Nationwide teachers' rally amid "intense" security and large presence of special police
In response to the call of the Coordination Council of Teachers' Unions, teacher gatherings began in various cities in Iran, including Kurdish regions, on Thursday, June 16, amid a tight security atmosphere and the presence of law enforcement and intelligence forces.
Numerous images have been published from the gathering of the initial cores of teachers in the cities of Marivan, Sanandaj, Tehran, Andimeshk, Saqqez, Bukan, Hamedan, and Karaj.
Videos from Tehran show security agents and special forces in large numbers in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to prevent the rally from taking place.
Social media users also report a tight security atmosphere in Mashhad to prevent teachers from gathering.
In Marivan, teachers have gathered in front of the city's Education Department despite heavy security.
Reports on social media indicate that in the city of Kamyaran, the presence of security forces in the alleys and streets leading to the city's Education Department is so high that it has taken on a "martial law" state.
Social media users report the formation of initial clusters of gatherings in Isfahan despite the presence of a large number of security forces and police.
Aziz Ghasemzadeh, a teacher and spokesperson for the Gilan Teachers' Union, was reportedly arrested by security agents this morning, Thursday, June 16, before the teachers' protest gatherings began in Rasht.
At least ten union activists in Saqqez and Divandareh were also arrested on the eve of the call by the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions for a nationwide teachers' rally.
Previously, agents from the IRGC's Intelligence and Intelligence Department had summoned a number of trade union and cultural activists by phone and threatened them about participating in today's gatherings.
The Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Unions has issued a call for teachers to gather again and has called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained teachers.
The council's statement says: "We declare loudly and clearly that if our colleagues are not released immediately and unconditionally, and the legitimate and legitimate demands of Iranian teachers are not met, union protests will continue."
Over the years, Iranian teachers have repeatedly held peaceful protest rallies to protest their living conditions and the government's indifference to their demands, but the government's response to these peaceful demonstrations has been arrests, violent confrontations, and repression.
The incomplete approval of the teacher ranking plan, the failure to implement the equalization of pensioners' rights, and the "continuous and systematic" repression of union activists, as well as the arrest of teachers, have been the main themes of the educationalists' protests over the past year.
Source: Radio Farda
