Criticism from Parliament Representative on Government's 'Mismanagement' Regarding Border Crossing and Porters

The representative of Sardasht and Piranshahr in the Islamic Consultative Assembly accused the government of 'mismanagement' regarding the closure of the Tamarchin border crossing, stating that the blockade of this border has disrupted the livelihoods of '7 million traders and tens of thousands of merchants and porters.' According to the news agency 'House of the Nation,' affiliated with the Parliament, Rasoul Khazari said on Thursday, December 7, that 'the Tamarchin border, through which border residents, porters, and traders earn their livelihoods, has remained closed for two months.' The Tamarchin border terminal, located in West Azerbaijan province, is on a road that connects major cities such as Tabriz, Urmia, and Zanjan to the main cities of the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Khazari emphasized that '8,000 porters, 30,000 merchants in Piranshahr, and 7 million traders from the population of 7 provinces of the country earn their livelihoods through the Tamarchin border, and with the closure of the border, their sustenance is threatened.' The representative of Sardasht and Piranshahr stated that 'the government's mismanagement in this regard is unacceptable, and the government of hope and prudence must be held accountable for this mismanagement.' The 'Hope and Prudence' government referred to by this parliament representative is a slogan that Hassan Rouhani's government used during its electoral campaign. The representative noted that 'before the closure of the Tamarchin border, Turkey's share of exports from Iraq was 30 percent, but it has now increased to 70 percent,' adding, 'Unfortunately, Iran's exports from the Kurdistan region have decreased from 19 percent to 7-9 percent.' Khazari reminded that 'the government has until Sunday to take action to reopen the Tamarchin border, and if it neglects this issue, we will put the questioning of ministers and the president on the agenda for Sunday.' Since the independence referendum in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran has closed its border crossings with the Kurdistan region as one of its actions against this referendum, and since then, the situation of these crossings has remained chaotic. Bashmaq, Parvizkhan, and Tamarchin are three official customs crossings of Iran with the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and since last October, the movement of trucks carrying petroleum derivatives has also been restricted at these three borders, with only the Parvizkhan border currently active in this regard. In response to the aforementioned referendum, Iran and the central government of Iraq also held a joint military exercise last October, during which some military units were stationed at the Tamarchin crossing. Meanwhile, according to the state news agency IRNA, Abdolhossein Ali Akbari, the director general of road maintenance and transportation in West Azerbaijan, reported on December 4 that 'the Tamarchin border terminal in the south of the province has been organized with an investment of 142 billion rials, and the infrastructure for the development of this terminal is being constructed.' He stated that this plan 'currently has about 10 percent implementation progress,' and the organization plan for this terminal, which started in late summer of this year, 'is expected to be completed by the end of next year.' Porters, whom the representative of Sardasht and Piranshahr referred to regarding their difficult livelihoods, are individuals who bring goods in and out of Iran's borders to earn a living. They are mostly employed in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah. There are always reports about the deaths of several porters due to gunfire from Iranian border guards, and previously, human rights groups have described the direct and unannounced shooting at porters as 'inhumane' and have strongly criticized such actions. In September, protests were held in Baneh and Sanandaj in response to the killing of two porters residing in Baneh, and several protesters were arrested. Hossein Zolfaqari, the security and police deputy of the Ministry of Interior, announced on November 5 that porters in Iran's border areas are not targeted by gunfire. A week before him, Rasoul Khazari, the representative of Sardasht and Piranshahr in the parliament, stated that 'we are facing a porter crisis,' declaring that '75,000 people in Iran are engaged in portering, some of whom are students and are killed while portering.'