IRAN. SUMMIT OF COOP. COUNCIL OF LEFT / COMMUNIST FORCES
Report of the summit of representatives of the Cooperation Council of Left and Communist Forces
The face-to-face summit of the representatives of the «Left and Communist Forces Cooperation Council» was held on Saturday and Sunday, November 26 and 27, 2022, in the city of Cologne, Germany. The meeting started with the Internationale anthem and a minute of silence in memory of the recent deaths of the revolutionary uprising in Iran as well as two active comrades of the Cooperation Council, Saeed Sohrabi and Masoud Daqiqi’asl, who died beween the two summits of the Council. After that, the meeting started according to the agenda that had already been agreed upon.
The first topic of this meeting was to evaluate the past activities and especially during the recent revolutionary uprising. The question was where does the «Cooperation Council» stand in the current situation? What are the specific shortcomings and opportunities?
In response to these questions, all the forces of the «Cooperation Council» believed that although the activities of the left and communist forces in general and the cooperation of the six forces of the council have seen improvements and there have been positive activities such as launching a joint television channel, a more significant presence in joint activities in support of people’s struggles against the Islamic Republic, but in general, these collaborations lag behind the movement and the recent revolutionary uprising, and the council has not yet been able to use all the potential it has and expand beyond the current group, which is essential for the advancement of the left in the society. In a situation where more than 70 days have passed since the revolutionary uprising of the people in Iran, and in a situation where many of the protests in the society have a leftist and radical stamp on them, this deficiency, both qualitatively and quantitatively, is an undeniable weakness. Also, in a situation where the alternatives of the right-wing currents abroad who want to put brakes on the revolution and impose their own bourgeois alternatives, the obligations of the «Cooperation Council» as a part of the left and communist forces of the society become greater than ever.
Regarding the question of the expansion and our practical activities, whether in solidarity and support of the councils, institutions and committees active in the revolutionary movement inside Iran, or in relation to the councils and institutions supporting the revolutionary movement abroad, there were long discussions and for each of these two parts, the «cooperation council» approved its policy in two documents.
As the conclusion of this section, the council agreed that we should take opportunities more seriously, work to take those opportunities ahead, and try to eliminate the weaknesses as much as possible and this is only possible through expanding our activities on the field, allocating more resources and facilities, and giving priority more to collective activity and cooperation and establish a friendly dialogue for joint and wider cooperation with other leftist and communist forces, councils and institutions, as well as independent people and individuals.
In this regard, it was decided that in the first step, we should invite those leftist and communist forces who have come together around the Stockholm Declaration to cooperate with the council. In the future, the cooperation and close relation with other leftist and communist forces should be continued through friendly dialogues using the mechanism of public seminars and televised roundtables.
Based on the evaluation discussion and as the second topic of the summit, decisions were made regarding the strengthening and improving of some other areas which are mentioned separately below:
– Social media: it was decided that we expand and become more active in this field by allocating more resources and covering news and reports, not only of the activities of the council, but also the activities of external institutions, organizations and people who are aligned with the goals of the cooperation council.
– Television channel of «Council Alternative» or (as in Persian) Alternativ Shorayi: Four out of the six of «Cooperation Council» forces have a 24h TV channel. Although this channel is the platform for the forces in the «Cooperation Council», still this does not mean a common television for all the forces of the Council. In this meeting, once again the project of a joint TV program under the name of «Council Alternative» was reviewed and approved, and a commission with the participation of a representative from each force was appointed to prepare and advance this project.
The last topic of this meeting was to review and update the structural points and internal regulations of the council in order to speed up the work and decisions, the internal coordination method, etc. These changes were made possible thanks to the good experience, familiarity and trust among these forces which was the result of several years of joint work.
The participants’ assessment of the face-to-face meeting, which had been postponed due to the restrictions of the corona period, was positive, and the proposed solutions in each of the cases promised a sense of responsibility and a more effective effort to respond to the obligations and duties that we are responsible for in this crucial situation.
Down with the capitalist regime of the Islamic Republic in Iran!
Long live freedom! Long live socialism!
Cooperation Council of Left and Communist Forces
December 2022
