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The Communist Party of Iran (CPI; Persian: حزب کمونیست ایران) is an Iranian communist party founded on 2 September 1983. It has an armed wing and its membership is predominantly Kurdish.[1] The CPI is active throughout the industrialised areas of Iran.[1][2]
History
The Communist Party of Iran was founded in 1983, in Iranian Kurdistan. It was formed from a merger between the Marxist–Leninist Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan and three related Iranian leftist organizations: Sahand, the Union of Communist Militants,[3] and a faction of Peykar.[4][2][1] Prior to the merger, Komala was considered to be a strictly Maoist party. The CPI, however, has been critical of Mao as a revolutionary, considering that he made many mistakes throughout the 1950s to 1970s. The party opposes the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.[1] The CPI also rejects the policies of the Tudeh Party of Iran from the late 1950s and onward, citing a particular grievance with Tudeh giving support to the Shahs of Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini's regime. CPI has also rejected the USSR and considered it representative of state capitalism and not socialism. CPI emphasises that the Soviet Union was not a socialist government after the death of Stalin.
Goals
The CPI currently advocates for increased civil, political, and social rights in Iran, as well as improved labour laws and protections for workers.[5]
The party has representations in Germany (Köln and Frankfurt), Finland, Sweden (Göteborg and Stockholm), Norway, Denmark (Copenhagen), the United Kingdom (London), Australia, and Canada (Toronto).[6]
Structure
Unlike most other communist parties, the CPI is not organised on the basis of democratic centralism. The party is decentralised and its cadres generally act autonomously.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Alaolmolki, Nozar (1987). "The New Iranian Left". Middle East Journal. 41 (2): 218–233. JSTOR 4327537.
- ^ a b van Bruinessen, Martin (1986). "The Kurds between Iran and Iraq". MERIP Middle East Report (141): 14–27. doi:10.2307/3011925. ISSN 0888-0328. JSTOR 3011925.
- ^ "Worker Communism Radical Conscience of The Left of Capital (Part 2) - Changing the name of "Sahand" to the "Unity of Communist Militants"". Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ "حزب کمونیست ایران / در باره ما". cpiran.org (in Persian). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ "مبانی استراتژی حزب کمونیست ایران به مناسبت سالگرد تاسیس حزب". cpiran.org (in Persian). Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ electricpulp.com. "COMMUNISM iii. In Persia after 1953 – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 8 September 2018.