Statement of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran:on the Occasion of the 36th Anniversary of the National Catastrophe of the Massacre of Iran’s Political Prisoners!.

Without ending the rule of the Islamic Republic, there will be no end to executions, torture, and persecution of political prisoners, oppression, corruption, poverty, and deprivation of millions of Iranians!

By August and September 2024, 36 years have passed since the massacre of thousands of political prisoners, a massacre ordered by Khomeini and executed by criminals such as Raisi, Nayyeri, Eshraqi, Pourmohammadi, and others. Khomeini and other leaders of the Islamic Republic who were worried about the demise of their political life perpetratedthe mass killings of the 1988 "National Catastrophe"andexecuteda great number of the most tenaciousand dedicated social, cultural, political, and popular figures ofIran to prolong their political future and the rule of the obscurant and criminaltheocraticregime.

Despite passing 36 years since that anti-human criminal act, the exact number of victims still remains unknown. According to published reports, the estimated number of murdered freedom-lovingmilitantsvaries between 3,000 to 4,484. According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights [on Iran],at least 1,879political prisoners were executed. Mr. Montazeri [the ex-successor to Khomeni who was deposed later]mentioned in his memoirs that according to reports he received about 2,800 or 3,800 prisonerswere executed. Montazeri’s memoir pertaining tohis meeting with the delegation sent to the prisons and the shocking report of these quasi-humans on how the carnagewas organized remains one of the most credible historical documents on the conduct of the Islamic Republic and its leaders in this massacre. Undoubtedly, someday it will be used in the people’s justice courts in Iran to prosecute the perpetrators of this massacre.

Dear fellow Iranians,

The 36^thanniversary of the National Catastrophearrives at a time when the brutal and bloody suppression of dissenters and freedom-loving fighters continues to be the regime’s typical response to any protest against the political system; a system which is based on the absolute dictatorship of one individual over all legal and elected institutions of the country. The presidential election show of 2024 came to an end bypromoting Masoud Pezeshkian as the President, then his inauguration, and subsequently the appointment of his cabinet ministers by the Supreme Leader. This show, like most of thepreviousones, is a clear indication that in the Islamic Republic regime, the “principle of the republic”- a significant achievement of the 1979 popular revolution that aimed at establishing the people’s will over their destiny- has long been sacrificed on the altar of the corrupt leaders’ “political Islam” and has given way to a kind of medieval “caliphate” under the banner of “absolute rule of the Supreme Leader.” An analysis of recent political developments shows that various governments, security and intelligence agencies, and legislative bodies have, in practice and mostly, turned intocoordinated elementsof a repressive apparatus whose main goal is to save and prolongthe ruling political system at any cost.

The 36^thanniversary of the National Tragedy also coincides with the second anniversary of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising that- following the statecriminal act of killing Mahsa Amini inthe hands of the regime’s thugs-sparked one of the largest popular revoltsin recent years. This uprisingpresented a serious challenge to the regime’s survival. Although the brutal and bloody suppression of it saved the regime from this challenge, the embers of the struggle of the popular movement still glow in the valiant fight of women, working people, nurses, pensioners, oil industryproject workers, and the protests of workers in other production units across the nation. On the 36^thanniversary of the National Catastrophe, many prisoners, themselves suffering under psychological and physical pressures, continue the resistance with high morale, exposing the regime’s crimes and demanding an end to repression and executions. The Tudeh Party of Iran, by supporting the political prisoners’ campaign with the slogan “No to Executions” and turning it into a slogan of the popular movement, demands an end to this cycle of death and violence.

Dear fellow citizens,

The summer of 1988 witnessed shocking months when the regime raidedthe prisons across the country and committed crimes against humanity. Thosewere months of historic and heroic resistance ofpolitical prisoners against the death squads sent to prisons. Thousands of dignifiedindividuals from various groups, organizations, parties, and among social and political figures stood shoulder to shoulder, bravely facing the reactionary mercenaries, choosing death over humiliation and surrender, thus creating a glorioushistory of the people’s struggle against the obscurant and criminal regime, a history that will remain a symbol of humanity and hope for the future of our nationfor generations to come. During theNational Catastrophea large number of leaders and cadres of Iran’s progressive organizations and parties were executed by the regime’s executioners. The Tudeh Party of Iran lost a large group of veteranleaders and historical figures ofthe national liberation anti-dictatorship movement, along with prominent cadres and activists of the labour movement, brave military officers, writers, translators, intellectuals, and scholars.

In its statement on December 9, 1988, the Central Committee of our Party wrote: “The recent atrocities of Khomeini’s despotic regime, especially devoid of any legal, civil, moral, or human support, are reminiscent of the insane actions of Hitler’s fascists in death camps. Individualswho were handed over to the firesquads bythe regime and its repressive organs were guilty of nothing but love for the people, enmity with imperialism and reaction, and desire for struggle for freedom, independence, social justice, and peace.”

Despite 36 years having passed since the National Catastropheof the “bloody purge” of the country’s prisons and despite all the regime’s efforts to erase the shameful traces of its crime, due to the persistent struggle of the victims’ families, especially the brave mothers of Khavaran [the victims' graveyard], the regime's efforts have failed. In the “Khavaran Garden” and other sites of mass graves of the National Catastrophe’s martyrs in various cities, despite all the regime’s efforts, despite the destruction of these sites, the fencing around them, and even the attempts to prevent any attendanceor gathering, the families of the victims of the 1988 National Catastrophecontinue to gather together and, with the empathy of the people at large, honour the gloriousmemory of the heroic acts of the children of this land.

Dear compatriots!

In the National Catastrophe,in the massacre of political prisoners in 1988, no organizational or ideological boundaries were considered. The regime massacred all those militantswhose activities it saw as dangerous to its future. The Tudeh Party of Iran, alongside other freedom-loving, patriotic, and democratic forces ofthe nation, deems its human and revolutionary duty to continue its endeavoursto expose this dark plot in our contemporary history until the culprits of this crime against humanity are brought to justice. All efforts must be made to break the regime’s plotof silence aboutthe National Catastrophe. In the ongoing struggle in our country for peace, freedom, democracy, and social justice, the fight to address the demands of the families of the victims of this catastrophe plays an important and decisive role. It is the human, popular, and historical duty of all progressive and freedom-loving forces to intensify their efforts towards this goal. The brave political prisoners who were executed stood together before the death squads of the bloodthirsty Islamic Republic, singing songs of a future liberated homeland from the grip of the despotic regime. Their names and memories cannot be erasedfrom the history of the bloody struggles of our nation.

May the joint efforts of all patrioticand freedom-loving forces and the families of the victims of the National Catastrophein establishing a “truth commission” expand!

Eternalsalute to the mothers, fathers, spouses, children, and relatives of the martyrs of the National Catastrophewho continue to steadfastly and tirelessly defend the righteousness of the people’s heroic struggle against the theocratic regime!

Shame and disgustupon the leaders of the Islamic Republic and all those who perpetratorsand executorsof the horrific crime of the National Catastrophe!

Passionatesalute to the gloriousmemory of all the blood-soaked heroes of the nationwho sacrificed their lives for the liberation and freedom of our homeland during the 1988 National Catastrophe!

Endless salute to all political prisoners whounder the regime’s pressures continue the resistance!

Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran

24 August  2024