Arrest of a number of participants in the nationwide rally of Iranian teachers
Iranian teachers have staged protests in front of education departments in various provinces. At least two teachers have reportedly been arrested. The Teachers' Union has reported a "heavy presence of plainclothes forces" in Tehran.
Iranian teachers held protest rallies in various cities today, Thursday, May 2, coinciding with Teachers' Day in the Islamic Republic. The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions has announced the arrest of a number of teachers.
The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions wrote on its Telegram channel that Rasoul Badaghi, inspector of the Tehran Teachers' Union, and Mohammad Fallahi, the secretary general of the union, were arrested by security forces on Thursday.
It is said that the detainees have been transferred to an unknown location. Some media outlets have also reported the arrest of Mojtaba Qureshi, a member of the Teachers' Union.
The Coordination Council's Telegram channel also stated that "the number of detained cultural figures is greater than the names announced," and wrote: "So far, three retired female cultural figures have been released. There is no information about the status of the others."
The trade union also announced: "The heavy presence of plainclothes forces was noticeable in Tehran. While taking photos of the protesters, they were preventing anyone from taking photos of the rally."
About two weeks ago, the Coordination Council called on working and retired educators to participate in protest rallies at the general education offices of the provinces and cities of the country, coinciding with Teacher's Day in Iran.
Reports indicate that these rallies were held in front of the Education Department in various cities in Iran, including Tehran. Teachers and educators chanted slogans such as: "My pain is your pain, people, join us."
In addition to the capital of Iran, Yazd, Hamedan, Mazandaran, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Kurdistan, West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Alborz, and Gilan are other provinces where teachers' gatherings have been held.
Teachers' protest movements in Iran have increased significantly in recent months and years. In addition to the demand for improved legal status and the release of imprisoned teachers, demands such as efficient and comprehensive insurance, making schools safer, eliminating discrimination in the educational structure, stopping the privatization and monetization of education, and general access to free education are among the demands of Iranian teachers.
Demand for improved livelihoods and freedom of association
The ILNA news agency also confirmed the teachers' gathering "in different provinces" today and wrote: "In this gathering, which began at 10 am in front of education departments in different cities and provinces, teachers are holding placards and trying to convey their demands to their superiors."
According to this news agency, the most important demands of Iranian teachers are "improving the living standards of working and retired teachers, abolishing privatization and providing free, quality education to all students, implementing equalization of pensioners' rights, payment of education and training demands by the government, and freedom of association."
The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions also issued a statement outlining the teachers' most important demands, including: "The salaries of retired and working teachers are several times below the poverty line. The government is not paying its debt to teachers and is imposing a bankrupt insurance policy on us."
The statement also emphasizes "removing illegal obstacles resulting from the personal preferences of officials and the irresponsible use of opinions in issuing permits to hold general assemblies for all teachers' trade unions, issuing official activity permits for organizations that have held general assemblies and elections," as well as "establishing an independent organization" as another demand of Iranian teachers.
Yesterday, a workers' rally in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on the occasion of International Workers' Day turned violent, and dozens of participants were arrested. It is said that a number of teachers also participated in yesterday's rally in front of the Assembly in solidarity with the workers.
In mid-March, the third round of nationwide teachers’ sit-ins took place in various provinces in Iran to protest union and livelihood problems. A number of cultural activists and prominent teachers, such as Mohammad Habibi, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroodi, and Esmail Abdi, are still facing prison sentences and are in prison in Iran due to their union activities. Rasoul Badaghi, Abdolreza Ghanbari, Mahmoud Bagheri, Nabiollah Bastan, and Ali Akbar Baghani are also among the teachers who have faced prison sentences or exile in recent years.
Source: DW
