Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, February 16, 2020—While the mullahs’ regime in Iran failed to show national unity during the pre-organized, pro-regime rallies of February marking the 1979 revolution, and as senior officials desperately need to have a large voter turnout in the upcoming February 21 Majlis (parliamentary) elections, reports of protests are escalating across the country.
On Saturday, February 15, a group of employees working in toll booths of the Zanjan-Qazvin areas in northwest Iran held a rally protesting not receiving their due wages. This gathering was held outside a local Road and Construction Department in the city of Qazvin. Since March 2019 these toll booth employees have been protesting many times and officials are refusing to see to their dilemmas and just demands.
In a village located in Lorestan Province, western Iran, workers of a rail station rallied on Saturday, February 15, protesting not having access to water for ten days. Locals of this village all work for the rail company and their homes have not had any access to water.
It is worth noting that their village is located near Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan Province. The village has a small population of 214 people (52 families) and regime officials don’t have the competence to provide drinking water for these innocent people.
Railway workers rallying in a village near Khorramabad, western Iran, demanding access to drinking water in their homes
On Thursday, February 13, agents of the regime’s municipality in Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Street attacked a street vendor who was simply selling a few flowers. Bystanders expressed their outrage at the regime’s agents, forcing them to flee the scene fearing a protest rally as a result of their outrageous attack.
Also, in Tehran, family members of patients suffering from SMA and supporters of disabled people’s rights rallied to protest the regime’s refusal to provide any support for these patients. This gathering was held outside the regime’s Health Ministry.
“In the past year or so, we have lost more than 80 kids to this illness. No one is willing to provide any answers,” said one of the mothers in this rally. “God knows how many kids are born in Iran today, and how many die this month. The officials are refusing to take any measures because it’s not their kids, these are our kids. How long do they want to continue like this? If it was their own kids, they would be importing the medicine right now. But it’s not their kids. I don’t know how they sleep at nights while these mothers are in hospitals, spending each night until morning watching their kids suffer. Is it truly hard for them to import this medicine?
“We’ll stay here until the rights of our kids are recognized. Why don’t they provide any support? Why don’t they allow us to be interviewed by state TV and radio? Why do they prevent us from holding an event in this regard? Why isn’t the Health Ministry providing any help? Are they just sitting in their chairs to get their paychecks?… We’ll remain here as long it takes to get our rights. Our kids deserve to receive medical treatment. We want a full package, not something that limits us in any way. The medical treatment is expensive, and our families can’t afford them without governments support,” she added.
