Iranian Kurdish parties urge protests on International Workers’ Day

01-05-2018
Rudaw
Tags: International Workers Day PDKI PDK Toilers laborers border crossings
A+ A-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The joint coordination center for Kurdish parties from Iran urged for workers to be united despite suppression and to stage protests and strikes in a bid to regain their rights.
 

“For nearly four decades, workers — the low income and toiler class of Iran in general and Rojhelat in particular — under the shadow of the current regime, have been faced with the violation of their simplest of rights,” read a joint statement issued ahead of International Workers’ Day on May 1.

 
The parties point to the low income for Kurdish workers in Iran, claiming “capitalists,” factory owners, and IRGC commanders have “monopolized” all the resources and projects in Iran.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network posted video on Twitter of a rally on Monday in front of a mosque in Baneh with the hashtags #Kolbars [porters], #Bazariyan [workers], and #StrikeInIran.

 
“Any type of spurning and worker mobilization to change the imposed status quo is severely repressed,” the Kurdish parties stated.
 
They hailed Kurdish workers as relentlessly demanding their rights despite the repressive situation.
 
“The calendar of the struggle and strife of the justice-seeking movement in Kurdistan is full of workers protesting, challenging and strikes,” the statement adds.
 
“This year you are welcoming International Worker’s Day at a time when the border towns of Rojhelat have become the field of civilian protest and strikes by the poor and toilers of these cities,” the parties said to their followers.
 
Since unofficial border crossings between the KRG and Iran have been closed, and the Iranian government has restricted the work of Kolbars, border porters, a wave of protests in Kurdish cities of Iran have erupted. 

 

Banah, Mariwan, Sardasht, Piranshar, Shino, Pawah and Jiwanro are some of the cities where Kurdish workers have protested.
 
“We are asking for years that you embrace your day of May 1 united,” the parties stated.

Kurdish parties from Iran have been meeting regularly in the Kurdistan Region in a bid to improve communication and coordination. 

Some have resumed an armed guerrilla war against the IRGC forces in the mountainous border area between the Kurdistan Region and Iran. 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei received workers on Monday in Tehran, where he thanked them, according to the country’s semi-official Tasnim News

President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated several factory work projects at the MAPNA Industrial group close to Iran on Sunday, according to Iran's ISNA news agency.


International Workers’ Day, also called Labour or May Day, recognizes and celebrates the efforts of the working classes around the world.


Comments

Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.

Post a comment

Required
Required