People of Baneh in Kurdistan province took to the streets on September 5 in protest against the killing of two Kolbars by the revolutionary guards (IRGC). The two slain Kolbars were Ghader Bahrami and Heydar Faraji. But these two are not the only victims. Over the years Kurds have been considered second-class citizens by the regime and for many, they have been suffering the brutality of the IRGC, Iran Freedom reports.
Iranian people are fed up with IRGC and regime’s brutality and Baneh’s uprising is echoing this hatred. The majority of Kurdish kolbars have no other choice than to work as kolbars due to poverty and lack of other options of work. Statistics say that more than 68,000 people are working as kolbars in Iran’s border provinces. The Sardasht region of Kurdistan has earned the reputation of being the deadliest border region in 2016, 18 kolbars killed or wounded by IRGC. So far this year the IRGC have murdered or wounded 100 kolbars and the numbers are rising. In 2017 we have seen that the age of the kolbars is lower than ever before, on August 21, 17-year-old Vahid Dolatkhan Jankanloo was shot dead in Yarimthe city of Mako.
The numbers of dead or wounded kolbars so far for 2017 are almost doubled compared with 2016. just in the last month, a total of 21 kolbars have fallen victim to IRGC. In the first seven months of 2017, 24 kolbars was shot dead by the IRGC, 53 wounded. In total 47 kolbars have died in the first 7 months of 2017.
Iranians in Bane are in their right to protest because of the failure of the regime to fight poverty in the Kurdish regions of Iran. Instead of working to end poverty and to create jobs in the region the regime are killing the men and boys that have no other option to make a living for their family. Today, September 5, a large group of residents of the city gathered outside the governor’s office to protest and they demanded that the attacks against the poor workers must end. A number of shops and markets were closed in support of the protest. In a number of video clips from the protest, we can see evidence of clashes between the protesters and the Iranian regime’s state security forces.
The uprising of the brave people of Iran are in motion, the wave of the Iranians will sweep across Iran and sweep her clean from the regime. When the Kurds and the Persians rise together the regime will fall, so let’s join forces and show the mullahs that we stand together for freedom and democracy.