Twenty-Seventh Day of Protests in Haft Tappeh; New CEO of Sugarcane Complex Appointed

On Saturday, December 1st, workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex held their protest for the twenty-seventh consecutive day, while Kiomars Kazemi was introduced as the new CEO of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company. According to the official news agency of the Islamic Republic, IRNA, the introduction ceremony for the new CEO was attended by several officials from Khuzestan province, local authorities from Shush, a representative from Shush in the parliament, and representatives of the workers. Abbas Hosseini Pouya, the public prosecutor of Ahvaz, who was also present at the ceremony, announced that there would be 'monthly oversight by the prosecutor's office for a year on the factory's activities' and emphasized that 'we are following the workers' demands.' According to Mr. Hosseini Pouya, 'the issue of the detained worker will be resolved within the next two or three days.' Ismail Bakhti, one of the protesting workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex, along with 18 others, was arrested by security forces in Shush about two weeks ago. However, the Tasnim news agency referred to Kiomars Kazemi not as the CEO but as 'the authorized representative of the shareholder of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company and the new person responsible for restarting this company.' According to reports, Reza Madadi was dismissed from his position as deputy CEO of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex, and Kiomars Kazemi was appointed in his place. Mr. Kazemi has previously served as the deputy CEO of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex and has also managed the Mirza Kuchak Khan Jungle Sugarcane Company in Khuzestan years ago. However, some protesting workers emphasized in conversations with ILNA that 'the change in management at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex after twenty-seven days of workers' protests will not solve any of their problems.' According to some news websites, on Saturday, the protesting workers decided to move their protest location from in front of the Shush governor's office to inside the complex, in front of its administrative buildings. One worker explained the reason for the change in the protest location, stating: 'From the beginning, our goal in holding the protest was to pursue our demands, but since some provincial and local officials were supposed to be present today to hear our problems at the factory, we decided to change our gathering place.' Kiomars Kazemi, the new CEO, emphasized during his introduction that after discussions with Omid Asadbigi, the owner of the factory, he took over the management 'with full authority' and would 'only be involved in the buying and selling of this company.' He also stated: 'If someone does not want to continue working and obstructs, they do not belong in the company.' The new CEO of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company noted that 80% of the company's workers are not in good economic condition, adding: 'I will make honesty the cornerstone of my actions and will support the rightful rights of workers and managers.' Kazemi urged workers to 'focus on harvesting sugarcane and help ensure the rights of personnel.' Adnan Ghazi, the governor of Shush, also mentioned that conditions have been set for the person responsible for restarting the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Complex, stating: 'Employers have no right to interfere in the work of the new manager.' Razi Nouri, the representative from Shush in parliament, expressed hope that 'sugarcane harvesting will resume daily in three shifts at this factory.' He added that a timeline would also be created for investments that have received state currency for the factory to witness its development. However, ILNA reported that the protesting workers continue to emphasize the need for 'nationalization of the complex' while also following up on the status of two detained workers. Seventeen of the detainees have been released on bail, while Sepideh Gholian, a civil activist, remains detained along with Ismail Bakhti. Ali Najati, a board member of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers' Syndicate, was also arrested last Thursday, increasing the total number of detained workers from this complex to two. On Friday, conflicting reports about Ismail Bakhti's poor physical condition surfaced in the media.