Freedom Guards: A beacon of hope in an uncertain region

 Javad Aslani

In the past few month units of the Freedom Guards have made several high profile appearances and incursion into the areas and regions in the Iranian Kurdistan that have up to now  been a no go area for the revolutionaries. In Mahabad, one of the main cities in the region, it was the first time for over twenty years that armed anti-regime fighters have publicly appeared in the city. In Marivan, a city near Iraqi border a prominent cadre of the WPI-Hekmatist, Jamal Pirkherian, led a unit of the Freedom Guards into the outskirt of the city and while conducting organisational and educational works addressed crowds of people. In Sanandaj, the provincial capital city of the Kurdistan province the units of the Freedom Guards have made several appearances and met with local residents and distributed party literatures. Other cities and townships including Sardasht and Kamyaran, have also seen units of the Freedom Guards operating and spreading message of hope and liberation from the filth of the Islamic regime.

 Freedom Guards in contrast to the established traditional nationalist armed struggles have offered a new way of organising, protecting and safeguarding the struggle of people against the Islamic forces in the neighbourhoods and districts. The Freedom Guards offer protection to people to carry out their struggle and make sure their achievements and gains are sustained. The expansion and growth of the Freedom Guards will empower people in their neighbourhood to establish their own control and cut off the interferences of the government oppressive forces from their daily activities. Members of the Freedom Guards are gross root activists advocating revolutionary politics and offering a revolutionary alternative to the Islamic reaction in neighbourhoods and districts. 

 Since the earlier nineties and the collapse of the eastern block countries and the former Soviet Union, a wave of nationalist and religious reaction has dominated the political events in the world. In the absence of worker-communist forces, the leftists, and revolutionary and progressive forces have  also deserted the battle fields and allowed the reactionaries to intimidate and terrorise masses of people and hold their lives and livelihood to ransom. These forces, in the first instance fan all the phoney differences  and tensions amongst citizens and create animosity and antagonism between  peoples that  have been living in peace and tranquillity for generations. This is their bread and butter. They feed on such frictions and differences and initiate wars and genocides. The recent events in the Turkish speaking region in Iran have all the ingredients to plunge Iran into a downward spiral of ethnic and religious wars. A strong, mass armed force that overrides all these differences and offers an alternative based on liberty, equality and security is very much needed.

 At the time and in the region where politic is armed and various nationalist, religious and political gangsters are laying in wait to impose their will over the vulnerable people, the Freedom Guards offer that opportunity for the masses of people to protect their freedom, livelihoods and their very existence from the calamity of the reactionary forces.  

 This establishment of the Freedom Guards by the WPI-Hekmatist, is a revolutionary and brave measure and offers a beacon of hope in these turbulent and uncertain times. The success of he Freedom Guards will highlight the simple fact that if its full potential is realised, it can apart from ousting the Islamic Republic also offer a real alternative by providing security and political and economic protection in the face of aggression of the remnants of the Islamic Republic and the ethnic and political gangsters and restore the will and sovereignty of the people.