May 1st is the day of workers’ international solidarity and unity: a day that reflects the workers’ determination for freedom from exploitation, deprivation and oppression.
This year we celebrate May Day at a more difficult time, a time when the corona pandemic has become a humanitarian catastrophe all around the world, especially in many countries like Iran that lack the most basic of social services. Corona disease is caused by a virus, but the corona crisis is a capitalist issue at heart. We live in a system that has turned medicines and medical services into businesses, sacrificing the lives and health of millions of people to the benefit and wealth of a 1 per cent corrupt capitalist minority.
On May 1st this year, we want to emphasize two points. The first is to deal with the Corona crisis and to expose the role of capitalist systems and governments around it. The second one is the economic crisis that is on the way and the preparation to confront the government and defend our lives, dignity and welfare. We do not have to accept austerity policies and suffer from poverty and starvation because of corona crisis or to let capitalists gain enough profits and to help the system to survive this way.
Particularly in relation to Iran, we are facing a government that does not accept the least bit of responsibility for people. Amidst this pandemic, the Islamic Regime of Iran has not even locked down public places, and is continuously arresting workers and social activists, putting them in the packed jails without any medical facilities.
All the jailed workers and activists such as Jafar Azimzadeh, Parvin Mohammadi, Shapour Ehsani Rad, Amir Chamani, Atena Daemi, Mohammad Habibi, Golrokh Iraee , Sohail Arabi , Mehdi Farani, Mahmoud Beheshti, Hashem Khastar , Mohammad Sepehri , Saied Shirzad, Payam shakiba and many other political prisoners are in danger of contracting corona disease in prison. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of so called non-political prisoners, who are also victims of the same ruling system, are facing the risk of death in the jails. We together with all workers’ organisations demand the release of all political prisoners and freedom of all other prisoners until the end of this crisis.
The Islamic regime pretends that the situation is normal in order to keep the production and economy active. The regime is using Corona to push back the workers’ and people’s protests, while at the same time trying to impose its economic burden on the workers and society as a whole. This government caused the spread of this disease in Iran by letting the militia run air fleets, actively transporting passengers to and from China at the peak of the Corona epidemic and imported the disease not only to Iran but even to some other countries in the region.
Unfortunately under these circumstances, we cannot hold World Day rallies and marches on the streets. But we join the online May Day event that covers all countries around the globe.Together with all the workers around the world we declare our indictment against capitalism and celebrate May Day.
In our class-society and world, the only humanitarian alternative for working people and all citizens is the workers’ alternative. May 1st is the time for the working class to rise up to represent the vast ranks of the world’s oppressed people.
Free Them Now (FTN) offers its warm congratulations on May Day, International Workers’ Day, to all workers and unions and labour organisations.
Free Them Now! Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran
Shahla Daneshfar, Shahla.daneshfar2@gmail.com
https://free-them-now.com, May, 2020