Page 8 - MEOG Week 41 2022

MEOG POLICY & SECURITY MEOG

Iranian oil workers strike in

solidarity with anti-regime protesters

IRAN IN what could be an ominous development for reports of clashes between demonstrators and
the regime in Iran, oil and petrochemical work- security forces, with loud gunfire and explosions
ers are reported to have come out on strike in heard throughout the city.
solidarity with the protesters who have mounted Several Iranian celebrities, meanwhile,
fierce street demonstrations across the country including football star Ali Daei, have been
for approaching a month. reportedly been interrogated and had their
More than 1,000 workers at the Bushehr passports confiscated by the authorities. The
and Damavand petrochemical plants carried interrogations were apparently ordered after the
out a threat to go on strike, blocking streets and celebrities showed support for the protesters.
chanting “death to the dictator”, according to Tehran has condemned “partisan” for-
Radio Farda. eign-based Farsi-language media outlets for
Social media indicated the walkouts then what it says are efforts to exaggerate or trigger
spread to the Kangan refinery. Official state protests. BBC Persian and Iran International are
media claimed the industrial action was simply two news providers accused by the regime of bla-
down to a temporary problem over the late pay- tantly misleading coverage.
ment of wages. Should it spread widely across BBC Persian coverage on October 10
Iran’s key oil and petrochemical industries, Teh- included the story of how videos posted online
ran’s difficulties will intensify. showed an Iranian teenager, Nika Shakarami, 16,
At the weekend, meanwhile, there were protesting hours before her death. Shakarami is
reports in Tehran that some merchants at the seen standing on a dumpster and burning her
bazaar shut down and joined the protests. That headscarf in Tehran. She later disappeared after
might also concern the powers that maintain telling a friend she was being chased by police.
Iran’s theocratic state as the capital’s bazaar Her mother, Nasrin, has accused security
merchants are usually seen as loyal to the forces of murdering her daughter. Officials have
government. claimed she died after being thrown from a
Iran’s political leadership, clearly struggling to building that was under construction, possibly
put an end to the protests led by young people, by workmen.
held a crisis meeting on October 9. Protests have swept Iran since Mahsa Amini.
Afterwards, officials called on Iranians to pre- a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died on
serve national unity and stand against the “hos- September 16 while being held by Tehran moral-
tile plots” of the enemies of the Islamic system. ity police for wearing “inappropriate attire”.
Tehran has made various accusations, pointing Sanctions imposed by the British government
the finger at Saudi Arabia, Israel, the US and on October 10 banned Iran’s morality police and
other foes for fomenting the unrest. other key public figures from going to the UK.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights watch- “Hey world, hear me: I want a revolution. I
dog said on October 10 that at least 185 pro- want to live freely and I am ready to die for it,”
testers have been killed by the security forces, Reuters quoted a 17-year-old protester in a cen-
including at least 19 children. The Iranian offi- tral Iranian city as saying. The news agency did
cial press has published the names of 24 security not disclose the name and location of the pro-
officials the authorities claim have been killed by tester due to security concerns.
“rioters” since the protests started. The protester added: “Instead of dying every
Unverified video footage posted on social minute under this regime’s repression, I prefer to
media on October 10 showed huge protests in die with their [security forces’] bullets in protests
the western Iranian city of Sanandaj. There were for freedom.”™

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 41 12•October•2022