Page 6 - DMEA Week 42 2022

DMEA SECURITY & POLICY DMEA

As unrest spreads to Iranian sugar

plant, gas workers may be striking too

MIDDLE EAST EMPLOYEES at the Haft Tapeh sugar factory in mid-20s or teenage years, with the rallying cry
Iran’s south-western city of Shush have started “Woman, life, freedom!” —has been reported in
a strike amid the anti-regime protests that have several locations in recent days.
shaken the country for the past five weeks. That’s especially the case in southern areas,
Well-known Iranian labour activist Esmail where most of Iran’s oil industry facilities are
Bakhshi wrote on Twitter on October 18 that located. For example, videos posted by Iran’s
managers at the factory had attempted to per- Organising Council of Oil Contract Workers
suade workers at Haft Tapeh not to strike by wir- cited by RFE/RL show fuel tanker drivers at
ing money into their bank accounts, “but they Abadan oil refinery refusing to load supplies and
came anyway to show honour.” Some reports blocking the refinery entrance.
indicate that, while persistent, the protests have Meanwhile, unconfirmed accounts on social
become scattered. media indicated workers at the central work-
If labour strikes spread across hitting key shop of the South Pars Gas Complex, and the
industries, they could give the protesters fresh Bushehr, Abadan and Bandar Abbas petro-
momentum. Economic hardship faced by Ira- chemical companies were also out on strike.
nians is an essential factor that has helped to Workers at the Assalouyeh petrochemical plant
fire the protests since they first broke out in and Kangan Petro Refining Company were
mid-September following the death of Mahsa believed to have launched strikes on October 18.
Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman who Students at various Iranian universities are
fell into a coma and died while in the custody of continuing with protests such as sit-ins and
the Tehran “morality police,” allegedly for wear- shouting down the speeches of government offi-
ing a hijab loosely in breach of the Islamic dress cials. Students at Tehran University on October
code.Authorities have increasingly met demon- 18 had a group lunch in breach of the rules on
strators with lethal force across the country. The compulsory gender segregation in the cafeteria.
confirmed death toll by now far exceeds 200, In response, security forces moved in and beat
with the United Nations saying at least 23 chil- some of the students while threatening to arrest
dren are among the dead. them, Radio Farda reported.
Among those killed were 16-year-old girls Sky News on October 18 reported how the
Nika Shakarami and Sarina Esmailzadeh, now regime has used its upgraded internet “kill-
two of the most prominent faces of the protests, switch” for the first time as Iran’s tech-savvy
and Asra Panahi, a 16-year-old schoolgirl said to youth has continued to evade digital censorship.
have been beaten by security forces in the north- #MahsaAmini has become the most popu-
western city of Ardabil for refusing to sing a lar hashtag in the world, though Tehran accuses
pro-regime anthem when her school was raided. influence operations run by foes such as the US,
Other labour action in solidarity with the Saudi Arabia and Israel of bombarding the inter-
protests—often led by women and members net with propaganda and fake news in an effort
of Generation Z, or “zoomers” in their early to at spreading the unrest. ™

Social media footage (unverified) said to show an Iranian girl removing her hijab during a protest in Sanandaj

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 42 20•October•2022