background information
In August 1953, a coup organized by the British and American intelligence agencies toppled the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran. In December 1970, the Party leadership and government in Poland ordered soldiers to fire at protesting workers in the coastal town of Gdansk. Both incidents had a major impact on the course of history many years later: on the popular uprising which led to the overthrow of the shah, and on the general strike in Poland in summer 1980 and the Solidarność movement. In August 1980, striking workers in Poland demanded the construction of a monument to commemorate the workers killed in December 1970. In November 1979, students occupied the US embassy in Iran and demanded the extradition of the shah, who was in the US. They feared the US was planning a new coup in order to reinstall the shah as ruler.
The revolution in Iran was backed by a broad cross-section of society – by intellectuals, by the most powerful bazaar merchants in the city, by nationalists, by socialists and by the Islamic political movement behind the Ayatollah Khomeini, who had been driven into exile by the shah. The first major protests at the beginning of 1978 were fuelled by an article in a pro-government paper aimed at discrediting Khomeini, depicting him as a foreigner, a British secret agent and a traitor. The shah’s government reacted to these demonstrations by sending in the army. Gatherings to commemorate the dead then turned into new protests. The shah’s government clamped down again, ordering its forces to shoot at protestors. In November 1978, the shah appointed a military government. Following a series of mass protests, the shah left the country on 16 January on what was officially described as a “holiday”. On 1 February 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran. In his speech at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, where many of those killed in the revolution were buried, he declared the government appointed by the shah to be illegal. Street battles between revolutionaries and units of the shah’s army ensued. On 10 February the army announced its neutral position. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Bazargan, a revolutionary government was appointed with the aim of establishing a democratic republic. On 4 November, Bazargan resigned in protest at the occupation of the US embassy. The Islamic Party led by the Ayatollah Khomeini won the struggle for power. Following a referendum, the Islamic Republic was proclaimed on 1 April 1979. Persecution of non-Islamic revolutionaries on the left and nationalists continued for many years.
1976 saw the creation of the Workers’ Defence Committee (KOR), which organized legal and material aid for workers from a number of industrial companies who were being persecuted for their involvement in protest activities. KOR consisted of several dozen left-wing intellectuals who had been fighting for democratic freedoms for many years, above all in 1968. Some of these members had served long prison sentences. KOR members were at the centre of an underground movement that also included the Flying University and the group behind the journal Robotnik – the Worker. Their common goal was to establish independent unions and to spread the concept of a self-governing body of workers. A further increase in food prices in the summer of 1980 sparked spontaneous strikes in various regions across Poland. The strike at Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk began on 14 August, with the small Robotnik group playing a pivotal role. Striking workers called for the reinstatement of the crane operator Anna Walentynowicz, who had been fired several days earlier. They demanded pay increases and the construction of a memorial to the workers killed in 1970. The strike quickly spread to other industrial companies and the city’s transport services. A week later 600 companies all over the country were on strike and had been occupied by the workers. Delegates from across Poland gathered at Lenin Shipyard to present their first demand: the right to create unions that were self-governing and independent of the state and Party. The leading organs of the Party and the army had planned to send in armed units to clear the occupied shipyard. On 21 August, a delegation from the Party and the government travelled to the yard to negotiate with the workers. On 31 August state officials signed the Gdansk Agreement, accepting 21 demands, including the right to create independent unions, legislation to curb censorship and the release of all political prisoners. Within the space of just four months, the new union called Solidarność had amassed ten million members – almost a third of the entire population. The legal, independent union Solidarność survived for just 15 months. On 13 December 1981, the Party and government in Poland imposed martial law. Over 10,000 people were imprisoned and Solidarność was declared illegal.
