Zayanderud Riverbed Cleared One Day Before Isfahan Protesters Gather Again
Reports from Isfahan on Thursday indicate that following an attack by security forces, the gathering site of Isfahan farmers on the Zayanderud riverbed was “cleared” by the city’s municipality.
In one of the videos posted by the Shargh newspaper’s Twitter account, an Isfahan resident states that cleaners were clearing the remnants of farmers’ tents at 7 a.m. on Thursday, December 25th, which had been set on fire the night before by special unit personnel.
The clearing of the Zayanderud riverbed of remnants from the use of force against farmers to end their sit-in comes one day before a gathering whose call has been circulated on social media.
In a call reportedly issued by Isfahan farmers, they have called for a gathering on Friday, December 26, 2021, at 9 a.m. in front of Khaju Bridge, and have invited all people to participate widely in this gathering in support of them, as they did last week.
In contrast, a text message has also been circulated on social media sent to many Isfahan residents, stating: “Given that the farming sector of the province has announced the end of their gathering today, please be careful that your presence in this area does not become subject to misuse by foreign and hostile media.”
It appears that government forces are attempting to prevent a large gathering similar to the one that formed on the Zayanderud riverbed last Friday.
Farmers from eastern and western Isfahan had set up protest tents on the dry Zayanderud riverbed near Khaju Bridge since November 8th, in protest of neglect of their demands and annual uncertainty regarding autumn planting.
Although Iran’s state television and media close to the government covered these gatherings in the initial days and compared them to the November 2019 protests, special unit forces attacked the tents of protesters and farmers on the dry Zayanderud riverbed last night and set them on fire to force them to end their sit-in.
Fars News Agency, close to the Revolutionary Guards, only reported the detention of some “riffraff,” but reports on social media indicate the arrest of a number of protesting farmers by police forces.
The attack on the farmers’ tents took place in the early morning hours and when most people had gone home, with only a small number present alongside the farmers.
In recent days, especially on Friday, November 19th, thousands of Isfahan residents joined the farmers and demanded a permanent flow of the Zayanderud River and the Gavkhuni International Wetland.
Users on social media have written that demands for water to flow in the Zayanderud should not be reduced to a sectoral and agricultural demand, since this river is the “identity” of Isfahan.
Source: Radio Farda
