Abdulrahman Salehzadeh, a dominant cleric of Bana city supported the on-going protest and declared that the closing of the border by the central government is an “irrational and non-professional decision,” that has cut off people’s financial sources.
Another dominant cleric, Mohammad Adibi, from the city has also supported the people’s demand. “Any disagreement with this protest means disagreement against Koran and God’s sharia law,” he explained.
This is the third protest in Iranian Kurdistan against the decision of closing of the borders and increasing tariff since the beginning of 2018. Shop owners of Baneh and Piranshahr, another Kurdish city, has closed their shops in protest for three days, earlier this month.
Tehran closed border gates between Iranian Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan Region after an Independence referendum held on September 25 by the Kurdistan Region. Iranian government has also increased the tariff in border areas.
A civil activist from Bana told AVA today that the protesters will make sure their voice will be heard before leaving the streets.
“It is now 14 days since we started the protest in Bana and we will not go back home unless we meet our demands, although the authorities didn’t respond yet,” he explained.
Civil activists across Kurdistan Province released a statement on Saturday in support of the protest, criticizing the government for the lack of response.
“There is no such peaceful demonstration any place in the world that has been ignored for 14 days,” read the statement, calling upon the citizens from other cities to join the movement.
Another civil activist told AVA Today that “at least 95% of people in Bana directly or indirectly are depending on the border trades which are stopped now. The authorities said the closing borders is in the support of local customs, but why then they haven’t shot down Genaveh border point? Trades in Sairanband is 10 times less than the trades in Genaveh.”
The local authorities have accused foreign enemies of encouraging the demonstration, but they have not mentioned whom they are believed to be behind the protest.
Hundreds of Kurdish citizens in the border towns and cities of Iranian Kurdistan have continued on to protest the government’s failure to re-open the closed borders with Iraqi Kurdistan and resolve resident’s financial crisis.
