Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, May 27, 2020—Following protests launched by the innocent people of Gheyzanieh, a small town near Ahvaz, southwest Iran, over the fact that their homes lack running water, regime officials are becoming increasingly concerned over the powder keg situation of the Iranian society. Iranian regime President Hassan Rouhani, the governor of Khuzestan Province, other regime officials and media outlets are acknowledging a portion of the people’s sufferings and are desperately resorting to measures to damp the explosive environment.
“Why are we once again pushing the people to their limits? Mismanagement and thirst for water is so critical and sad that the locals of Gheyzanieh near Ahvaz have resorted to protesting,” reads a piece in the state-run Resalat daily on Tuesday, May 26. “When a family can’t make ends meet, they just need a spark, which will be tantamount to a small fire in a powder keg that will explode everything nearby.”
“A large gasoline consignment reached Venezuela without a single shot fired. However, people in Gheyzanieh said we don’t have water and they were responded with bullets,” another state-run daily wrote.
#Iran
Regime security forces on Saturday, May 23, opened fire on a group of villagers of Gheyzanieh in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, as locals were protesting major shortages of drinking water in their homes.https://t.co/P9uMNJvpkP— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 24, 2020
Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also sought to calm the tensions down by sending his representative in Ahvaz to see the individuals injured during the recent protests when regime security forces opened fire. Khamenei had practiced the same type of tactics following the November 2019 uprising that swept across the country.
Rouhani, also concerned of popular uprisings, ordered the regime’s Energy Minister and the governor of Khuzestan to “immediately take the actions necessary to have this problem resolved by the relevant districts.” In response, the regime’s governor in Khuzestan claimed Gheyzanieh’s water shortages will be resolved in two weeks.
May 23 – Gheyzaniyeh, near Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Locals blocked a road during their protests against the lack of running water in their homes. These harsh conditions are enforced on this population as the province is witnessing a major #coronavirus crisis. pic.twitter.com/6oC6SBrIpf— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) May 23, 2020
“On May 1 I promised the locals that water will be brought to their homes in 45 days hopefully. Around 25 days have passed,” the Khuzestan governor said.
“Will the people have water in 20 days?” the anchorperson asked.
“We have another 20 days but hopefully in the next two weeks we’ll bring water to Gheyzanieh,” the governor added.
This claim by the regime’s governor in Khuzestan is made at a time when state-run media are acknowledging the regime’s inactions, hollow promises and deceptive measures. The Khuzestan governor had promised back in 2016 to resolve this area’s water shortages in three months. Locals are asking why they are still left without water more than three years down the road. The locals were willing to purchase water at many times the actual price to provide for their livestock, yet authorities have not even provided such services.
“The population of this area is around 30,000. These people live near the provincial capital and an oil-rich area with many refineries and petrochemical sites. There are 750 active oil wells in this area,” said the regime-appointed head of the Nazahe village council and a member of the Gheyzanieh city council. “However, the locals here are thirsty and left without water… Do the people of Gheyzanieh have no share of the 750 active oil wells in their lands? How do [regime authorities] allocate 110 billion rials (around $6.5 million) to equip the Water Department office but there is no money to provide water for 85 villages? If there is no money to install a water network for Gheyzanieh, then where did the money come for the luxurious buildings and orchards built just 100 kilometers from the village?” asked the state-run Iran daily on Tuesday.
