Hopi bulletins

• July 18 2008
• June 6 2008
• April 24 2008
• March 2 2008
• February 12 2008
• January 23 2008
• January 8 2008
• December 18 2007
• November 28 2007
• November 6 2007
• October 30 2007
• October 24 2007
• October 15 2007

Hopi regularly sends out email bulletins to all those interested. Email us if you want to receive these.

July 18 2008
News from Hands Off the People of Iran
www.hopoi.org

Dear friends, supporters and members of Hands Off the People of Iran,
please find in this bulletin:

1. Trade union support for Hopi
2. New videos on Hopi website
3. New articles on Hopi website
4. Standing order drive

1) Trade union support for Hopi
In case you have not heard yet - both the PCSU and ASLEF have officially affiliated to Hopi – despite rather sectarian attempts by some on the left to stop it.
Click here to read more about it: http://www.hopoi.org/press-pcs.html

2) New videos on Hopi website
John McDonnell MP, Moshe Machover, Torab Saleth and many more speakers addressed the 70 or so attendants of our excellent weekend school in June. After some technical problems, all the contributions are now available online as video files:
http://www.hopoi.org/school.html

3) New articles on Hopi website
A number of very interesting articles are now available online, including:

Tehran changes reflected in anti-war movement
Ben Lewis looks at the newly formed National Peace Council in Iran and warns against tailing such a supine political initiative

Dancing to the US tune
Suddenly, the SWP-backed Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran has no problem in criticising the Iranian government, writes Nick Jones

Third campism is a stinking corpse
James Turley argues that the left, rather than twisting words, must approach defeatism creatively
Click here to read them:  http://www.hopoi.org/articles.html

4)Standing order drive
Regular income is very important to our activities, as it allows us to plan ahead. Without regular income, it can become very difficult to produce leaflets for important events, book rooms for meetings, etc. That’s why we are asking Hopi members and supporters to make a regular contribution to our campaign. Even £2/month helps!

Please go to http://www.hopoi.org/resources/standingorder.pdf, fill out the form and return it to our address: Hopi, PO Box 54631, London N16 8YE.

Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support Hopi in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html

June 6 2008
UK unions take principled stand against war on Iran

Both the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and the train driver union ASLEF have affiliated to Hands Off the People of Iran. Find below two press releases. Click here to read more.

April 24 2008
Hopi weekend school
www.hopoi.org

Dear friends, supporters and members of Hands Off the People of Iran,
Please accept our apologies for not sending out a bulletin for a few weeks. We’ve been very busy preparing for our weekend school in June (details below). We very much hope you can come along and spread the word about this important event in your campaigns and organisations.
Please find in this bulletin:

1. Sponsor the Hopi weekend school, June 14-15, London
2. New video on Hopi website
3. Standing order drive
4. Hopi activities

1) Sponsor the Hopi weekend school, June 14-15, London
We are still finalising the agenda, but topics will include:

1. War, human rights and ‘humanitarian interventions’;
2. Iran, Israel and the Middle East and the nuclear question
3. Sanctions and Iran
4. Can imperialism liberate women in the Middle East?
5. National and religious minorities
6. The working class movements and their response to the economic crisis in Iran
7. The 1979 revolution and its aftermath

Venue: University of London Union, Malet Street, London. £20 waged; £10 unwaged.

If possible, please book your place in advance. For more info, click here.
Even if you cannot come, maybe you/your organisation/your trade union is able to sponsor this important conference? Any financial help is very important to our campaign.

2) New video on Hopi website
Hopi’s website (www.hopoi.org) carries a range of resources, background information, videos, leaflets and articles. Some of the latest additions:

- Behind the lies of Petraeus
What is the truth about Muqtada al-Sadr’s connections with Iran? Yassamine Mather looks at al-Sadr’s pragmatic opportunism and puts the record straight

- Basra shows anti-occupation momentum is growing
What lies behind the spin about the Iraqi ‘government’ attempting to take back control of Basra? Mike Macnair examines the issues.

- In this video, Torab Saleth (a member of the steering committee of Hands Off the People of Iran) looks at the nature of the Iranian regime and its relationship with the United States. He describes the history of the conflict and goes behind the current media speculation to explain what is really going on in the Middle East.

3) Standing order drive
Regular income is very important to our activities, as it allows us to plan ahead. Without regular income, it can become very difficult to produce leaflets for important events, book rooms for meetings, etc. That’s why we are asking Hopi members and supporters to make a regular contribution to our campaign. Even £2/month helps!

Please click here to download a standing order form, fill out the form and return it to our address: Hopi, PO Box 54631, London N16 8YE.

4) Hopi activities

·  Saturday April 26, 7pm: meeting of the Hopi steering committee
Meetings of the Hopi steering group are open to all members of Hopi. Please get in touch if you want to attend or if you have ideas and suggestions that you think should be discussed at the meetings.

·  Monday April 28, 7pm: Hopi students internet meeting
Student supporters of Hopi meet up online on Paltalk to discuss our tasks for the next few months. Please get in touch if you would like to attend.

·  Wednesday, April 30, 6pm, Sussex University: ' Iran- will Bush attack Iran before he leaves office?'
Part of the Middle East and Asia day @ One World Week
Speaker: Torab Saleth. Venue: Room A002, University of Sussex

·  Thursday May 1, 6.30pm: Leeds Hopi launch meeting
Kadas cafe, 5 Crown Street, (near Corn Exchange), LS2
Speakers:
- Yassamine Mather (Hopi national secretary)
- Cliff Slaughter (Movement for Socialism)
- Lee Rock (PCS-personal capacity and CPGB)
- Martin Hemingway (Green Party Euro candidate for Yorkshire and Humberside region)
- and a local Iranian speaker

·  Saturday May 3: Communist University North
11am - 12.30pm, Yassamine Mather will speak on 'Iran and world imperialism'
Satpal Ram Room, Sheffield University Student Union, Glossop Road, Sheffield
Phone: 07514 500298, Email: laurie@communiststudents.org.uk
For the rest of the programme, visit: http://www.cpgb.org.uk/action/index.html

·  Monday, May 26: Kingston Green Fair
Hopi will have a speaker and a stall. Let us know if you can help on the day.

Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support Hopi in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html

March 2 2008
News from Hands Off the People of Iran

Dear friends, supporters and members of Hands Off the People of Iran,

In this bulletin:

• World Against War demo, March 15 2008
• Hopi at the conference of the National Union of Students
• Hopi leaflet for Women’s Day 2008
• Why we cannot politically support the day of action on March 6 2008
• Forthcoming Hopi events
• Are you a member yet?
• How to unsubscribe

World Against War demo, March 15 2008

Hopi’s request for a speaker at this event have so far met with silence. However, we will continue to pressurise the Stop the War Coalition and CND to make sure that Hopi’s message is heard: ‘No to imperialist war, no to sanctions! No to the theocracy! In active solidarity with the women’s, students and workers’ movements fighting the regime in Iran!’

We will be staffing at least one stall and hand out a new leaflet. We will also be producing Hopi placards which carry our distinct message. We will meet on Saturday March 8 to prepare materials for the demonstration. Please get in touch if you can help (email office@hopoi.info)

Hopi at the conference of the National Union of Students, April 1-3
Hopi supporters are planning to intervene in a number of ways. We are supporting the election of Iranian student Anoosheh Azaadbar for Honorary Vice-President of the NUS (http://www.hopoi.org/anooshe.html). Hopi supporter (and Communist Student member) Chris Strafford is standing for the ‘Block of 12’ and his manifesto mentions Hopi several times (http://www.communiststudents.org.uk/news/2008/21-02-08-straffordfornus.html) 

We will also have a fringe meeting at the conference. The steering committee would like this to be a debate with the comrades from ‘Education not for Sale’ (linked to the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty). We are highly critical of their motion to the conference on the situation in Iran. This states that “American (and British) military adventures in the Middle East have almost inevitably disastrous consequences” [our emphasis]. We believe that this is a highly problematic formulation, which assigns the imperialist powers a potentially progressive role in the region. We also criticise the comrades for not demanding that all troops should be leaving the region immediately.

We are still awaiting the comrades’ considered reply to this suggestion. If the ENS are not prepared to organise a debate as requested, we will be running our own fringe meeting. We believe there should be clarity of ideas - fudging those important issues would be of no use to anybody.

Hopi leaflet for Women’s Day 2008
Click here to download the leaflet: http://www.hopoi.org/resources/womensday.pdf

Why we cannot politically support the day of action on March 6 2008

While we encourage all Hopi members and supporters to attend local actions on that day, we cannot politically support this event. The groups centrally involved in organising this mobilisation (the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)) are totally silent on the role of imperialism in the region, have nothing to say on the war plans of the US and - in truth - are junior partners in implementing the reactionary agendas of the US and its allies.

We have therefore produced a leaflet that Hopi supporters will be distributing on the day. Visit our website for the full text and the leaflet version (please print it out and copy it): http://www.hopoi.org/6march.html

Forthcoming Hopi events (more infos on http://www.hopoi.org/meetings.html)

Tuesday, March 4, Glasgow: The women's movement in Iran
Centre for Socialist Theory and Movements , Glasgow University,  5pm, room 218,  Adam Smith Building
Saturday March 8, Brussels:  Hopi supports the demonstration of  The Campaign for abolition of all misogynist gender based legislation & Islamic punitive laws in Iran in Brussels

Sunday March 9, London: ' Iran - women, peace and liberation'
Organised by the Jewish Socialists' Group. Start 3pm. Speaker: Hopi secretary Yassamine Mather. Venue: Indian YMCA, Fitzroy Square London W1. (nearest tubes Warren Street or Great Portland Street). Contact: charlespottins@aol.com

Saturday March 29, London: Hopi steering group
Meetings of the Hopi steering group are open to all members of Hopi. Please get in touch if you want to attend or if you have ideas and suggestions that you think should be discussed at the meetings. Click here to see the minutes of previous meetings

Saturday-Sunday, June 14-15, London: Hopi weekend school
more details to follow asap

Are you a member of Hopi yet?
At Hopi’s launch conference, over 100 participants agreed a democratic membership structure. We would like encourage everyone who has signed our statement to become a member and help build this important campaign.

Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support Hopi in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html

How to unsubscribe
If you do not wish to receive any more of this bulletins, please email office@hopoi.info

In solidarity,

Tina Becker
for Hands Off the People of Iran
www.hopoi.org

February 12 2008

In active solidarity with arrested students in Iran

1. Manchester: solidarity with arrested students in Iran
2. New Hopi leaflet: Free the students!
3. Video and audio files from Hopi’s debate with Nick Cohen

1) Manchester: solidarity with arrested students in Iran

Hopi North West invites you to attend this public meeting: ‘Iran, Imperialism and Solidarity’. The meeting is being held on the anniversary of the massive demonstrations against the attack on Iraq and a day before the International day of solidarity with 81 imprisoned Iranian students.

Friday February 15 2008, 4.30-7pm, Manchester

Venue: University of Manchester Students' Union MR4, Oxford Road, Manchester. chris_strafford@hotmail.com
Speakers include: Yassamine Mather, an exiled Iranian socialist; Khave Heydari, an Iranian student; Hussein Al-alak, chairman of the Iraq Solidarity Campaign.

2) New Hopi leaflet: Free the students!

You can download a new Hopi leaflet on the student protests from our website – take it to your local protest and actions: http://www.hopoi.org/resources/students.html

3) Video and audio files from Hopi’s debate with Nick Cohen

You can find audio files and video footage from this excellent debate on our website: http://www.hopoi.org/resources/videos/NickCohen.html

Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support Hopi in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html

January 23 2008

Hopi debates Nick Cohen

Dear friends, supporters and members of Hopi,

London’s Soho Theatre is staging a debate between Nick Cohen and Yassamine Mather (steering committee, Hands Off the People of Iran). Please come along to make sure that Hopi’s message is heard loud and clear:

• No to ware on Iran, no to the sanctions!
• No to the theocratic regime! Active solidarity with the workers’, students’ and women’s movements fighting for democracy and freedom!

Tuesday, January 29, 7pm, Soho Theatre, London. Click here for more info: http://www.sohotheatre.com/pl1443.html

Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support Hopi in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html

January 8 2008

News from Hands Off the People of Iran

www.hopoi.org

Dear friends, supporters and members of Hopi

Saturday's so-called stand-off between five Iranian speedboats and three US ships in the Strait of Hormuz might not have put us "two minutes from war", as The Mirror writes today. But it clearly shows that tensions are still running high and that the US has no intention of giving up its plans to ‘deal’ with what is now - after the virtual destruction of Iraq - the most powerful country in the Middle East.

All the more reason why Hopi will be working hard over the next few months to increase our campaigning activities. We are fighting for an end to imperialism's war threats and the dropping of sanctions against Iran - but also to provide active support to the democratic forces in Iran that are resisting the theocracy’s iron rule.

In this bulletin:

- January 12: First Hopi executive
- January 29: Debate between Nick Cohen and Yassamine Mather (Hopi)
- January 22: How to fight on two fronts. Public meeting in Brighton
- Are you a member yet?
- Videos from Hopi’s launch conference

January 12: First Hopi executive meeting

On Saturday, January 12, Hopi’s new executive will meet for the first time in central London. All Hopi members can attend as observers - let us know if you wish to do so and we will send you the details. See below on how to become a member if you are not one already.

January 29: Debate between Nick Cohen and Yassamine Mather (Hopi)

Tuesday, January 29, 7pm, Soho Theatre, London. What is the best means of securing regime change and how should it shape the future of Britain’s relations with Iran? What do the Iranian people want, and what lessons have we learned about intervention from the war in Iraq?
Click here for more info: http://www.sohotheatre.com/pl1443.html

January 22: How to fight on two fronts
Tuesday, January 22, 7.30pm, Brighton.Brighthelm Centre, North Road, corner with Queens Road, Brighton. A few minutes walk from Brighton station. Public meeting organised by Sussex Action for Peace, with a speaker from Hopi.

Are you a member of Hopi yet?
At Hopi’s launch conference, over 100 participants agreed a democratic membership structure. We would encourage everyone who has signed our statement to become a member and help build this important campaign.
Click here to find out how you can become a member and help to support Hopi in other ways: http://www.hopoi.org/signup.html

Videos from Hopi’s launch conference
If you haven't seen the video footage from our launch conference, check it out by clicking here:
http://www.hopoi.org/conference/conference.html

December 18 2007

Successful launch conference

Hands Off the People of Iran held a successful launch conference on December 8.  Nearly 90 members and observers packed Somers Town Community Centre in central London.  Delegates from many different political organisations and persuasions ensured that the conference was lively, with a wide range of views expressed and motions voted on.

Among the decisions reached were:

• Adoption of a new constitution (see www.hopoi.org/constitution.html for the full document);
• Election of a steering committee ( www.hopoi.org/committee.html);
• Amendments to the campaign's founding statement (www.hopoi.org/main.html);
• Approval of policy motions (www.hopoi.org/policies.html) on:
• campaign priorities for 2008;
• relations with the Stop the War Coalition;
• the Iranian student movement;
• supporting Iranian workers;
• supporting the women's movement in Iran.

Further information on the launch conference, including photographs and links to independent reports, can be found at www.hopoi.org/conference/conference.html.

Thanks to everyone who took part and all those who sent messages of solidarity ( www.hopoi.org/conference/solidarity.html).


Website makeover

We have redesigned the campaign website recently and hope that you like the new look and find it easier to navigate around the site.

Hopi's site can be found at www.hopoi.org.


Become a full member of Hopi

This mailing list is open to all, but if you are not already a member of Hopi we would like to invite you to join.

The membership fee is £10 per annum (£5 if you are unwaged) and further details on how to join can be found on the website at www.hopoi.org/signup.html.

We also welcome affiliation from organisations.  Details can be found on the above web page.

--

Hands Off the People of Iran
Hopi, PO Box 54631, London N16 8YE
www.hopoi.org
office@hopoi.info

November 28
Hopi launch conference

Dear all

Details of Hopi's launch conference are now available online: http://www.hopoi.org. We've already had a fair number of reservations. Comrades in Manchester and Scotland are organising transport by minibus - get in touch if you want to take advantage of this or have empty seats in your car. Email us on office@hopoi.info.

We invite motions to conference - the deadline is Monday December 3. Deadline for amendments is Thursday December 6. Nominations for the executive can be made at the conference, but we would prefer it if you could send them to us in advance.

Hopi's launch conference will have a unique feature - it will actually be a conference, not a rally. Time for genuine debate from the floor will be maximised and contributions from the platform kept to a minimum. Our debate on the draft founding statement of the campaign will be structured by three background papers, briefly introduced by their authors, which will be available very soon on the Hopi website. These sessions will be focusing on 'Imperialism and the threat of war', 'The working class movement and progressive change', and 'Solidarity movements and fighting on two fronts'.

This will allow comrades to examine in detail the theoretical reasoning behind the slogans and pithy formulations in our founding statement. Members of Hopi and supporting organisations are entitled to submit amendments and/or alternatives to the statement. After a full discussion, the conference will be able to vote on all amendments, related motions and the founding statement as a whole. The same transparent, democratic process will inform the rest of the day's discussions - on our constitution, our campaigning priorities and the composition of our leading committee. Check out our website, which will contain all relevant documents.

We hope to see many of you there!

November 6 2007
News from Hands Off the People of Iran
www.hopoi.org

- Letter in today's Guardian
- Hopi launch conference on Saturday, December 8
- Other local Hopi meetings
- Set up a local Hopi branch
- Hopi supporters

Letter in today's Guardian

Peter Tatchell, Michael Mansfield QC, Derek Wall (Green Party spokesperson) and Lisa Goldman (Soho Theatre) are amongst the signatories of a letter in today's Guardian, protesting against Hopi's exclusion from the Stop the War Coalition: http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,,2205770,00.html

Hopi launch conference
London, Saturday December 8, 10am.

Agenda includes:
- Discussions on 'Imperialism and the threat of war', 'The working class movement and progressive change' and 'Solidarity movements and fighting on two fronts'
- Debate on Hopi founding statement: http://www.hopoi.org/main.html
- Activities and campaigning priorities
- Elections of steering committee

All welcome, venue to be confirmed. Email office@hopoi.info to be kept informed.

Local Hopi meetings

Manchester, Wednesday November 21, 5pm:
Hopi launch meeting, University of Manchester catholic chaplaincy (opposite UMSU Steve Biko Building), Oxford Road.

Sheffield, Thursday November 22, 7pm:
'Iran and the threat of war' with Yassamine Mather, Workers' Left Unity Iran.
The Pennines Meeting Room, Unversity of Sheffield Union of Students

Set up a local Hopi branch

We encourage all Hopi supporters to set local branches of Hands Off the People of Iran. Email office@hopoi.info if you need materials or a speaker.

Hopi supporters include:
- Diane Abbott Labour MP
- John McDonnell Labour MP,
- Peter Tatchell OutRage and Green Party
- Caroline Lucas Green Party MEP
- Tommy Sheridan Solidarity,
- Ken Loach filmmaker
- Mark Steel comedian
- John Pilger journalist
- Naomi Klein writer and activist
- Haifa Zangana writer
- Workers Left Unity - Iran
- Iran Bulletin - Middle East Forum
- Organisation of Revolutionary Workers of Iran
- Green Party
- Communist Party of Great Britain
- Scottish Socialist Party
and many more. Click here to see the full list: http://www.hopoi.org/supporters.html

October 24 2007
An update from Hands Off the People of Iran (HOPI)

Dear friend,

Open letter to Stop the War Coalition leadership
Thanks to everyone who has signed our open letter to the Stop the War Coalition (StWC) protesting against HOPI's exclusion from the Coalition. You can see who has signed up so far by visiting http://www.hopoi.org/letter-support.html. If you wish to support this initiative but haven't signed up yet, please confirm your support as soon as possible by writing to office@hopoi.info.

Reply to StWC chair Andrew Murray
You might have received a mailing from the StWC office containing a statement by Andrew Murray on HOPI's exclusion. Amir Javaheri Langaroudi (from Iranian organisation Etehadchap Kargari) has penned a reply, which is attached to this email. 

Stop the War Coalition conference
We hope that many HOPI supporters will come along to StWC's annual conference in London on Saturday October 27. If you're an individual member of StWC, you have speaking and voting rights at the conference. Further details available at http://www.stopwar.org.uk. Please note that the October 19 registration deadline mentioned on the website applies only to delegates representing organisations, not to individual members.

HOPI fringe meeting, Saturday October 27, 5.30pm
We've organised a fringe meeting after the StWC conference to discuss our response: Saturday October 27, 5.30pm. Sunrise room, D2, Diorama Arts Centre, 3-7 Euston Centre, Regents Place, London NW1 3GJ. All welcome. Speakers will include Yassamine Mather. For directions to the venue, see http://www.diorama-arts.org.uk/findus.htm.

HOPI conference, Saturday December 8
Please put this date into your calendar: HOPI conference, Saturday December 8, central London. More details to follow soon.

Regards,

Steve Cooke
Hands Off the People of Iran
http://www.hopoi.org

October 15 2007
Protest against Hopi's exclusion from the Stop the War Coalition

Dear friend,

Outrageously, Hands Off the People of Iran has had its affiliation to the Stop the War Coalition (StWC) revoked.

Our opposition to both an imperialist attack on Iran and the theocratic regime in Tehran apparently makes us "entirely hostile to the Coalition", according to StWC chair Andrew Murray.

Here's what you can do to protest against this decision:

- Go to http://www.hopoi.org to read more about this scandal. There is a press release from HOPI (also attached to this email) and an open letter from Yassamine Mather

- Protest against the decision by sending an email to the Stop the War Coalition (mail form at http://www.stopwar.org.uk/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3 ) - please send a copy to HOPI (office@hopoi.info)

- Join the Facebook group 'Reject political censorship in the Stop The War Coalition' by clicking here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5547972793
- Bring it up in your local anti-war group and get the group to send letters of protest. Become a delegate or observer to the StWC conference on October 27.

A copy of HOPI's press release is attached.

Information on forthcoming HOPI meetings and events can also be found on our website at http://www.hopoi.org

Regards,

Steve Cooke
Hands Off the People of Iran
http://www.hopoi.org