A-Infos (en) Greece, APO, Land & Freedom: Iranian anarchists: the uprising is an authentic self-organization of everyday people (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Interview with members of the Anarchist Front, a collective 
disseminating information about what is happening in Iran, Afghanistan 
and Tajikistan - Gabriel Fonten ---- The uprising in Iran has been going 
on for over a week. It is not just an economic protest, but a practical 
rebellion against the entire logic of state power. People have taken 
control of the streets, destroyed the symbols of oppression and stood up 
to the bullets. This is exactly anarchy in practice: the paralysis of 
the government machine from below, without the need for an immediate 
replacement by a new power. The regime has responded with weapons, with 
raids on hospitals and mass arrests, but repression has so far failed.
[...]
To learn more, we asked some questions to the Anarchist Front, a 
collective that disseminates information about what is happening in 
Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

How widespread is support for strikes among the population?

Support for radical strikes and demonstrations in Iran is widespread. 
Out of the 32 provinces, only 2 to 3 have not participated in these 
strikes and demonstrations.

How would you characterize the general strike in Iran? What caused it?

Currently, strikes and protests are taking place simultaneously and the 
situation is escalating rapidly. What started as a peaceful closure of 
Tehran's Grand Bazaar by merchants turned violent due to the 
intervention of security forces. From there, the protests quickly spread 
to many cities across the country.

At the heart of this unrest are the unbearable economic pressure and 
rising inflation that have made daily life unlivable for large sections 
of the population. The first strikes were started by mobile phone 
sellers and were triggered by the chaos of floating interest rates and 
the sharp increase in the cost of imported goods.

These strikes are completely spontaneous and self-organized. There is no 
leader or faction of political dissidents directing them, and of course 
they do not obey central orders. It is anger that flares up directly 
from below.

At the same time, the son of Iran's former monarch is once again trying 
to exploit the situation. Whenever protests break out, he is quick to 
present them as his own. Although he has some supporters at home, the 
vast majority of his base is abroad. After all, decades of repression by 
the Islamic Republic have effectively destroyed the possibility of any 
organized opposition force emerging within the country.

How are the protests organized and which groups try to exploit them 
politically?

This wave of protests began with market closures in response to the 
catastrophic collapse of the rial, hyperinflation, rising taxes, and the 
regime's complete inability to manage the economic crisis. It soon 
turned into a pent-up anger against the entire power structure. Slogans 
like "Death to Khamenei" and "Basiji, Sepahii, ISIS - you are all the 
same" reflect the depth of this anger.

The primary causes are the economic collapse of the system stemming from 
systemic corruption, massive military spending, and foreign sanctions. 
However, the latter are merely a pretext used by the regime to justify 
repression.

The organization of the protests is largely horizontal and 
decentralized: through social networks, by local calls from bazaar 
merchants, without a central leader or guiding party. And this is 
precisely their strength: the authentic self-organization of everyday 
people against domination.

However, herein lies the danger. Exiled opposition groups - particularly 
monarchists aligned with Reza Pahlavi - have emerged and are attempting 
to manipulate this uprising. Through appeals coming from abroad, they 
are injecting slogans such as "Long live the Shah" in an attempt to 
steer the protests in the direction of restoring another hereditary 
dictatorship, the one that once crushed the world with SAVAKiii and 
bloody repression and now seeks power through diplomatic smiles and 
empty promises.

Beyond these groups, anarchists, sections of communists, liberals, and 
republicans support this uprising and are ready to exploit the fall of 
the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, parts of the Islamic Republic are attempting to present this 
uprising as an internal reform movement in order to maintain the regime 
in a modified form.

Could you introduce your collective? Under what circumstances was it 
created, what are your goals and how are you organized?

The Anarchist Front is the latest stop on a journey that began in 2009, 
a journey marked by many ups and downs, from the Voice of Anarchism to 
the Federation of the Age of Anarchism . Today, with a renewed structure 
in which experienced comrades but also new forces participate, we once 
again emphasize self-organization and the radicalization of the struggle 
through the cultivation of political consciousness and the active 
encouragement and support of local struggles.

The Anarchist Front is based on the principles of solidarity, anti-power 
and unyielding resistance against all forms of domination. We do not 
seek the reform of the existing order of things, we seek to destroy it 
so that no power, no social order, no border will remain standing. Our 
struggle has its roots in the history of resistance in the geographies 
of Iran and Afghanistan, while at the same time remaining deeply 
connected to the global anarchist movement.

While our primary focus is on Iran and Afghanistan, our horizons go far 
beyond borders. We fight for a world where freedom, equality, and true 
mutual aid are realized, without any form of coercion and exploitation. 
For us, anarchism is not just a theory, it is a way of life, a way of 
action, and the process of building a world free from power, repression, 
and lies.

Much of your thematic focus is on violence against women. Do you see 
this issue as part of the current mobilizations?

Today, women, students, young people are actively taking to the streets. 
In this way, yes, the current strikes are linked to the demands of the 
movement that erupted after the murder of Mahsa Amini and to the 
struggles for women's rights.

We believe that this movement, while maintaining the spirit of Woman, 
Life, Freedom , has also offered the opportunity for more passive and 
conservative social segments to enter the collective struggle against 
the Islamic Republic and unite with the rest.

Our primary goal, beyond confronting the criminal Islamic Republic that 
just yesterday killed over seven people in our geographical area, is to 
confront the monarchist currents that have infiltrated the movement and 
are exploiting the situation. Their misogynistic tendencies are clearly 
visible in both their speech and political practice.

What is the state of anarchism in Iran and Afghanistan and what 
challenges do anarchist activists face?

Threats, summonses, beatings, death threats, imprisonments and sexual 
violence are realities that anarchists have faced over the past two 
years and even before.

In the last five months alone, two of our comrades have been imprisoned 
and four others have been summoned. The conditions in Iran are extremely 
dangerous for us. At the moment, one of our closest comrades from the 
Anarchist Front, Afshin Heyratian, is being held in Evin prison. Other 
anarchist comrades are being held in prisons in Yazd province.

We hope that through the struggle we will be able to free our comrades 
and create safe conditions for ourselves.

Do you see the danger of foreign intervention in Iran? What would be its 
outcome?

As mentioned earlier, monarchists and supporters of Reza Pahlavi are 
deeply dependent on Western powers. Together with other sections of the 
opposition, they have created the conditions in which there is public 
discussion of military intervention or mediation in Iran under the guise 
of providing assistance to the Iranian people.

Trump and Netanyahu have repeatedly threatened military attack, 
especially at the height of the protests.

We take this opportunity to declare our absolute and unconditional 
opposition to any military occupation or foreign intervention by Western 
states in Iran, at any level and in any form.

Just as we were present during the twelve-day Iran-Israel conflict in 
the field of information, mutual assistance, and resistance within Iran, 
we emphasize that, if foreign intervention occurs, we have both the will 
and the readiness to confront it.

We are a local force, made up of horizontal and diverse networks of 
anarchist activists who were previously organized in the Federation of 
the Age of Anarchism. We are not essentially an armed group. However, 
depending on future developments, we may adopt new positions and prepare 
accordingly.

We do not believe that Iranian society as a whole is willing to accept 
foreign intervention.

How can people from distant countries stay informed about events in Iran 
and Afghanistan?

We provide live updates in Persian. Our members have direct contact and 
are present in major Iranian cities. At the end of the day, the 
Anarchist Front news and journalistic platform publishes a comprehensive 
daily report in Persian.

In addition, we publish daily news in Italian, Spanish (Argentine), 
Arabic, English and occasionally in German and Swedish. There is also a 
platform for comrades from non-Persian speaking countries, including an 
international coordination group. We receive reports from all over the 
world and act as an anarchist political force offering solidarity and 
support during ongoing crises.

Regarding Afghanistan and Tajikistan: our comrades are present in 
Afghanistan and we also have comrades in Tajikistan. Just like in Iran, 
we are working in these regions both in the field of information and in 
that of action.

What we seek is the continued awareness of free people of all stripes 
throughout the world. We ask them not to turn a blind eye to the 
specific circumstances of the Middle East and North Africa - especially 
Iran and Afghanistan - and to resist disinformation, false narratives 
and grand narratives that erase society, its dynamics and its demands 
from political analysis.

We also call for solidarity and mutual cooperation.

Source:  freedomnews.org.uk

i Paramilitary organization of the Islamic Republic
ii The guards of the Islamic Republic
iii The Shah's notorious secret police organized by the American 
intelligence services

https://landandfreedom.gr/el/diethni/2161-iranoi-anarxikoi-i-eksegersi-einai-mia-afthentiki-aftoorganosi-kathimerinon-anthropon
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