Statement by the Iran Transitional Council (ITC)
It is now the fifth day and night that the people of Khuzestan protest for lack of drinking water and drought conditions in the province. The people suffer from lack of drinking water across the province, including Dezful, Susangerd, Shadegan, Shush, Hamidieh, and Ahvaz. The authorities have caused shortage of the most essential commodity of life, water, from the people of Iran, particularly in the southern parts of the country, due to water mismanagement.
Khuzestan plain has many water arteries with large rivers namely Karun and Karkhe that make the region one of the richest waters resourced in Iran. The reason for the province’s drought and lack of water is not due to natural resources (i.e. lack of rain), but for the reasons for poor water management. Also, disaster has been caused by the reason of economic gains by the mafia agent of the regime. Protests for mismanagement of water are not new, it started at least 20 years ago as dust and sandstorms in the past two decades have put the health of the people in Khuzestan at serious risk.
The protest in the province started by tens of thousands of oil, gas and petrochemical workers in recent weeks, whose main concern was their salary and wages to buy food and other living essentials for their families. In essence the people protest due to the inefficiency of the government of the Islamic regime who does not offer the necessary governance for the people of Iran.
The regime has marked the protesters as secessionists, although these people who are protesting, stood almost with bear hands against the military invasion of Saddam Hussein’s army four decades ago and defended their country. These people have been suffering for years from safe air to breath and from drinking water. The murderous Islamic regime call the citizens of this wonderful province of Iran secessionists giving its military apparatus legitimate right shoot to kill the people who are demonstrating for their legitimate right to exist.
The government of the Islamic Republic has failed to manage the environmental issues in the country. It must be added that the regime agents who benefit by the destructive management of the region, are now arrest, imprison, and executes the people for voicing their right including the experts who can offer solution to the regime mismanagement in the province.
To oppress and put down the protest the regime is attempting to block the internet by sending strong parasitic signals on the net and reducing the network bandwidth. The regime atrocities in some parts of the south of the country particularly in Mahshahr is the vivid reminder of the mass killing in November 2019. The regime has no solution to offer for these problems (i.e. clean air and water), instead it is using the most violent and oppressive mechanism to oppress the legitimate people’s voice.
In this critical time and the struggle of the people of Khuzestan, the ITC, while supporting the rightful voice of the people, calls on Iranians to stand by the fellow citizens and support the people of Khuzestan. It must be stressed that the only possible way to prevent these atrocities perpetrated by the regime is national unity. Oppression, lack of food, water, and freedom as citizens of the world is the common pain that the Iranians are suffering in the present time.
Further, to prevent the destruction of the country and the destruction of Iran’s great historical culture and civilization, let us stand together firm and defend our history, culture, freedom and the glory of our nation in every way possible and in every part of Iran.
National unity is the undeniable necessity for the victory and freedom of our fellow citizens in Iran. With standing by and support of the people in Khuzestan, this victory will be made possible.
Central Secretariat of the ITC
July 20, 1400
