More than 100 Iranian documentary filmmakers condemned the crackdown on protests in Khuzestan province
19-July-2021
Category: ethnic minorities
19-July-2021
Newsgroup: Ethnic Minorities –
Breathing in Confinement: More than one hundred and thirty documentarians of Iranian cinema strongly condemned the repression of the people in Khuzestan who protest against water shortage. The documentarians announced that they will stand by the “thirsty people of Khuzestan.” They stated: “We, the directors of documentary cinema, based on our work tradition, have always reflected the suffering and will of our people. And today, we stand by the thirsty people of Khuzestan. We strongly condemn the repression of people who seek liveliness, and want water to supply their villages.”
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, more than 100 Iranian documentarians reacted to the events of the last four days in Khuzestan by releasing a statement entitled “Once again fire over water.” The documentarians, condemning the violent treatment of protesters, wrote: “This is the bitter story of the most water rich province of Iran, where the rivers of Karun, Marun, Karkheh and Arvand have always been witnessing the eyes of people full of tears of blood.”
The protests of the people of Khuzestan province against the water crisis started on Thursday, July 15, 2021, and are still ongoing. On the second day of the protests, according to the confirmed reports, two protesters named Mostafa Naimavi, 30, from Shadegan and Qasem Khadiri, 17 from Kut Abdullah were shot dead by security forces. Reports also indicate that a large number of protesters were killed or wounded on the fourth night of the uprisings in Susangerd. In addition, many people have been arrested in Khorramshahr.
Referring to these events, the documentarians wrote in their statement: ” This is the bitter story of the most water rich province of Iran, where the rivers of Karun, Marun, Karkheh and Arvand have been witnessing the eyes of people full of tears of blood. These days it is death which is growing in the marshes of Hur al-Azim, where the voice of the justice seekers is being silenced in the swamp. We, the directors of documentary cinema, based on our work tradition, have always reflected the suffering and will of our people. And today we stand by the thirsty people of Khuzestan, and strongly condemn the repression of people who seek liveliness, and want water to supply their villages. ”
Yesterday, the Defenders of Human Rights Center, in a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, expressed their concern over the Iranian government’s crackdown on people who protest against the water crisis in Khuzestan. They also asked her to use her organization’s capacities to prevent the continuation of the repressions.