Reported by PMOI/MEK
Iran, Dec. 29, 2018 – On Friday, the farmers of Varzaneh, Isfahan province, gathered and marched in the streets of the city in protest to unfair management and distribution of water sources. The past year has seen intermittent protests by the farmers, who have been deprived of vital water to irrigate their lands due to the destructive policies of the Iranian regime.
The Iranian regime has engaged in several dams and water channel creation projects to divert the waters of Isfahan and its famous Zayandeh Rud River for its own purposes. Among the disputed engagements is a water pipeline that is transferring Isfahan’s water to neighboring Yazd province. The measures have deeply damaged the agriculture in Isfahan, which is one of the main occupations of the province's population.
On Friday, the protesting farmers were chanting, “Shame on this government.” Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian regime’s president, promised to solve the problems of the farmers of Isfahan. But nearly halfway into his second term, he has yet to do the least to restore the farmers’ access to water sources.
Knowing that the government’s promises can’t be trusted, the farmers were also chanting, “We will stand, we will fight and we will take back our rights.” They also shouted, “Our enemy is right here, [the government] is lying that it’s America,” a slogan that has become popular in the past year and reflects the people’s lack of buy-in to the regime’s propaganda pertaining to blaming foreign governments for the country’s economic problems.
