Round up of Iran Protests: November 1 – November 5. State Media Acknowledge Regime’s Economic Deadlock

 

By Shamsi Saadati

As the economic situation worsens in Iran due to the regime’s institutionalized corruption and mismanagement, protests by all walks of life continue across the country, according to reports tallied by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Haft-Tappeh Sugar Cane Factory workers held a protest gathering for the sixth consecutive day on Wednesday, demanding their arrested co-workers’ immediate release. Workers of Haft-Tappeh Sugar Cane Factory have held numerous sit-ins and protests in recent years, protesting the so-called “privatization” of this factory and their low wages.

Today, November 5, a bus full of security forces have been stationed at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Factory. The forces have prevented 15 workers from entering the factory.

A group of nurses in Bushehr province, southwest Iran, held a protest gathering on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, demanding their wage arrears, which have been delayed for months. They also protested not receiving the “coronavirus wage,” despite working tirelessly to help COVID-19 patients.

The private sector nurses in Bushehr province have not received their wages for several months, despite eight months of hard work since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to reports obtained by the MEK from inside Iran, there were numerous protests on Sunday, November 1.

On Sunday morning, a group of kindergarten teachers from different provinces gathered in front of the regime’s parliament, protesting their unstable working conditions and low wages.

On Sunday, a group of Moghan Agro-industrial Complex workers gathered again in the factory to protest their job insecurity. Also, on Sunday, Fanavaran Petrochemical workers in Mahshahr Petrochemical Special Economic Zone continued their strike for the second consecutive day to protest low wages and job benefits inequality.

On Sunday, locals in Vanak village near Tehran gathered in front of the regime’s Judiciary due to their problems with the state-controlled “Al-Zahra” University. Since 1938, these lands have belonged to their inhabitants. These locals have built houses and lived in them and even have title deeds. But the regime has given these lands to the “Al-Zahra” University since 2002.

The university authorities, using a court order, attacked the locals in Vanak village and destroyed many of their houses.

MEK reports from Iran also indicate that people from different walks of life in various cities held protest gathering.

On Saturday, a group of water and sewage contractors in Ahvaz, southwest Iran, gathered in front of the Ministry of Energy in Tehran to protest the job insecurity of 1,400 of their colleagues.

On Saturday, in Shahrekord, in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, a group of merchants held a protest rally in front of the governorate.

In Ahvaz, southwest Iran, a group of employees of the Chamran University gathered on Saturday in front of the university’s main building to protest the elimination of job benefits and an increase in working hours.

On Saturday, in Abadan, Arvand, and ABFA, free zone customs officers held a protest rally against their job and wage problems.

While the regime and its apologists try to blame international sanctions for Iran’s economic hardships, these protests show the people consider the regime as the real source of all economic and social problems in Iran.

The state media and some economists also acknowledged the regime’s destructive role in destroying Iran’s economy.

On Wednesday, the state-run Aftab-e Yazd published an interview with Mohammad-Gholi Yousefi, one of the regime’s economists. “Due to [the regime’s] mistakes and wrong policies over the decades, there are many crises and major dissatisfaction [among the people] with no immediate solution. Changing the decision-making system requires eliminating parallel powers, constitutional reform, and constructive interaction with the world. Yet, those who benefit from the status quo are not willing to lose these benefits at all. So, I do not think there is any hope of reform of the current situation,” Yousefi said.