Iran Uprising – No. 156
On Wednesday, May 16, workers from Hepco Company in Arak (heavy machinery manufacturer) protested for the fourth consecutive day. The slogans of workers are: Hollow security, hollow authorities. Like previous days, they closed the north-south train by sitting on the railroad. Protesters are demanding unpaid salary and benefits and a guarantee for their job security.
In Tehran, the Tehran-Karaj metro staff stopped working in protest against the non-payment of salaries and arrears. At the Chitgar station, people who were lagging behind due to the metro disturbance chanted "Death to the dictator."
In Ahvaz, rice farmers gathered in front of the Governorate for severl days in protest of a ban on rice cultivation in the summer. With this ban, farmers will in a very difficult livelihood situation.
In Qazvin, the deprived villagers of Mehdi Abad confronted the officers of the clerical endowments, who wanted to take the fields of the farmers and to give it to the mercenaries, and forced them to flee.
A number of businessmen in Baneh went on strike in continuing the protest of previous days in protest against the hollow promise of regime to open border crossings and reduce customs tariffs.
The day before, part of the Naghshe Jahan bazaar in Isfahan, Ozis bazaar in Bandar Abbas, Tarikeh bazaar in Kermanshah, and the businessmen and merchants of Qeshm went on strike in protest of the unprecedented rise in dollar exchange rate that has stopped production, trade and sales, and has slowed down the economy of the country.
The looted victims of Caspian institute protested against the monetary and financial crimes prosecutor's office in Tehran. They chanted: Liar Rouhani, where is our money?
On Tuesday, looted people of the Arman and Afzal Toos institutes also protested in three parts of Tehran, including the Prosecutor General for Finance and Banking, Bank of Commerce and the Ayandeh Bank. In Rasht, the depositors of Caspian and in Dezful, a number of looted people of Arman Vahdat institute, stages a gathering.
Workers of the railways in Isfahan went on strike on Tuesday to protest the failure to pay four months 'salary and 14 months' deprivation of healthcare. In previous days, the workers of railroads in Mashhad, Islamshahr, Zanjan, Tabriz, Damghan and Bafgh refused to go to work.
The uprising of the people of Kazerun with the slogan of “Look at the day when we are armed”, the strike of merchants and bazaaris of Tehran. Baneh and other cities, the workers' strike from Arak to Ahvaz, the protests of the looted people throughout the country and the protests of the working people, indicate the people's will to change the regime and the establishment of democracy and people's sovereignty. As long as this corrupt and oppressive regime is in place, the people of Iran will have nothing but disaster and bitterness. Eliminating the regime of Velayat-e faqih is the only solution to the deep political and economic crisis that afflicts 80 million Iranians.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
May 16, 2018