Market in Marivan Remains Closed Amid Ongoing Strikes in Kurdistan

Following the restriction on the entry of goods from Iran's western borders and the increase in tariffs, protests continue in various cities in these regions, with ILNA reporting on the ongoing strike of merchants in Marivan. According to images and videos received by Radio Farda, shops in the Marivan market remained closed on Saturday, April 1, for several consecutive days. One shopkeeper in Marivan told ILNA that due to the closure of the borders to porters and the imposition of new tariffs, "even if our shops are open, we wouldn't have much business, so we prefer to stay home and not work." The report also states that protests continue in several cities in Kurdistan province, including Baneh, Javanrud, and Saqqez, as well as Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan. Additionally, according to some local media, including the website "Kurdpa," several shopkeepers have been arrested in recent days, although the arrests have not yet been confirmed by Iranian judicial authorities. The protests began in early Farvardin (March) by unemployed porters but gradually expanded to include merchants and shopkeepers. In recent days, protesters in at least two cities, Baneh and Marivan, staged a symbolic act of "spreading empty tables in the streets and alleys." According to Mehr, the government of Hassan Rouhani began implementing a plan to prevent portering and to conduct "border exchanges with porter cards" starting from March 9 in the Siranband market in Baneh. However, this plan faced protests from porters and merchants and also drew severe criticism from representatives of these cities in the parliament. According to ISNA, Mohsen Beiglari, the representative of Saqqez and Baneh, criticized the closure of border markets in his speech in parliament on Wednesday, stating, "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." This representative also warned that with the closure of the western borders to porters, "five hundred Plasco buildings in Saqqez, Baneh, and Marivan will soon be destroyed." Rasul Khazari, the representative of Sardasht and Piranshahr in parliament, 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 merchants and porters."