Teachers' Union Protests the Closure of the Teachers' Association Office in Qazvin Province

The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran issued a statement protesting the closure of the Teachers' Association office in Qazvin Province. According to this teachers' union, "the Director General of Political Affairs of the Qazvin Governorate has declared the activities of this association illegal in a letter to the General Directorate of Education of Qazvin Province, and the security of the General Directorate of Education has sealed the office and even taken down its sign." So far, the Ministries of Interior and Education have not reacted to this matter. The Qazvin Governorate's website has also remained silent on this issue. Previously, the state news agency IRNA reported on August 12 of this year that Mohammad Bat'haei's plan for the Ministry of Education was to "strengthen interaction and participation with teachers' unions and professional associations" and "to create and strengthen institutions and organizations for teachers to participate in non-governmental affairs." The statement from the Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran noted that the Teachers' Association of Qazvin Province received its activity permit from the Ministry of Interior's Article 10 Commission in 1998, and after several years, it resumed its activities in the new period "with permission from the Qazvin Governorate" and held a general assembly election with the presence of representatives from the Governorate. However, according to this report, the process of issuing the activity permit in the new period was delayed due to the "indecision of the governorate." The Article 10 Commission is formed based on Article 10 of the activities of parties and associations in the Iranian Ministry of Interior. According to the Human Rights Campaign in Iran, this commission, composed of representatives from the three branches of government (executive, legislative, and judiciary), is responsible for issuing permits and supervising the activities of groups and parties. The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran criticized the "law enforcers" in part of its statement, stating that "they do not know that according to the law of parties, any organization after receiving an activity permit gains legal personality, and for its closure or suspension, a judicial trial and legal ruling is required, and no individual or entity can seal it without going through judicial procedures." The statement also mentioned that the failure to issue a renewal permit for organizations that have legally formed a general assembly and elected a board of directors, and the failure to issue a permit for holding a general assembly of teachers' trade unions, constitutes "an infringement of civil rights and the right to organize for citizens." The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran also stated that "the Rouhani government, despite repeated promises and claims, has only allowed a limited number of aligned organizations to hold their general assemblies," and many organizations in Iranian provinces are still waiting for the issuance of activity permits and general assembly meetings from the Ministry of Interior. The council added: "Organizations that managed to hold their general assembly in 2016 have still not received their activity permits." The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran assessed this type of government indecision in issuing permits for holding general assemblies and activity permits as a means of "marginalizing civil and independent trade organizations." The statement also noted that "teachers' trade organizations are under pressure from the government," while "other movements and organizations close to the government and political groups easily hold congresses and general assemblies, and the government issues permits for their assemblies and activity permits and allows the formation of new parties and institutions." Ahmad Madadi, a former member of the Teachers' Trade Association residing in the United States, told Radio Farda: "On the one hand, the government does not participate in the suppression of civil activists and civil institutions as before, and even in some cases is critical of such behaviors from other governmental branches. In some cases, it has a more sympathetic approach towards civil activists and institutions, providing more space for civil society to operate, but on the other hand, in practice, it does not provide the necessary support and backing for civil society and quickly capitulates to pressures and illegal behaviors from formal and informal pressure groups and centers of power, leaving civil activists unsupported." Mr. Madadi, referring to the recent protests by teachers in Iran, added, "On the one hand, there is enough space for activity and breathing that teachers' trade activists can hold large and nationwide gatherings; including gatherings in nearly 20 provinces of Iran on World Teachers' Day, to the point that even the President explicitly recognizes the right of teachers to protest, but on the other hand, trade activists are being arrested one after another, and their long prison sentences, which have been suspended until now, are being enforced." His reference was to the prison sentences of Mahmoud Beheshti Langaroudi, Ismail Abdi, Mokhtar Asadi, and Mohsen Omrani, officials and members of the Teachers' Trade Association who are imprisoned on security charges. The Coordination Council of Teachers' Trade Unions of Iran, in another part of its statement, called on the government to promptly reopen the office of the Teachers' Association in Qazvin Province and to legally address the "perpetrators of this illegal action" in sealing the office. Hassan Rouhani has been the President of Iran since 2013. During this time, however, the performance of his governments has faced criticism from trade activists; criticisms that have sometimes been reflected in some news agencies and newspapers in Iran. Ahmad Madadi, in this regard, pointed out that "the government, in its announced policies, presents itself as a defender of trade activities and teachers' trade institutions and has indeed taken steps to create the necessary infrastructure for activities," regarding a perspective that he says "tries to manage and softly control civil institutions," he adds: "Political and security centers of the government are not willing to issue permits for some teachers' trade associations until they obtain assurances and guarantees." He stated that "this approach contradicts the civil rights of teachers and is against the constitution, which recognizes the right to civil activity," and said: "It seems that senior officials in the government and the President himself need to intervene in such cases to prevent the violation of teachers' rights to participate in trade and civil activities and to end some illegal pressures and arbitrary restrictions that are imposed on the activities of teachers, such as what happened in Qazvin." Previously, according to the Telegram channel of the Teachers' Trade Association of Iran, a group of teachers' trade activists in several provinces of Iran wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, asking him to form a committee to investigate the "violation of rights" of teachers' trade activists and defend them while "removing real and legal obstacles" to trade activities. These trade activists, in their letter published in late September of this year, referred to the Ministry of Intelligence's complaint against Mahmoud Beheshti, the imprisoned spokesperson of the Teachers' Trade Association, asking the President of Iran to stop this ministry's complaint against teachers. In this context, according to ISNA news agency, Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Reformist faction in the parliament, known as the Hope faction, on December 3 of this year, raised the question of "why should the pursuit of teachers' trade demands be labeled as anti-security and anti-revolutionary" and stated that "pursuing trade demands is a natural right of teachers."