July 29th MAWO Public Forum Report

On Wednesday July 29th a number of activists and antiwar organizers gathered at Joe’s Cafe to participate in the Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO) and Iranian Community Against War (ICAW) forum, “Imperialism and the Election Crisis in Iran, Myth and Reality on the Recent Turmoil”. Given the magnitude and impact of the Presidential election in Iran on the world scale, as well as amount of discussion and confusion regarding the issue – it was an important time to hold the event.

The forum was MC’d by Payvand Pejvack, an organizer with ICAW and MAWO, and started with a one hour multimedia presentation including video footage from Iran, examples of biased CNN coverage of the Iranian election protests, and interviews with people around the world about the issues at stake.

Ali Yerevani, the Political Editor of the Fire This Time newspaper and himself a participant in 1979 Iranian Revolution, followed the video. He compared and contrasted the huge mass revolutionary movement of 1979 which overthrew the puppet-Monarch of the Shah, with the latest protests and turmoil which occurred after the recent Presidential elections in Iran. He presented 8 points on the characteristics of this movement, its differences with 1979 mass movement, as well as its relationship to today’s world wide imperialist domination within the new era of war and occupation.

The discussion which followed the presentation was long and lively, with the majority of forum participants staying to discuss a wide range of related issues until almost midnight. Given this interest, MAWO and ICAW will definitely hold similar educational events in the near future, as well as continuing to demand:

Hands Off Iran!
No Imperialist Intervention in Iran!
Self-determination for Iranian People!

To view full MAWO statement on the election crisis in Iran, as well as international media coverage, go here:
http://www.mawovancouver.org/articles/statements/090623Iran.html