Corbyn Can Take The Lead

Although one might not necessarily agree with every word of this, Peyvand Khorsandi writes: 

What is going on in Iran? Nobody knows. Perhaps somebody does but they’re not telling us. One thing is for sure: there is one man who can actually pivot things in a good direction – and it’s not Donald Trump. 

The world may be watching, as the President says, but that’s what it should have been doing in 2009 when John Kerry and President Obama refused to offer Iran’s Green Movement protestors their backing in a few simple words.

Instead, they washed their hands. Just a soundbite of support? No chance. The Ahmadinejad government violently crushed those protests, with killings, mass arrests, torture and rape.

Today few could give a hoot what Donald Trump says – he achieved an amazing thing last year, creating unity among Iranians with his preposterous travel ban which has caused havoc among students and families in America.

But we do need a figure in the West to do what Trump simply hasn’t the moral standing to do. It is time, ladies and gentleman, for Jeremy Corbyn to step up – in turn, he can prompt the Prime Minister and the EU to stand up for what Iran now needs: freedom of speech. 

Crikey, no one even knows what is happening on the ground and how the demonstrations that kicked off on Thursday even started. There is hearsay. But very little reporting. Conjecture from pundit after pundit. The mechanics of what’s going on are so obscure that analyst after analyst is left to shrug their shoulders and say we will have to “wait and see”. 

Twelve people have been killed. Chants have included “Death to Rouhani” and “Political prisoners must be freed”. The West must hear these remarkable calls. Corbyn in particular must put his head above the parapet and it’s surely the duty of every Corbynista to remind him of this. 

For if Corbyn has an Achilles heel it’s his association with the Iranian government, having worked for its broadcaster Press TV and having chaired an organisation, Stop the War Coalition, which regards the Islamic Republic as a friend in the struggle to free Palestine and as a stalwart against Western imperialism – and, lamentably, defender of the Assad regime. 

Corbyn’s connection with the pro-Islamist, and pro-Islamic Republic element of the political left is a blight on his record that may yet negatively impact his chances of winning the next election. Imagine if things get even uglier in Iran. 

Where is Corbyn’s record of denouncing Islamist extremism and calling for human rights in the country? [You think that that is a rhetorical question. But it is not.] Speaking out for the people would be the constructive and intelligent way to engage with Iran – the antidote to Trump’s effort to stir up trouble and create the kind of chaos that his allies in Saudi Arabia and Israel crave. 

Corbyn can take the lead in recognising that the Rouhani project is dead. The West then has a chance: acknowledge that ‘reformists’ are but frauds in the Iranian context, announce it, and push for freedom of speech and the freeing of all political prisoners. 

For evidence look no further than the Iranian president himself. First elected in 2013, this is the best he has to offer his voters today: “These [demonstrators] are not all people acting on instructions from abroad but some are people out on the street because of their feelings and problems… it’s not just because of economic problems ... they don’t just want money or bread … they want a more openness”.

Wrongly dubbed a “reformer” Rouhani is a conservative, dedicated to keeping Shia, Khomeiniist, Islamist rule intact. Boris Johnson was ridiculed by the leader of Friday prayers in Mashad shortly after visiting the country. A cleric said: “The newspapers in England called him a clown, a liar, and he comes here to tell us to release two spies, who’ve sold out their country”. 

Corbyn, on the other hand, is respected across the competing sources of power within Iran – and he can nudge Theresa May and other leaders to toughen their line on Iran and push for the protection of human rights.  Freedom of expression is a greater threat to Iran than, say, Israel. 

And perhaps it’s to Israel that Corbyn must look to see the power of righteous individuals to shake the very bones of an oppressive state. Harsh? Israel can only be inspired by its arch foe to stoop to the level of keeping Ahed Tamimi, a 16-year-old girl, in detention for slapping a soldier in the face, as it is currently doing. 

Narges Mohammadi and Arash Sadeghi are but two of the many Iranians imprisoned for expressing unwelcome ideas in their own country. (Then there are those who simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, such as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratlcliffe, Kamal Foroughi and Ahmadreza Djalali, the Stockholm-based scientist who has been given a death sentence.)

This is Corbyn’s chance to prove he is a world leader. If he takes it, the chant “Oh Je-re-my Corbyn” will resound through the cells of the notorious Evin prison.