Almost six months after the greatest mass movement to shake Iran since the 1979 revolution, and depite waves of brutal repression, the dictatorship has failed to quell protests.
Today, 16 Azar/7 December - Iranian Students' Day - is a day of protest dating back to 1953, when three students at Tehran university were killed by the Shah's forces, months after a CIA/MI6-backed coup restored him to power.
16 Azar has become a focus for students' protests against the Islamic dictatorship. In the weeks up to this day, dozens of student activists have been arrested, with many more receiving threats by email. Hundreds of the hated basij security forces have converged onto campuses. Mothers protesting the detention of their children have been arrested. And now the regime is restricting internet speeds to choke off information and coordination.
Despite this intensified repression, all signs are that the determination of the students will prove stronger than the regime's intimidation. Students have invited parents to their protests.
As events in Iran unfold, it is time for internationalists to renew solidarity with the Iranian democracy struggle. In Iran itself, it is vital that protesting students link their struggles in the universities with workplaces and with workers' districts.
Most of all, Iranian workers and youth need to begin building a party to generalize and coordinate the struggle to overthrow the dictatorship.
