Criticism from Two Parliament Representatives on the Closure of Borders to Porters

As protests continue against the restrictions on the entry of goods from the western and northwestern borders of Iran and the increase in tariffs in this region, two parliament representatives criticized the ongoing closure of borders to porters, contrary to previous promises. Qasem Jasemi, a representative from Kermanshah in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, stated in an interview with the 'House of the Nation' news agency on Saturday, April 27, that 'the source of income for the people of these provinces is through the border, porterage, and trade,' criticizing the Ministry of Interior's decision in this regard. The implementation of the 'Border Trade with Porter Cards' plan, which led to the closure of borders to porters and an increase in customs tariffs, began on February 28, 2018, from the Siranband market in Baneh, Kurdistan province. The implementation of this plan faced widespread protests from porters and shopkeepers in various cities in Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan provinces, leading to severe criticism from representatives of these cities in the parliament. Protests began in early April, with demonstrators in some cities taking symbolic actions such as 'spreading empty tables in streets and alleys.' Qasem Jasemi emphasized the 'conditions of the country in 2019' without going into details and called on the Ministry of Interior and border officials to 'be more serious in their work.' However, another parliament representative stated that despite promises from the Ministry of Interior to open the borders to porters, there has been no news. Mohammad Qasim Othmani, a representative from Boukan, told the 'Etemad Online' news website that after writing several letters to the Minister of Interior and the Speaker of Parliament regarding the closure of border crossings, and after several warnings in the open session of parliament, 'they finally announced that at least the porter crossings would be opened, but there is still no news of this promise being fulfilled.' Mr. Othmani also stated, 'We still do not understand who made this decision because officials pass the buck to each other, but we hold the Minister of Interior accountable. Officials should come and see the living conditions of the people and then make decisions.' Several other parliament representatives had previously strongly criticized the closure of borders to porters and the increase in tariffs. Mohsen Beiglari, a representative from Saqqez and Baneh, stated in his speech in parliament about ten days ago: 'It is surprising that only the goods of porters are seen as smuggling, and orders are given to close border markets, while there is no action against organized smuggling and illegal imports of luxury cars.' Rasoul Khazari, a representative from Sardasht and Piranshahr, also accused the government of 'mismanagement' and warned that the closure of the border 'has disrupted the livelihoods of 7 million traders and tens of thousands of shopkeepers and porters.' However, the governor of Kurdistan stated that the government intends to make changes to the border trade plan and is trying to reduce customs tariffs. Bahman Moradnia, the governor of Kurdistan, said last week in a meeting with protesters: 'So far, a 20% discount on customs tariffs is certain, and we are trying to increase this discount.' Shopkeepers and traders in western Iranian cities are demanding a 50% discount on customs tariffs. On the other hand, some local media reported the arrest of several shopkeepers and protesters. However, these arrests have not yet been confirmed by Iranian judicial authorities. According to reports, one of the detainees was a young man named 'Yadgar Sadeqi,' who was arrested on April 18 after questioning Saeed Jalili, the representative of the leader in the Supreme National Security Council.