Word: fedayan
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Khomeini regime falls, it is quite possible that the Iranian left will come to power because of the virtual disintegration of all political forces in the mod erate center. Of the three major leftist parties, the Fedayan and Tudeh believe in Marxism and the Mujahedin in Islamic socialism, a variant that provides for a belief in God. Only the Communist Tudeh Party appears to be closely associated with the Soviet Union. All three parties are hostile to the West...
...Fedayan and Mujahedin are the more dynamic groups with a degree of support among the masses and in the armed services. The most persistent and ferocious of the Shah's opponents, they were brutally suppressed and suffered heavy losses. But they continued to provoke bloody clashes with SAVAK and played a major role in the battle for Tehran, which led to the Shah's downfall. Says a Mujahedin leader: "We have waded through blood and fire to our present status...
...Fedayan, on the other hand, are a hard-line secular group with no ties of any kind to Khomeini. They were the first political group to stage marches against the government after the fall of the Shah. They sent thousands of guerrillas to fight against Khomeini's forces in Kurdistan, thereby demonstrating a capacity to put an army into the field. But they did not take part in the recent rebellion against the constitution in Tabriz. Explains a Fedayan leader: "We do not join any movement simply because it is opposed to the government. For us, what matters...
Though some of their leaders were trained by Palestinians, the Fedayan consider themselves to be devout Iranian nationalists. They scorn the Soviet Union for backsliding from Marxist-Leninist principles and for giving Iranians advice that primarily serves Moscow...
Unlike the Fedayan and Mujahedin, the Communist Tudeh Party operates openly in Iran despite its firm ties to the Soviet Union. It has cheerfully supported the establishment of a rigid Islamic state in Iran. Says Tudeh Leader Noureddin Kianuri: "Our party's objectives are identical with those of Khomeini: the eradication of all forms of imperialism, particularly from America...