Quelle des nachfolgend dokumentierten Artikels: Green Left Weekly Nr. 800, 29.06. 2009:
El Salvador: Evangelical fundamentalism and the right
David T. Rowlands, 28 June 2009
At last, after decades of brutal right-wing rule, the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) won El Salvador’s March 15 presidential election.
While this is a welcome ray of hope in impoverished Central America, the slender margin indicates a rocky road ahead for the incoming government, which will have to contend with a concerted destabilisation campaign.
Although some polls had predicted a 15% landslide for FMLN, the final result was agonisingly close — 51% for the FMLN’s Mauricio Funes versus 49% for the right-wing Arena party’s Rodrigo Avila.
By rights, the cumulative impact of Arena corruption scandals, extreme neoliberal policies and the global financial crisis should have produced a comfortable win for the FMLN.
The narrow margin of Funes’ March 15 victory is attributable in part to significant electoral fraud. However, there is a range of other factors working against the FMLN, not least of which is the pervasive power of the Salvadorean religious right.
The latter’s support for Arena has, until very recently, been virtually monolithic.
During the 1980s, mega-religious entities based in the US — including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Assemblies of God and Central American Mission International (CAM) — were not slow to take advantage of the bloody mayhem committed by the US-backed and funded ruthless dictatorships in Central America.
Of most concern to North American protestant fundamentalists was the spread of left-wing, pro-poor “liberation theology” among the catholic rank and file in the region, which they considered a “Marxist” conspiracy and a front for “atheistic” Cuban/Soviet infiltration into their “spiritual backyard”.
Employing a tried-and-true colonial missionary formula, thousands of pentecostal/evangelical activists surged into dislocated, traumatised communities in El Salvador — poaching for souls with the bible in one hand and a few sops of “humanitarian aid” in the other.
Regardless of the obscure theological differences that divided the many competing fundamentalist sects, the political aim of their preaching was clear and consistent: to subvert the collective impulse for radical social change by inculcating an attitude of submission to “divinely ordained” authority among the poor and dispossessed.
Resistance to the US-backed regime was equated with resistance to god’s will. The duty of the true christian was not to change the “temporal sphere” — the “here and now’ — but to secure a place in heaven after Christ’s second coming.
Leftist opposition parties were vilified — including the FMLN (a coalition of guerrilla groups resisting the dictatorship).
Central America’s wasteland of genocidal violence proved a fertile ground for the apocalyptic fundamentalist doctrine, which successfully tapped into the psychological trauma of vulnerable populations experiencing cataclysmic upheaval and bloodshed.
From 1980 to ‘85, churches affiliated with the Assemblies of God saw a four-fold growth, with similar growth ratea for other protestant groupings.
By 1990, the number of evangelical christians in Central America had swelled to 6 million — or approximately 20% of the total population.
Die nachfolgenden Filmberichte wurden von den GenossInnen von Socialismo o Barbarie online gestellt, weitere Infos und Statements zur Repression und zum Widerstand kann mensch u.a. hier und hier finden:
2.) Berichte von den Protesten der vergangenen Tage: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 aus Tehran, aus Kermanshah sowie vom 20.6. aus Isfahan
“Bazaar merchants closed their businesses in Tabriz on Wednesday in protest to the introduction of new value added tax. The protest started from 11:00am in Bazaar sections allocated to jewelers and shoe sellers and soon spread to other parts.
Relatives and friends of those killed in recent anti-government protests in Iran gathered on Thursday in Behesht-e-Zahra, Tehran’s main cemetery, to commemorate their loved ones.The participants, who were surrounded by large numbers of the Iranian regime’s State Security Forces and plainclothes agent, chanted slogans against the regime.The gatherings took place at sections 254, 256, 257, 259, 263 and 264 of the cemetery. “
“Iran Human Rights, July 1: Six people were hanged in Tehran’s Evin prison early this morning July 1. reported the state run Iranian news agency ISNA.
None of those who were executed today were identified by name, age or details around what they were convicted of.”
5.) Zum leidigen Thema Pseudo-Antiimps (die echten Antiimps der 1980er unterstützten den (bewaffneten) Kampf der OIPFG oder der Komalah gegen das Mullah-Regime):
“In Frankreich verfolgt die linke Presse die Protestbewegung im Iran überwiegend mit Aufmerksamkeit und Solidarität. In den letzten Tagen fanden auch eine Reihe von Solidaritätsaktionen statt, an denen zwar meist mehrheitlich Iraner/innen teilnehmen, zu denen aber auch französische Organisationen mobilisierten.”
“We,producers of social wealth,with our work and efforts in big and small factories,services and treatments in medical centers and hospitals,as a teacher in schools and universities,producing in energy , water, telecommunications,gas and oil,petroleum,steel and car factory and centers not only,do not have any control on product distributions and manufacturing services,do not have the right to participate in managing the place or center we work in or to have any labor or employee independent organizations and councils but also,there’s no right to have our own produce wealth and we are getting paid with minimum wage and salary which is not enough to live a normal life and is below the poverty line.
After thirty years of working,we are not able to have a proper place to live or pay our children education high costs or have a appropriate medical treatments or have fun.And worse than all of these with temporary or short terms contracts and giving all the power to greedy and exploitation contractors,there’s no relation between us and our employers and no one is responding to our demands.We have to be worried all time even for this minimum and be waiting to see if they extend our contracts or not?and our living level can be compared to the slaves before human civilization.Even it’s worse than that because those slaves had something to eat anyway,but when they do not need our workforce there’s no food too.So to have these minimums at least and not being unemployed we can’t speak out and have to self-censor ourselves.
All of us have the experience of bending over in front of our managers or employers in order to take something that actually is part of our right and it’s became a believe from their side that they have to treat us this way and it’s more than our right.In November 1978 during the revolution,if we, worker and employees of small and big factories,oil,energy,water companies would not have gone on a general strike there were no damages to Pahlavi system and the current rulers and managers would not have any of these positions.But unfortunately not having enough information about situation and following the mullah and market traders by some of us in that era caused the current condition.
Now we produce all the values and wealth but benefits go straight to exploiter ,loculars and stray division who are our uneducated,oppressive managers and giving us orders.sometimes they close the factories and make us unemployed just to share the land or sell it and make more money.There is no salaried employer who can pay for her/his children education in a high level elementary or high school which costs at least 5 million tomans($5000)per year or even medical main costs.And it means that it will be much worse in the future because the education also will be provided to mullah and market traders and high level managers and pirates of wealth.Why should our country be in some special group’s hands?Why more than %80 of social wealth should be available for %20 of people?Why %100 of political powers should be available to 200,000 mullah and market traders and their children and family members and relatives and the rest of population which is 50,000,000 people can not have any political powers?And at last have to choose between bad and worse?Do all these match to any natural, humanity, justice or God rules and laws?Except for the unfounded,justified laws by the supreme leader which restrict people.And by demanding smallest,basic rights,they use Police forces who are trained by these people’s money and has the duty to make society safe and secure,against people and to reach their frowzy goals.
Chain gangs!! Workers,Labors,Employees,Teachers,Nurses ,Women,Youth,Uni Students and unemployed;after a thirty-year captivity,Sound of chains breaking was heard with presence of millions of people.People are not afraid anymore and government has given its Legitimacy to people movement storm.So we have to use this opportunity to obtain our humanity demands.Government does not have enough forces to send to all industrial,production,training and service centers.Doesn’t matter in what section we are working,we have to select our representatives in technical ,industrial ,production,…so they can create employees independent councils of factory ,hospital,Oil company,training centers and schools and telecommunication ,energy,water ministries and with alliance of representatives of each guild and then their own guild public council and at last make public councils of students ,women, employees,workers and labors in all country so we can have our part in social wealth and political power of wealth and power share.
In current situation government dose not have legitimacy and is in the peak of political,economic crisis and is not able to directly repress people in factories,industrial centers,universities,…By wasting time do not be slaves anymore.
Organizing councils in work places and employees public state councils not only has to become a modern target of every employees but also these councils have to get their share of economical and political benefits.But they have to be aware of not focusing only on small benefits in work places because even though getting that benefit is so important but if we can not relate and join it to class interests of all salaried and workers,at the end we will lose it.It’s so simple, just compare the workers and employees wages, salaries,permanent employment,insurance and right to participating to twenty or thirty years ago,it’s so much worse than then.Because they were happy with those partial benefits and with a price shock and inflation or a change of laws in a Council of Ministers and Parliament meeting,they lost all their achievements and that was just because workers could not link their partial demands to their classified long-term interests.
So as long as we have time and government is busy with its social,political and economical crisis,we have to organize our councils.It’s too simple.In each and every center or factory,representatives of different sections make their center council or organization.Alongside the work,we can work on improvements and reforms and it’s not necessary for everything to be alright from the beginning.The most important thing is to have independent representatives council and then representatives have to be in touch with each other in different work places and industrial areas in cities and provinces and at last they can have their general councils for workers ,teachers ,nurses and etc.
Same as clergies, Friday Imams, managers, commanders and governors we have to have public and areal organizations.Only after having independent and public organizations all employees can ask for their rights in political ,management ,economic fields and when we are organized like this and government ignore us and do not give us our logical demands then we can go on general strike and that way show governmnet we are an important part of society.Then they do not have any other options rather than giving us an honorable life and also share wealth and benefits with people as much as their efforts.That is the time that we can have free,motivated and creative people and a country full of peace and freedom and at last we can have public participation in everything.
By creating independent councils in our workplaces and employees general organizations will take our share of social wealth,public participation and political power.
Group of social and worker activists, 30th June 2009″
7.) Im Anhang folgendes Statement, dessen englische Fassung schon vor einigen Tagen auf dieser Seite dokumentiert wurde, einen herzlichen Dank an die GenossInnen für die Übersetzung und die Zustellung des Textes: Bekanntmachung Nr. 1
Iran: Zu den Präsidentschaftswahlen und den Unruhen!
Menschen im Iran waren Zeuge der Präsidentschaftswahlen in der Islamischen Republik Iran. In diesem propagandistischen Schauprozess des Wahlkampfs, kam die katastrophale Lage der ArbeiterInnen, das Ausbleiben der monatlichen Lohnzahlungen, die Verträge ohne Unterschrift, das Fehlen des Organisationsrechts, Beschimpfungen und Prügel für die Arbeiter, die Anordnung von Auspeitschungen wie im Mittelalter, die Inhaftierung und Tötung von ArbeiteraktivistInnen, die Niederschlagung von Kundgebungen zum 1. Mai usw. nicht vor. Den Rest des Beitrags lesen »
Auf Grund von sommerlichen Bedingungen und wegen der Bewegungen im Iran und in Honduras war die Recherchekapazität in den letzten Wochen stark eingeschränkt, daher hier dieses mal nur einige “Highlights”, ältere Archiv-Updates und Hinweise zu weiteren linken Archivalien unter “Sozialistika“:
In diesen Tagen wird in den Medien in unseren Breiten zuweilen implizit wie explizit darauf hingewiesen, dass so etwas wie die ausserordentlich ungeschickt anmutende, staatliche Bearbeitung der Todesursachen von Neda Agha-Soltan (”Tausende von Agenten, die sich als Basiji verkleidet hätten, extra eingeflogene britische Spione, o.ä.”) durch die Machthaber im Iran hierzulande nicht passieren kann … und dann kommt einem so etwas in die Quere (Quelle: Guardian):
“A senior police officer who investigated the death of Ian Tomlinson told his family that the officer who struck him at the G20 demonstrations could have been a member of the public “dressed in police uniform”, it emerged last night.
The City of London police investigator made the comment at an emergency meeting with Tomlinson’s family and the Independent Police Complaints Commission on 8 April, hours after the Guardian released footage showing the attack on the 47-year-old newspaper vendor.
Tomlinson collapsed and died of internal bleeding shortly after being struck with a baton and pushed to the ground. He had been trying to find a way home through police cordons near the Bank of England on 1 April.
…
The family believed this theory was fantastical. The video of the attack clearly showed that the officer who struck Tomlinson, who has since been suspended from duty and questioned under caution for manslaughter, was surrounded by more than a dozen police officers. The source said that the investigator claimed one possibility was that a member of the public had stolen a Metropolitan police uniform and equipment from the back of a police van before initiating the attack.”
The Second Announcement of Mourning Mothers: The mourning continues
Wednesday 1 July 2009
The silent mourning of mothers on Saturday June 27th 2009 in Laleh Park in Tehran was violently suppressed by security forces. A number of mothers and young women attending this peaceful gathering were detained by the security forces.
Despite the crackdown by the security forces and their attempt to disperses the attendees, more than 500 women and mothers were able to continue with the sit-in and gatherings in the main spot of the park. These mothers were peacefully gathering to commemorate the young men and women who had participated in the non-violent post-election demonstrations and had been martyred.
Following our first announcement, we- the mourning mothers of the martyrs- will continue with our peaceful sit-in in Laleh Park and other parks in Tehran. We will do so till we see the end of violence on the streets, freeing of all those arrested for participating in the peaceful protests after the June 12th election specially our fellow mothers who had been arrested last Saturday and the prosecution of those responsible for our children’s death. Our sit-ins will be in Laleh park and the following parks every Saturday from 7-8 p.m.
Laleh Park Andishe Park Mellat Park Gofegoo Park
Dear Mothers! Our mother instinct has forced us to demand justice for our children and freeing those who are detained or in prisons. We invite you to join our grassroots peaceful gatherings in the above-mentioned parks on Saturdays.
To our boys and brothers in the security forces! We are your mothers. We treat you as mothers and with respect. Respect us and our wishes and refrain from inflicting harm onto your mothers. Our sighs will follow you if you treat us with violence.
2.)Auszüge aus zwei weiteren Ausgaben (Nr. 7 und Nr. 8) der Tehraner Untergrundzeitung Khiaban auf Iran in the Golf, u.a. zu den Baharestan-Protesten und zur Repression:
“Bita Samimizadeh Arrested
Interpreter and leftist student activist Bita Samimizadeh was arrested. In ’86, she was detained incommunicado for close to 50 days in Ward 209 of Evin Prison and, recently, suspended for 2 semesters from university.
Mohammad Sayyadi Arrested
Hamed Sayyadi – former leftist activist of Bua’li University in Hamadan and political director of the Society of the university – was detained on Thursday of 4 Tir. Last summer, he was detained at the Intelligence detention center. Last winter he faced a sentence of 6 and a half years in a minimum-security prison, which was reduced to 2 and half years after his lawyer Dr. Sharif’s announcement of a request for a rehearing.”
“Laut Meldungen, die aus dem Ewin-Gefängnis (Teheran) eintreffen, wurden mehrere Tausend jugendliche Demonstranten in der letzten Zeit verhaftet und im Ewin-Gefängnis eingesperrt.
Die Verhaftungen wurden unter anderem von einer Sondergarde der Pasdaran ausgeführt, die speziell für solche Zwecke ausgebildet ist. Die Namen der meisten Verhafteten sind derzeit unbekannt, auch die Angehörigen wissen meist nicht, wer wo in Haft ist.
Täglich versammeln sich zahlreiche Angehörige vor den Gefängnistoren von Ewin und des Revolutionsgerichts, um zu erfahren, wo ihre Kinder oder Eltern oder Partner in Haft sind. Viele verhaftete Frauen sind verheiratet und haben kleine Kinder, so dass ihre Ehemänner mit den Kindern vor dem Gefängnis erscheinen, um etwas über die Lage ihrer Frau zu erfahren.
Es gibt zwar erste Namenslisten von etwa 30 Gefangenen, aber das ist nur ein Bruchteil der Inhaftierten.
Derzeit braut sich Unheil über ihren Köpfen zusammen. Die Justiz hat eine Sonderkommission gebildet, die festlegen soll, was mit den Verhafteten passieren wird. In dieser Kommission sitzen Ajatollah Dori Najaf-Abadi (Nadschaf-Abadi), der Generalstaatsanwalt des Irans, der ehemalige Innenminister und jetzige Leiter der landesweiten Ermittlungsbehörde Mostafa Purmohammadi und Hodschatoleslam Ra‘isi.
Purmohammadi war einer der drei Personen, die von Ajatollah Chomeini als Mitglieder der obersten Todeskommission ernannt wurden, um über Leben und Tod der politischen Gefangenen im Jahr 1988 zu entscheiden. Damals wurden Tausende von Gefangenen hingerichtet.
Ajatollah Ahmad Chatami (nicht verwandt mit dem Ex-Präsidenten Chatami) hat jüngst auf einer Freitagspredigt in Teheran die Demonstranten als „Mohareb“ bezeichnet, als Menschen, die Krieg gegen Gott führen. Die Strafe hierfür ist die Todesstrafe.
Inzwischen wurden schon einige Gefangene im staatlichen Fernsehen vorgeführt, wo sie erklärten, sie seien von England irregeführt worden. Es ist eine berüchtigte Praxis des islamischen Regimes, die Gefangenen so lange zu foltern, bis sie bereit sind, vor dem Fernsehen derartige „Interviews“ abzugeben.”
4.) Zwei Meldungen von Human Rights Activists in Iran zur fortgesetzten Repression gegen die ArbeiterInnen der Zuckerfabrik Haft Tapeh in Shush/Khuzestan und gegen ihre UnterstützerInnen:
“Mr. Rahim Bas-hagh who is a member of the Labor Union at the Agricultural Company for sugar cane in Haft-Tapeh, has received a written summon to present to the revolutionary court, section 2, in the city of Shoosh.
The summon states that Mr. Bas-hagh has to present himself to this branch on July 25 to finalize his defense. He is accused of causing unrest in the factory and spreading propaganda against the regime. He had previously been arrested by intelligence services and this will mark the second time he’s been asked to report to this court.”
und
“Mr. Abolfazl Abedini Nasr a free journalist and a representative of public relations of Human rights activists in Iran was arrested today at 9:00am on Tuesday June 30th.
Iranian Intelligence Service agents with an arrest warrant went to Abolfazl Abedini’s House in Ahvaz, and after arresting him and searching his house; they detained him and took to an unknown place. Yet the reason of Mr. Abedini’s arrest is unknown, but it should be remembered that he was freed from his last case reporting about the strike of workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company”
5.) Aus einem weiteren Statement aus der iranischen Frauenbewegung, Why Are You Afraid of Us? More Than Twenty Arrested During the Peaceful March of the “Mourning Mothers” von Azadeh Hajizadeh:
“Following the appeal by a group of mourning mothers who intended to hold a peaceful march at seven in the evening, in silence around the pond in Laleh Park in Tehran, I went to the park, even though I am not a mother. All the same to show my respect for these dear mothers I did not want them to be alone.
These mothers in their appeal had written that at seven in the evening, the same time at which Neda Aghasoltani was mercilessly gunned down and as a result of which she had become a symbol of our children’s resistance, they wished to assemble in the area where Neda had been killed in Amir Kabir Street near Laleh Park, and to display through their silence their anger and grief.
A number of those mothers whose children are among the disappeared brought photographs of their sons and a number of the mothers also came with black candles and ribbons so that they might set up signs of mourning near the water feature. It was clear that whatever they wanted, perhaps their silence had deafened the ears of the authorities who had could put up with it no longer and who sent forces on foot to surround them. At five in the afternoon the police forbade the women to sit on the benches near the pond. As they were expelling the women from the park, some of those who were protesting said that everyone should go but that this one woman should remain so that they might help her.
A woman in a black chador was protesting, saying, “tell me that the government is a military one, then I will go”. They were insulting the woman in such an obscene way that another mother could no longer put up with it and said to them, “we consider you different from the plainclothes agents and you shouldn’t speak in this way, you are the security forces and you should speak in a lawful manner”. In response, the officer in charge of the security forces insulted the woman in an even uglier way and said that everyone should move to the other side of the park.”
6.) Aus einem Interview mit einem iranischen Anarchisten:
“Es gibt keine grossen Differenzen zwischen den Parteien der Mächtigen. Alle sind Teil der Bourgeoisie. Niemand “repräsentiert” den Mittelstand, die unteren Schichten oder das Proletariat. In ökonomischer Hinsicht sind alle beteiligten Parteien für den Neoliberalismus, für Privatisierungen und für eine Politik im Sinne der Welthandelsorganisation – mit minimalen Differenzen hinsichtlich der staatlichen Zuwendungen an die Armen. Die einen wollen ihnen monatlich etwas mehr Geld geben, die anderen wollen diese Hilfen via Preissenkungen beim Brot, beim öffentlichen Verkehr und bei den Versicherungsprämien gewähren.
Politisch betrachtet will die Opposition allerdings einen demokratischen Eindruck machen: sie steht ein für Redefreiheit, ist gegen die Zensurierung oder Unterbindung von regierungskritischen Publikationen, lehnt die Todesstrafe für Minderjährige ab, will den Frauen im öffentlichen Sektor mehr Chancen bieten, wehrt sich gegen die Inhaftierung von radikalen StudentInnen, ist für mehr Frauenrechte bei Scheidungen usw. “
“Fraglos finden sich unter den revoltierenden Menschen auch jene Reformislamisten, die sich nach der demokratischen „Autorität“ Chomeinis – von der [Anmerkung Entdinglichung: der Ex-Drogenkurier, siehe hier] Tabatabai faselt – sehnen. Doch es ist auffallend, wie hilfsbereit „Der Spiegel“, der „Stern“ und andere Meinungsfabrikate es ihnen ermöglichen, die Revolte zu vereinnahmen. Die Protestierenden, die zu Hunderten auf Straßenkreuzungen „Tod der Islamischen Republik“ rufen, scheinen die deutschen Freunde des Islamliberalismus zumindest nicht vernommen zu haben. Überraschend ist dies nicht, schließlich hat noch im Mai 2009 jene deutsche Stiftung, die bis tief ins Auswärtige Amt hineinwirkt, in einer ihrer Studien eine „Regime-Sicherheit“ für die Islamische Republik eingefordert – für einen Personalwechsel, das heißt für etwas umgänglichere Islamisten wie Kadivar und Chatami streiten man dagegen euphorisch.”
“La vie des personnes arrêtées ces derniers jours ainsi que celle de tous les prisonniers politiques est en danger. Khaménéi a demandé au chef du pouvoir judiciaire de s’occuper le plus rapidement possible des prisonniers. Chahroudi a alors demandé à Dorri Nadjafabadi, Raïssi et Pourmohammadi d’exécuter l’ordre de Khaménéi. Ce sont trois responsables des assassinats en série et du massacre des prisonniers politiques en été 1988.
Le régime de la République islamique va multiplier ses actes de barbarie car il considère que son effondrement s’approche. Le régime ouvre le feu sur les gens dans les rues et torture les prisonniers politiques. Le ministre du renseignement (police politique) du régime a qualifié les personnes arrêtées de « contre-révolutionnaires ». C’est pourquoi il faut exiger sérieusement la libération immédiate des prisonniers politiques.”
