The Iranian general strikes are a series of protests that are
taking place across Iran against
the economic situation.
4/14/18, Baneh shopkeepers started strikes which continued for twenty
days.
5/22/18, truckers stopped
working in 160 cities. Their strikes continued for ten day
6/25/18, On 25 June 2018,
shops were shut and thousands gathered in the Bazaar area of Tehran to protest the
economic situation. This was met with security forces firing tear gas at the
protestors. Protests against the economic situation also occurred in Shahriar, Karaj, Qeshm, Bandar Abbas, and Mashhad. Some of the stores
were closed enforcedly by unknown individuals.
6/26/18 People in Tehran took to the streets
for the third straight day on 26 June, with many shops in Tehran's Bazaar remaining closed.
Videos from social
media showed the crowd in downtown Tehran chanting "Death to the
dictator" and "Death to Palestine". Security forces clamped
down on the protesters once again, arresting a large number of people. Strikes
and protests were also seen in Kermanshah, Arak and Tabriz.
6/27/18, Protests
continued for a third day in Tehran, despite a heavy security
presence, Reuters referred to the three days as "the biggest unrest
since the start of the year". Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, addressed the protests
for the first time and called on the judiciary to punish those who disrupted
economic security. Many of the protests involved traders in the Grand Bazaar in Tehran, who complained that
the devaluation of the Iranian rial had forced them to
stop trading.
6/28/18, sources told
Radio Farda that merchants had closed down the Bazaar in the city of Arak. Tehran's prosecutor
general stated that a large number of protesters had been arrested and would
likely face trial. Jafar Dolatabadi also stated in an interview that the
protesters grievances are not only economic, and that "people are
grappling with political and social concerns".
9/11/18, shopkeepers
in Iranian Kurdistan initiated a one-day strike in response to the missile
attack by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on the headquarters
of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and the execution
of Ramin
Panahi and
two other Kurd activists. In response to the strikes, the security forces
arrested five Kurdish activists.
9/22/18, truckers across
several Iranian cities restarted their strikes against the rising expenses of
their jobs.
9/27/18, 70 truckers
in Fars, Tehran, and Qazvin province were
arrested as strikes continued into their fifth day. The Free Truckers
Union announced that the strike had spread to 31 provinces across the
country. The judiciary stated that those arrested could face the death
penalty.
9/29/18, on the eight day
of the strikes, the number of truckers arrested reached 89.
10/1/18, the truckers
strikes reached their 10th straight day and were seen in Bukan, Khosrowshah, Arak, Fooladshahr, Nishapur, Tiran, Takestan, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Qazvin, Karaj, Bandar Abbas, Ardabil, Dezful, Yazd, and Najafabad. The number of arrested
also reached 156. By the 13th straight day of the strike over 230 truckers
were arrested.
10/8/18, the strikes
continued and reached their 17th consecutive day. Security forces responded by
arresting a number of truckers, which increased the number of people arrested
to 256. On the same day, Bazaaris in multiple cities across Iran closed
their shops and went on strike in protest to the economic situation. Strikes
were seen in Sanandaj, Bukan, Saqqez, Marivan, Baneh, Miandoab, Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, and Chabahar.
10/9/18, The strikes
continued into although they were reduced in size from the previous day, and
were seen in Tabriz, Shahriar, Shahreza, and Sanandaj.
10/13/18, teachers across
Iran started a two-day nationwide strike in protest to high expenses and
inflation.Teachers in Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz, Kermanshah, Ilam, Yasuj, Sanandaj, Simorgh, Hamedan, Amol, Zarrin Shahr, Gonabad, Eslamabad, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Marivan, Sarvabad, and Garmeh, went on strike. At
least two teachers were arrested on the first day of the strike.
10/14/18, teachers went on
strike for a second day.
11/1/18, truckers went on
strike for the fourth time this year in Tehran, Zanjan, Isfahan, Asaluyeh, Nahavand, and Shahrud in protest to the arrest
of hundreds of truckers in October.
11/2/18, workers at
the Haft Tappeh Cane Sugar
Company's factory
in Shush start their own
strikes.
Workers from several
factories in Iran have been on constant strikes due to unpaid wages and
inflation.
11/2/18, teachers in most
provinces went on strike for the second time in 2018. 13 teachers were
arrested during this strike.
11/15/18, workers strikes
escalated and protests spilled onto the streets of Shush. Some workers in
Shush called for the factory to be operated by a workers council. The following
day, the workers disrupted the Friday Prayer service of the city. They chanted
"Hossein, Hossein is their cry,
theft is their pride", "Death to oppressors, long live workers",
and "Workers are willing to die, but will not accept
oppression".
11/17/18, worker protests
continued in the streets of Shush on despite the presence of the security
forces and riot police.
1/17/18, hundreds of
workers of the Foolad Company in Ahvaz protested in front of the Governor's office. Protestors in
Ahvaz chanted "Let go of Kashoggi, think of us", and
"Inflation, increasing prices, be responsible Rouhani".
11/18/18, nineteen
protestors were arrested in Shush.
11/21/18, thirteen of the
protesters in Shush were released from prison, the arrested protestors faced
charges of "acting against the regime".
11/24/18, workers joined
by ordinary citizens, protested in Ahvaz and clashed with the security
forces.
11/24/18, workers of the
vegetable oil factory of Zanjan protested in front of the governor's office
in Zanjan due to unpaid wages.
11/28/18, workers
protested for the 24th consecutive day in Shush, despite the city's police
commander stating that any gatherings were against the law.
11/28/18, worker protests
occurred in Ahvaz as thousands of workers took to the streets.
11/18/18, Workers
Syndicate at the Haft Tappeh sugar mill in Iran’s Khuzestan province announced
that the security forces had arrested two of their representatives, Esmail Bakhshi and Mohsen
Armand.
11/29/18, The syndicate
announced that government forces arrested its senior member Ali Nejati in his
house.
12/4/18, workers in Ahvaz
protested for the 25th straight day, and chanted "Palestine and Syria are
the root of our problems".
12/17/18, security forces
cracked-down and arrested 31 workers in Ahvaz whom they i/refdentified as the
leaders of the protests. The day before workers had gathered in Ahvaz and
declared that they would take their protest to the capital Tehran, if their demands were
not met.
12/13/18, Ali Nejati, was
transferred to hospital, after long and distressing interrogations.
12/18/18, a lone protester
on the island of Kish, stood in front of the
main square of the city and graffitied anti-regime and pro-worker slogans,
which included: "Imprisoned workers must be freed", and "long
live the Shah".
12/18/18 and 12/19/18,
security forces stormed the houses of Foolad workers in Khuzestan province and
arrested up to 41 workers. 15 workers at Ilam Petrochemical Plant in central
western Iran were convicted to six months’ imprisonment and 74 lashes by a
state court after they gathered in protest outside the factory for their fellow
experienced workers being laid off. The court charged them with “disrupting
public order and peace”.
12/21/18, truck drivers
across the country started their fifth round of nationwide strikes in protest
to inflation and rising expenses.
12/27/18, security forces
attacked with tear gas a teachers gathering outside the education office
in Isfahan, central Iran. Teachers
were protesting their low salary and the arrest of their colleagues who are now
in jail.
1/2/19, farmers gathered
in Isfahan to protest the lack of
water in the Zayanderud. The protestors were met
by security forces who fired tear gas and live rounds into the air to disperse
the crowds.
1/22/19, retirees gathered
in front of the parliament building in Tehran and chanted
"Torture and forced confessions, have no effect anymore".
1/24/19, teachers gathered
in five provinces to protest their current living and teaching conditions.
2/14/19, teachersprotested
living and teaching conditions outside the Ministry of Education offices
in Ardabil, Mashhad, Marivan, Sanandaj, Orumieh, and Kermanshah
2/14/19 teacher's rights
activist was arrested in Sanandaj.
2/26/19, railway workers
in Tabriz and Shahroud went on
strike. Earlier that day, a large group of retirees gathered in front of
the parliament building in Tehran to protest low
pensions. Protesters chanted "no nation has seen such a dishonourable
parliament" and "shame on those who claim to be the upholders of
justice".
3/3/19, teachers across
Iran started a three-day nationwide sit in, in protest to low living wages and
unfavourable job conditions. This is the third sit in this year by teachers
across Iran. The same day, railway workers in Andimeshk went on strike to
protest unpaid wages and blocked the Ahvaz to Mashhad train from running
its route. The families
of Esmail
Bakhshi and Sepideh Gholian also gathered in
front of the judiciary in Shush to protest their
arrest
3/4/19, mobile bazars went
on strike and protested in Tehran, Tabriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, and Isfahan. The strike was
called to protest the new initiative started by the Ministry of Communications
which prevents them from registering the smartphones they want to sell.
3/5/19, workers of
Chamshir Dam in Gachsaran went on strike and
gathered outside the governorate to protest 14 months of unpaid wages. On the
same day, workers of the Ministry of Agriculture gathered in front of the
parliament building in Tehran and protested their
low wages. Railway strikes also continued in Tabriz and Lorestan province.
3/6/19, Foolad retirees
took to the streets in Isfahan due to low pensions.
The protestors chanted "Our revolution was a mistake" and
"Rouhani the liar, resign".
3/7/19 teachers took
the streets in Kermanshah, Urmia, Ardabil, Mashhas and Isfahan multiple cities across
Iran.
5/1/19, workers, students,
and teachers gathered in front of the parliament building in Tehran to protest poor
economic conditions, and lack of individual rights. Protesters chanted
"Workers, teachers, students, unite" and "High costs and
inflation are hurting people's lives". The security forces clamped down on
the protests and 40 demonstrators were arrested.
5/2/19, teachers across 13
provinces in Iran protested their poor work and living conditions. The security
forces arrested at least 3 teachers in Tehran.
6/23/19, protestors
in Kermanshah can be seen wearing
yellow vests in inspiration by the French Yellow vests movement.
Comments
Iran had 37 strikes
and protests in 2018 and 14 more so far in 2019. They need to vote out their
leaders. Iran has a population of 83 million. Iran is scheduled to hold
elections in 2020. Iran’s inflation rate is 50%. Unemployment is 12%.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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