[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [Ufpj-disc] [NationalMassAction] Iraq War intensifies as U.S.-Maliki government declares "victory"/ All out July 10-12 for national antiwar conference in Pittsburgh!

Thu Jul 9 17:40:35 CDT 2009

Phil Wilato visited us a short time ago and talked about his vist to  
Iran. AWARE sponsored his visit.
I recommend reading what he has to say, and especially his (very long)  
"open letter" which discusses events in and around Iran.

--mkb

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Phil Wilayto <philwilayto at earthlink.net>
> Date: July 9, 2009 4:06:46 PM CDT
> To: NationalMassAction at googlegroups.com, ufpj- 
> disc at lists.mayfirst.org,  National Mass Action list <NationalMassAction at googlegroups.com 
> >,  NEU Organizers <neu-organizers at lists.riseup.net>,  RIMC  
> Organizer List <rimc-org at googlegroups.com>,  RI Peace Groups <mcstahl3 at cox.net 
> >
> Cc: Marilyn Levin <MarilynL at alumni.neu.edu>, Jerry Gordon <natassembly at aol.com 
> >
> Subject: Re: [Ufpj-disc] [NationalMassAction] Iraq War intensifies  
> as U.S.-Maliki government declares "victory"/ All out July 10-12 for  
> national antiwar conference in Pittsburgh!
> Reply-To: Phil Wilayto <philwilayto at earthlink.net>
>
> **Please see footer for list protocol**
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> There's been a barrage of responses to my "Open Letter to the Anti- 
> War Movement" urging non-Iranians to refrain from taking sides in  
> Iran's internal struggle, and instead concentrate on opposing any  
> war, sanctions or outside interference in the internal affairs of  
> Iran. I was hoping that by writing an extended piece, with each fact  
> researched and documented, that it could shed a little light on the  
> debate.
>
> The responses have been about evenly split. But of those who  
> disagree, I don't think anyone has taken the time to actually  
> research and document their statements. People seem to feel it's  
> fine to argue a point by repeating rumors, even making things up.  
> That makes it hard to respond, and the falsehoods get repeated, take  
> on a life of their own and then get accepted as established facts.
>
> But I do want to make one point, about "universal human rights."
>
> An argument is being made that, while it's not correct for the U.S.  
> anti-war movement to take sides on the Iranian election, and that we  
> should continue to demand no outside interference, still, as human  
> rights activists, we have a responsibility to defend the rights of  
> people everywhere to protest. That this is a universal human right,  
> applicable at all times and in every place.
>
> I'm old enough to remember Chile in the late Seventies, when the  
> leftist President Salvador Allende was in power and the CIA, in  
> conjunction with the U.S mineral companies, was trying to undermine  
> his government. There was a mass protest movement, led by the middle  
> class, including many women, who would bang pots and pans during  
> marches to demonstrate the hard economic times they said they were  
> suffering under Allende. I don't remember the Chilean police  
> attacking the protesters, but if the protesters had engaged in the  
> same kind of violence I reported on in the open letter, they  
> probably would have. And it would have been wrong to go out and  
> support the opposition's right to protest, because this was clearly  
> taking place in a wider context, with the U.S. trying to undermine a  
> progressive government.
>
> Now, that situation is easier to understand, as is the character of  
> the anti-Chavez protests in Venezuela, and the attempts by the upper  
> classes in Bolivia to undermine the government of Evo Morales. Those  
> governments are clearly progressive, and the protests are clearly  
> reactionary. (I think we're all agreed on that, right?)
>
> But there's an underlying assumption in the peace movement that the  
> Iranian government is inherently reactionary, repressive and  
> undemocratic. So even if we don't agree with the specific goals of  
> the protesters, we should support their "universal human right" to  
> protest.
>
> As I tried to point out in the letter, the Iranian government is not  
> socialist - it's an authoritarian administrator of a mixed- 
> capitalist economy. And, because the state owns the oil and gas  
> industries, it can and does provide a vast array of social services  
> to the poor. Right-wing regimes don't do that. And that's why the  
> present government is supported by the working class - it benefits  
> them.
> Are the protesters demanding more help for the poor? More public  
> universities so more children of the working class can attend for  
> free? More jobs at better wages? Opposition to the role of the U.S.  
> in the Middle East? Support for the Palestinians, or now the  
> Hondurans?
>
> There's no such thing as "universal human rights." In the U.S. Civil  
> War, both sides said they fought for "freedom." Today's neocons are  
> for "democracy." No one opposes "justice." But freedom and justice  
> mean one thing to one side, and another to the other. And so we  
> don't support a cause just because there are thousands of people  
> promoting it in the streets. If we did, we would have come out for  
> the pots-and-pan movement against Allende's Chile. We have to take  
> the time to analyze.
>
> And also, it would be good to ask ourselves, why is Iran now the  
> burning issue in the anti-war movement? At the last National  
> Assembly conference, some of us had to fight for a resolution  
> opposing wars, sanctions and internal interference in Iran. It was  
> an even harder job at the United for Peace and Justice conference,  
> where we did the same thing. Why aren't there a barrage of e-mails  
> now about the coup in Honduras, the continued blockade of Gaza, the  
> continuing human rights violations against the people of New Orleans  
> and the Gulf Coast? Does Iran now represent the most pressing human  
> tragedy in the world? Or did we just jump when the media said jump?
>
> I hope to see many of you at the National Assembly conference in  
> Pittsburgh this weekend, where we can continue this discussion. I  
> hope you will also please take the time to check the facts you are  
> using. And if you insist on fighting for a resolution supporting the  
> protests in Iran, I really hope you also have slew of other  
> resolutions, supporting the peoples of Honduras, Somalia, Palestine,  
> Venezuela, Haiti, Bolivia, Cuba, Korea and every other country where  
> the U.S. is pursuing its goal of global domination.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Phil Wilayto
>
> PS: If you haven't already done so, please try reading my book, or  
> at least the reviews: “In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace  
> Delegation's Journey through the Islamic Republic.” (www.DefendersFJE.org/dpi) 
>  It addresses the background to a lot of these issues. Fully  
> documented. And an all-volunteer effort.
> ***************************************
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