghadam

b- http://www.omied.net/Content.aspx?datei=af/Payane_Hamkari_ba_Etehad_Bienolmelali.htm&title=اطلاعیه پایان همکاری با «اتحاد بین‌المللی در حمایت از کارگران در ایران»

Communique announcing ending cooperation with IASW

3- copy of emails available on

http://www.etehadchap.org/iaw1/

4- Website of Free Workers House (Khaneh kargar azad) http://www.fwhi.org/audio.htm