(Video) Iran: Strikes and protests continue on anniversary of the Bloody Friday massacre
The “Bloody Friday in Zahedan” is the tragic massacre of the deprived Baloch people by the regime’s security forces on Sep. 30, 2022. This event is similar of the “Black Friday” that occurred on September 8, 1978. The monarchic dictator did aganst the revolution.
Ali Khamenei believed that he could quell the uprising by massacring its most deprived people that have nothing to lose but their miserable lives.On that day, thousands of Baluch citizens who were calling for justice and equality were shot by security forces.
On friday,29 of sep.2023 during the protests, which took part in at least five cities, security forces opened fire on civilians, injuring at least 19 people, including several children. Security forces even attacked the Mosque where Friday prayers were held.
In Shirabad district, protesters blocked roads with fire and chanted slogans such as “Death to Khamenei!” and “Death to the dictator!” Videos posted on social media show security forces opening fire on protesters and people resisting and continuing their rallies.
For decades, under consecutive dictators in Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan province has been one of the most impoverished and underdeveloped regions in the country. This is evident in the province’s staggering socioeconomic inequality, high levels of poverty.
In Shirabad district, protesters blocked roads with fire and chanted anti-regime slogans such as “Death to Khamenei!” and “Death to the dictator!”
Since the Bloody Friday, the Baloch people have been regularly holding protest rallies on Fridays. The regime’s measures to intimidate the people and suppress their desire is increasingly futile.”
PARIS, FRANCE, October 2, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Council of Resistance of Iran-(NCRI)1 Foreign Affairs Committee in an article stated that the “Bloody Friday in Zahedan” is the tragic massacre of the deprived Baloch people by the regime’s security forces on September 30, 2022. This event is reminiscent of the “Black Friday” that occurred on September 8, 1978.— NCRI
During that shocking incident, the monarchic dictator desperately attempted to suppress the revolution. Remarkably, 44 years later, the ruling clerics repeated his fatal mistake by committing a crime on Bloody Friday in Zahedan.
However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei believed that he could quell the nationwide uprising by massacring its most deprived and poor segments that have nothing to lose but their miserable lives.
On that fateful day, thousands of Baluch citizens who were calling for justice and equality were shot by security forces, paramilitary units, and snipers stationed on rooftops. Numerous videos capturing this atrocious crime were recorded and widely shared on social media.
Through these videos, the people of Iran witnessed Baluch worshippers and passing citizens soaked in their own blood, calling for help amidst the dirt and gore.
In this blatant crime against humanity, 120 Baluchi citizens lost their lives, and more than 300 were injured. Notably, this included four women and 17 children.
In a statement, Amnesty International highlighted that “security forces unlawfully fired live ammunition, metal pellets and teargas directly into the vicinity of the Mosalla, where hundreds of people, including children and older people, were still performing Friday prayers.”
Statement of "Amnesty International, in October .6.2022,about Bloody Friday. "Iran: at least 82 protesters and bystanders killed2 in bloody crackdown in Baluchistan."
Khamenei not only failed to express sorrow over this bloody tragedy but, 40 days later, he dispatched a delegation led by one of his affiliated clerics to Zahedan. Their mission was to suppress the uprising by threatening and intimidating the protesters. Instead, Khamenei’s representative praised the perpetrators of the massacre, promoting and motivating them.
Similarly, in Khash, on November 4, 2022 (the anniversary of the massacre of students and intellectuals in the 1979 revolution), the people were subjected to a bloodbath. In this horrific event, security forces killed 18 individuals, including two children.
These two massacres, occurring 36 days apart, aimed to deter the oppressed Baluch citizens from continuing their uprising. However, the Baluchistan uprising persisted and still does. “Bloody Friday in Zahedan” inspired other Friday protest rallies, becoming a lasting tradition of ongoing protests. Subsequently, every Friday, prayers and ensuing marches presented a significant challenge to the ruling establishment.
Throughout the year, chants of “Death to the dictator” and “Death to Khamenei” kept alit the hope for change among people across the country.
On Wednesday, November 9, 2022, the people of Iran, commemorating the fortieth day of Bloody Friday in Zahedan, stood in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Baluchestan. For this reason, anti-regime protests erupted in Mahabad, Mashhad, Rasht, Shahrekord, Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, and Tehran.
Furthermore, students from various universities, including the University of Tehran, Amirkabir University of Technology, Pars University of Arts and Architecture, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Vali-e-Asr Rehabilitation Sciences University, and Tabriz University of Arts, held demonstrations, paying tribute to the innocent victims of that dreadful crime by raising revolutionary slogans.
In direct opposition to the state-sanctioned propaganda, which sought to legitimize the crimes against the rebellious Baluchistan and Kurdistan by labeling them as “separatists,” the knowledgeable people of Iran chanted: “Sanandaj and Zahedan are the beacons of Iran.”
Responding to this insightful and incisive revolutionary position, the people from Baluchistan chanted: “From Zahedan to Tehran, I sacrifice my life for Iran.”
Therefore, the remembrance of Bloody Friday reverberated both within the nation and globally, inspiring Iranians in the diaspora to amplify these slogans during their protests worldwide.
The wounds from Bloody Friday in Zahedan and Khash still deeply affect Baluchestan, a resilient region, and its people in Iran. Children in Baluchestan, victims of long-standing deprivation and corruption by the ruling clerics, remain unaware of why their family members were brutally killed after the Friday prayer sermon on September 30, 2022. Mothers in this troubled region still grieve the loss of their loved ones. Many families lost their breadwinners, and numerous wounded individuals now live in wheelchairs.
The martyrs of Bloody Friday in Zahedan have become potent symbols of oppression and resilience, deeply ingrained in the revolutionary culture. From “Hasti Narui,” the 7-year-old Baluchi girl martyred by a tear gas canister hitting her head, to “Khodanur Lejai,” symbolizing the enduring fight for democratic revolution by the Iranian people through her arrest and restraint to a flagpole.
Fridays in Zahedan still embody a chain of uprisings and a longing for freedom. This unavenged blood will keep the spirit of protest alive. Baluchestan has resolved never to regress and will persist in its march forward.
Despite massive security measures in different cities of Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran’s regime failed to prevent protests on the anniversary of ZaheALdan’s Bloody Friday massacre, where security forces killed over 100 civilians, including more than a dozen children.
On Saturday morning, strikes were reported in several cities, including Zahedan, Saravan, Chabahar, and Nimruz.
Meanwhile, security forces continued to maintain a heavy presence on the anniversary of the Bloody Friday to prevent protest rallies. This happened after a day of intense protests on Friday, the eve of the anniversary of the Bloody Friday.
During the protests, which took part in at least five cities, security forces opened fire on civilians, injuring at least 19 people, including several children. Security forces even attacked the Makki Mosque of Zahedan, where Friday prayers were held.
Nonetheless the people of Sistan and Baluchestan continued their protest rallies in the afternoon and at night. People lit fires in different parts of Zahedan.
In Shirabad district, protesters blocked roads with fire and chanted anti-regime slogans such as “Death to Khamenei!” and “Death to the dictator!”
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Videos posted on social media show security forces opening fire on protesters and protesters resisting and continuing their rallies. On Sunday morning, there was still heavy presence in Zahedan as the regime fears protests to continue today.
On September 30, 2022, during the protests that happened after the killing of Mahsa Amini by the regime’s morality police, security forces in Zahedan opened fire on peaceful protesters, killing more than 100 people, including at least a dozen children. The event became known as the Bloody Friday of Zahedan and was commemorated across Iran as one of the regime’s crimes against humanity.
Since the Bloody Friday, the Baluch people have been regularly holding protest rallies on Fridays. The regime’s measures to intimidate the people and suppress their desire for freedom is proving increasingly futile.
Despite the attempts of the clerical regime to prevent a resurgence of the uprising on the anniversary of Bloody Friday, a day that commemorates the tragic massacre during Friday prayers in Zahedan on September 30, 2022, the people of Sistan and Baluchestan Province contradicted the regime’s assertions of control and suppression of the popular desire for change.
Over the past three days, the resilient population of this province demonstrated their discontent through protests, strikes, and nightly confrontations, signaling that Iran’s emerging revolution continues despite the regime’s attempts to quell it.
For decades, under consecutive dictators in Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan province has been one of the most impoverished and underdeveloped regions in the country. This is evident in the province’s staggering socioeconomic inequality, which is characterized by high levels of unemployment, poverty, and income disparity.
Shahin Gobadi
NCRI
+33 6 61 65 32 31
email us here
WATCH NOW: Over the past three days, the resilient population of this province demonstrated their discontent through protests, strikes, and nightly confrontations. at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOs6r0Pw2eY
1 https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/about-ncri/ncri/alternative/
2 https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/iran-least-82-protesters-and-bystanders-killed-bloody-crackdown-baluchistan
