fVoU'vyCD - ( \ ■ q | ; d b Crv6 STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE WEDNESDAY, 28th OCTOBER, 1981 No. 656 Price 5p IRAN GLORY MARCH A stormy and bitterly able position. He announced at the beginning ‘Nuclear It’s A Knockout’ point two miles away, wondering the throng. Actually this was the ple that the police split us into divided Public Meeting of the meeting that each side was one of the events prop­ whether the march will have left first march I can remember on two marches to speed things up. took place in the Debating would be given two five minute osed by our disarmament by the time we get there. which our banner didn’t fall apart. Apparently the first walkers had Chamber on Friday lunc­ speeches to introduce the subject. General Meeting last year There was an added complica­ This time it was only one of six moved off at about 11.30 a.m. htime to discuss the situa­ On the throw of a dice Mr. tion to this game. London seemed banners representing groups from and the last were still getting Learoyd announced that the to publicise the campaign. to be full of people dressed as Newcastle University. The points away at about 3.00 p.m. tion in Iran. speaker from the National Coun­ I’m now pretty sure that I police officers or Traffic Wardens, were really clocking up now and Hyde Park itself certainly Since the beginning of term the cil of Resistance would address played it on Saturday all of whom denied knowing we gained a good bonus for hav- looked like it held about 200,000 Union has been bombarded the meeting first. under the guise of a people, if my memories of the almost daily by literature from All the introductory speakers reputed quarter of a million who student groups representing the National Demonstration. watched Dylan at Blackbushe are were unanimous in their condem­ Up at five. Walk from Fenham two major sides engaged in the nation of the late Shah and their anything to go by. power struggle in Iran. to the Union to collect three eight- Unfortunately, by the time we hatred of S.A.V.A.K., his secret foot poles and the banner they will An alliance of opposition police force. arrived many of the speakers had groups headed by the People’s later support. Get them down the been and gone and it was hard to The National Council of Resis­ fire escape and off to the station. Mojahedin Organisation of Iran tance claimed that the Shah’s get close enough to the P.A. to calling themselves the National Once on the train, we sit back make out what was being said regime had decimated the politi­ and watch as teams of people Council of Resistance accuse the cal organisation in Iran by the with any clarity. As Fran and I clergy-dominated Government of parade up and down handing out picked our way through the crowd liquidation of opposition politi­ leaflets or attempting to sell the Iran of allowing mass executions cians so allowing the Islamic fun­ to try and find some kind van of those opposing the regime. In usual sectarian papers. driver to get our poles back to damentalists to take over the The ‘Knockout theme really reply to this the pro-Khomeini revolution. King's Cross, I thought I heard University Iranian Students’ Soci­ got going when Bemie and I enter someone talking about the The clergy had, it was said, for ‘Getting the Coffee.’ This was ety claim that the Iranian Gov­ taken the country back to the ‘National Embalmers Associa­ ernment is attempting to restore based on the Age of the Train — tion,' but that couldn’t be right. Middle Ages by closing the Uni­ which I think was getting on for law and order by clamping down versities, purging education, low­ No, hang on, apparently on terrorist groups in Iran. its centenary. British Rail had America's embalmers are worried ering the standing of women and thrown together about a dozen This conflict of words has led to ruthlessly exterminating all oppos­ about handling irradiated corpses lost tempers and accusations of ition. ancient carriages and allowed after a nuclear attack. Personally, intimidation and threats of viol­ Tyneside Nuclear Disarmament I'm more concerned about The Iranian Student Society, in group to charter them and sell no ence by the members of the two reply, pointed to the achieve­ BEING an irradiated corpse. cheap tickets. So given the fact groups. Many such accusations ments of the new regime of Iran. Still, the day had a festival feel have been brought to the atten­ The Government had, for exam­ that the person driving this collec­ rather than an air of doom and tion of the Students’ Representa­ tion had really got his or her foot gloom. The park was packed with ple, joined the non-alligned down (or whatever you do to tive Council’s Executive who have movement of nations, instituted a theatre groups, people with goats, make trains go fast), the whole been forced to take action in the major programme of public build­ inflatables, singers, dope smokers, matter. thing was rattling round like a ‘Pagans Against Nukes’ (really), ing and nationalisation and had student’s brain at a Friday disco. improved the living standards of kids, and yet I managed to bump Because the complaints have So I have a flimsy plastic up of been of a ‘tit for tat’ nature it was working people. Tne opposition, into several old friends among it it was claimed, were acting as boiling coffee in each hand and all. almost impossible for the S.R.C. Bemie had one cup and one free to investigate each one individu­ agents for world imperialism and But we couldn't get rid of those were being supported by the hand to open the doors and push poles, so Fran, Bemie and I left ally. Instead it was decided to dogs, children and luggage out of hold a Public Meeting to allow Western media who on the one early so we could carry the the way. We did quite well on damned things back to the Sta­ each side to air their point of view hand condemned terrorist actions that game. and to give interested observers by the Baader-Meinhoff gang tion. Along Oxford Street. On a In fact there were no more Saturday afternoon. Somehow we an opportunity to ask questions. while praising the actions of ter­ major obstacles until we got to So allowing as many people as rorist groups who supported ex- managed to avoid removing the President Bani-Sadr on the other. King’s Cross, retrieved the poles eyes, ears or frontal lobes of the possible to familiarise themselves and set off for the Underground. with the arguments before a Gen­ The questions and answers ses­ passers-by, although several of ‘You can’t take those down them made this as difficult as eral Meeting would be held on sion degenerated to a slanging there, sonf match between the two sides in possible by sticking their faces in the subject later in the term. ‘What are you on about. I've Before the meeting it was obvi­ the way at the last moment. which counter-allegation followed ' taken them on the Tube before.’ As fatigue began to seep up my ous that both sides were attempt­ allegation. 'London Transport regulation. ing to ‘pack’ the debating As a sequel to this meeting it is arms we finally reached the train, Nothing longer than six feet on looking forward to the beer being chamber with their supporters. rumoured that the National the trains.’ In view of the emotions raised Council for Resistance intend to sold on the return journey. But press matters further by calling ‘Does that include people?’ this was cunningly provided in by the subject the Chairperson of ‘No, sorry. But things like that for an Extraordinary General bendy plastic pints, just like that the meeting, Mr. Simon Learoyd, are dangerous.’ Secretary of the Union Society Meeting at which they hope to Lager advert on television, and This seemed like an invitation the oscillation of the train made and Students' Representative gain widespread acceptance for to wrap one of the poles round his Council, was placed m an unenvi­ their anti-Khomeini stance. More “ Jeux Sans Frontieres” than “ It’s A drinking it the hardest of the peaked cap, but we refrained. day’s games. Nevertheless, I think Ken Living­ Knockout” — Belgian C.N.D. with their joker Still, we needed 'a beer and it stone should be told about the which way we should go. But ing musical accompaniment. was good to celebrate a weekend infringement of our democratic after several detours, we reached People have asked me since which saw more than a million Area on Rocks rights. the Embankment and caught the Saturday just how many people I people on the streets of Europe, Anyway, the Tyneside conting­ end of the march, which con­ thought were there, as published including a demonstration on the Following the decision of SRC Executive to recommend ent sets off on the Tube, leaving tained our fellow North East pro­ estimates vary between 150,000 other side of the Berlin Wall. SRC Council to disaffiliate from Tyne and Wear Area various banner bearers stranded. testors, just as they were setting and 250,000. On the march itself AH we need now are a few gov­ Nothing for it but to start out on off.