December 7, 1953: Three protesting students, were shot to death by the Pahlavi dictatorial monarchy regime!

By Hasse-Nima Golkar

December 7, 1953: Three protesting students, were shot to death by the Pahlavi dictatorial monarchy regime!

The 7th of December (16th of Azar in the Iranian calendar) is called “Student Day”:

During the 1940s after England’s forced abdication of Reza shah Pahlavi (Father of Mohammad Reza Shah) from his dictatorial position of power until the early 1950s, a free forum was opened in the political situation in Iran at the time. Therefore, the left-wing movement was given the opportunity to operate openly politically. Then there were two strong and large student organizations belonged to the “Tudeh Party”, the extended arm of the Soviet Union, and the “Iranian National Front”, the followers of Mohammad Mossadeq, whose government was overthrown by the joint American-British bloody coup on August 19, 1953.

On December 7, 1953, US Vice President Richard Nixon was due to make an official visit to the country to receive an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Tehran. For this reason, the university students at the Faculty of Technology protested the day before against this visit.

The army and police forces from the Shah’s monarchist dictatorship – to intimidate and even suppress the student movement – surrounded Tehran’s university and fired sharply at the students. Hundreds were arrested and injured, and three students were murdered.

After this bloody event and because of it, the worldwide and strong student movement abroad (Iranian Students’ World Confederation 1962-1979) consisting of many different political orientations called this day “Student Day”. And since then, the Iranian student movement in Iran and abroad has honored this day.

The fascist Shia Islamic caliphate state shortly after taking power in 1979 attempted to confiscate, infiltrate and Islamize the student movement. Therefore, under the name “Cultural Revolution” all the universities and colleges were closed for several years. Later in 1999, the student residences of Tehran University were attacked by civilian security police in a brutal manner, just like the Shah’s regime. Then hundreds of people were injured, arrested and at least seven people were murdered.

Iran’s leftist student movement has always been the fellow runner and supporting arm of the working people. Both global and historical ways, given the intellectual nature and class affiliation of the student movement, its political behavior has always been and is unstable, floating up and down between sky and earth, oscillating back and forth between the working class and the bourgeoisie. But the divided left-wing students have made a constant popular resistance against all dictatorships and for freedom and justice. Therefore, the Iranian student movement, including the growing anarchist students in recent years, has been able to survive and still stand on its own weak legs during all these dark periods.

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!