5 September 2002

Fighting Between Farmers of Vardasht/Samiram with Government Forces.

On the morning of September 4. 2002 farmers of the Vardasht/Samiram region near Esfahan started protesting against the government’s drilling operations near their farming lands. More than 200 farmers who have properties in the region of Ejdaha pass and the village of Emam-Ghaise came out to prevent the officials from drillings water wells. Since the protection and maintenance of the region’s water pumps are in the hands of the government, their forces started attacking and beating the people from the early moments of the gathering. Later more people from the region joined the farmers. Fighting continued through out the day. During these fights five members of the government forces were wounded and taken to the nearby hospital. After some hours of fighting more forces were deployed to the region from Esfahan, Shah-Reza, and Samiram. With the arrival of the new forces fighting escalated and two vehicles belonging to the farmers were set on fire. Some women and children were also wounded. Some were taken to a nearby hospital, some farmers had to flee to the nearby mountains, and some were arrested. Farmers who were arrested along with the wounded ones in Samiraam hospital were taken to a prison in Brojen. A fourteen-year-old body who was badly injured is still in the hospital.

More than 50 people were arrested. Some were later released but 12 of them are still missing. The policy of drilling water wells near the farmer’s properties goes back to the presidency of Hashemi Rafsanjani. At the time despite all the oppositions he himself participated in the groundbreaking of 14 of those water wells. Tribes who heroically resisted the government drilling operations were the followings:
Bolrdy, Ghermezy, Shahin-keikhani, Karimlo, Taleh-Bazlo, people of Varagh, Emam-Ghaise, and Danlo.

Organization of Iranian People’s Fedaii Guerillas (OIPFG).


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