Iranian Provinces

This week in Iran, fires damage ancient sites in Susa, residents of Qeshm protest seizure of public lands, Bushehr leads reform push for second consecutive week, Mehdishahr residents opt for talks with incoming government to cancel partition plans, and Tehran's continued failure to allocate funds prompts speculation of emptying treasury.

Fires Damage Ancient Palace of Susa

A number of recent brushfires have charred areas in and around the historic Achaemenid compounds of Susa in Khuzestan province. The palace of Apadana, the favored residence of Darius the Great, has reportedly been most affected with fires damaging several columns and bases. Arson investigators are investigating the cause, while experts from the Society for the Preservation of Khuzestan’s Cultural Heritage are working on a report to asssess the extent of damage. 

According to one cultural activist, although the exact cause of the fires is not yet known, the combination of potentially unprecedented high temperatures in Shush County and neglect by administrators responsible for maintenance of the site, allowed for widespread damage that could have otherwise been avoided. As investigators surveyed the site, heaps of garbage remained present in and around the ancient complex, while tall, untrimmed grass encroached on the palace’s periphery. Susa was the winter capital of the Achaemenid and Parthian dynasties, as well as the setting for the oldest surviving play in the history of theatre, The Persians (472 BCE). 

Two Thousand Residents of Qeshm Island Protest Privitization Plans

A decision by authorities in Hormozgan province to transfer historically significant public land on Qeshm Island to private sector companies led to protests by more than two thousand local residents this week. The transferred area, along the island’s easternmost point, is home to a number of domed storage tanks dating back to the 18^th century. The unique, earthquake-resistant landmarks of early Qajar architecture continue to serve as pools and recreational centers, as well as supplying clean drinking water year-round. 

The area with the highest concentration of water tanks fell within the bounds of Marjan Park, an area officially considered 'public space'. Last week however, local authorities fenced off the storage tanks from the rest of the park, handing over jurisdiction to the private sector. According to one activist, local law prohibits construction of any kind within 60 meters of the coast, and authorities are willingly disregarding the law to extend licenses to private investors planning to build tourism complexes. Residents vow to continue protests until the decision is reversed. 

Bushehr's Leading Cultural Figures Send Open Letter To Rohani: Give Us Back Our Clubs, Associations, and Houses [of Theater and Press]

Soon after hosting the first official gathering of reformist activists in four years, 140 writers, journalists, and artists from Bushehr province wrote an open letter to Hassan Rouhani, asking the newly elected president to "Use existing legal powers to facilitate the reopening of press clubs, writers guilds, theaters, and other civic institutions that were unconstitutionally shut down under pressure or direct orders by the previous government."  

The letter goes on to insist that the new president keep his campaign promise to promote a wide range of social, cultural and press freedoms, and take special care to appoint persons deemed “progressive, enlightened, courageous, devoted to freedom of speech, media, press, arts, and opposed to censorship and the imposition of ideas and lifestyles." In summation, signatories to the letter asked President Rouhani to "give us back our clubs, associations, and houses [of theater and press]."

County Residents Look To Rouhani To Reverse Partition Plans

Following a month of unrest and daily street demonstrations against the partition of Mehdishahr (better known as Sang-e Sar), residents of the county suspended protests to coincide with the arrival of Iran's newly elected government. Hundreds of local residents travelled to Tehran earlier this month to protest in front of parliament, while thousands more blocked key roads in Semnan province.

The protests were suspended until further notice in hopes of reaching a “diplomatic solution” with President Rouhani's self-proclaimed 'Government of Hope and Prudence,’ an approach that failed with the previous administration after talks in Tehran ended with no agreement. Residents call the planned partition ‘unlawful’ and complain that MPs in Tehran with no knowledge of Mehdishahr or its distinct identity made the decision in secret, without sending a delegation to consult with local residents, as protocol requires in such cases. A local committee, elected to speak on behalf of county residents, once again vowed that protests will continue until the government reverses its decision. 

Workers and City Officials Decry Delays In Government Funding

More than 100 construction workers in Ahvaz, capital of Khuzestan province, stopped work to demonstrate at the provincial governor’s office, to protest three months of unpaid wages, including overtime pay and cancellation of insurance policy. Elsewhere in Bojnord, capital of North Khorasan, the mayor of the city decries the shortage of funds for local infrastructure projects, claiming that government agencies owe more than 16 billion toman to the local municipality. In the city of Bushehr, a number of nurses and personnel at the Persian Gulf Martyr’s hospital, briefly stopped working in protest of unpaid salaries and benefits, when at the invitation of the hospital administrator they gathered to list their demands and returned to work. In addition to unpaid wages and benefits, several months of overtime work has gone unpaid, as well as 18 months worth of housing benefit payments. 

Elsewhere in the province at the Abolfazl Outpatient Clinic, a number of doctors and specialists are one week into a strike resulting from 19 months of delay in ‘incentive program’ payments, a government program that rewards doctors for extra work. The Abolfazl Clinic and Persian Gulf Martyr’s hospital are branches of the Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, which falls under the legal purview of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Tehran that’s responsible for their funding. Each of these cases are part of a wider national pattern (highlighted in our previous weekly roundups) wherein the government in Tehran has failed to allocate necessary funding to provincial authorities and government agencies responsible for managing local affairs.