A May Day rally in Tehran, organized by independent Iranian labor organizations, was attacked by security and intelligence forces, with many beaten and arrested. Security forces did not allow some 2,000 people who had come to the city's Laleh Park for the rally to gather, dispersing them with tear gas and baton charges. Violence and arrests are also reported from the city of Sanandaj, where a May Day rally was similarly attacked by police.
Participating organizations included the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Vahed Bus Company, the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company, the Free Union of Workers in Iran, the Syndicate of Building Painters and Decoration Workers, the Center for Workers’ Rights in Iran, the Collaborative Council of Labor Organizations and Activists, the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers' Organizations, and the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Free Workers' Organizations. (International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran—IASWI [2], May 1)
See our last posts on Iran [3] and the labor struggle [4].
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