Iranian author and journalist, Alireza Alavitabar, said here during the annual meeting of the largest Iranian student union, the Office to Faster Unity (OFU) -- majority leftist branch, elected during the Allameh University gathering -- that the leftist movement is a necessity in Iranian nation's movement today, since it can bring back to the scene those forces that have been marginalised, and to make use of them dynamically.

Alavitabar said that achieving liberal democratic conditions in Iran can be regarded as a step forward, and is naturally desirable, but that won't be the ideal democracy we are aiming for either.

"Balanced democracy, in which relying on the moves of the elites of the society is highlighted, too, is a step in the right direction, but not the ultimate goal, and in order to proceed further, we are in need of a strong leftist popular movement that would mightily overcome the obstacles, including all types of discrimination, seeking to decrease their negative effects in its initial phases of the campaign towards grass-root democracy," he added.

Evaluating the current status of the leftist movement in Iran, Alavitabar said, "in our country, the leftist movement has always been associated with a type of revolutionary piety, and that still shapes its identity, but such piety has more or less failed to gain credit from the majority, and that is the reason why the new generation rarely establishes a deep-rooted relationship with it."

The reformist journalist added: "Iran's leftist movement has today accepted equality among all as an exalted ideal, and is therefore trying its best to lead the society in that direction by grasping the levers of political power in the country."

He regarded the campaign led by modern right, and neo-liberalism at global level against the leftist movements, as one of the factors eading to little success achieved by the leftist movement in Iran today.

The ninth annual camp of the leftist branch of the Office to Foster Unity, that was initially scheduled to start on Tuesday, was inaugurated on Wednesday at Shahid (Martyr) Beheshti due to certain influencial circles' interference.

Representatives of university students form 55 different academic centers across the country will focus on various social, internal and international political, economic and cultural issues during the four-day annual camp of the OFU's annual summer camp.