Martial Law in Esfahan Iran
During last few weeks the farmers of Esfahan have been conducting a sit-in on the dried bed of the Zaiandeh Rood River in Esfahan, Iran.
With time the people of Esfahan joined the farmers and by the end of last week there were huge demonstrations against the government on the dried riverbed and around it. Last week end the security forces burned the tents of the protesting farmers, used tear gas and buttons to disperse the crowds. They shot many people with pellet guns causing many injuries and several people getting injured or blind in an eye.
During last 20 years the water of the Zaiandeh Rood has been diverted to other cities. Corruption, mismanagement and incompetence of the government has caused the huge river to totally dry up. Thousands of spices of fish and birds have been extinct. The ancient buildings and bridges of the city are in danger of serious harm because of the shifts of the land which was wet for centuries. This large river provided the water for 300,000 farmers who have lost everything.
This week the area was filled up with government forces keeping people away. During last couple of days, the farmers planned a rain prayers ritual for this Friday, but the government forces announced that they will not permit such a gathering. The people of Isfahan came up with the idea that they would perform the regular Friday prayers on the dried bed of the river. However, the security forces instituted an undeclared martial law in that part of the city. According to Iranian laws only the parliament has the authority to declare martial law. Therefore, the security forces banned all movements of cars and people in and around the river without parliamentary approval. The situation in Esfahan is fluid and events are in progress, all members of press are prohibited from covering the story and taking pictures, so far there are some private films of the event taken by regular participant's cell phones on the internet. The internet has been slowed down during the week, making it difficult to obtain fresh news.
Esfahan is in center of Iran and is an ancient city with many very old magnificent architectural buildings and mosques. Esfahan used to be the capital city of Iran for centuries and has always been the Pride of the country. The loss of Esfahan has caused outrage around the entire country.
(Article changed on Dec 03, 2021 at 7:43 AM EST)
