Plasco Traders Protest for the Fourth Time in a Month

Six months after the Plasco fire incident, traders from this commercial building gathered for the fourth time in the past month to protest the lack of attention to their situation. According to ILNA news agency, the Plasco traders gathered at 9 AM on Sunday, July 2, in front of the Foundation of the Oppressed building in Tehran, holding banners stating that their five-month silence was 'due to trust in the head of the Foundation of the Oppressed,' and demanded urgent attention to their plight. The Plasco commercial complex in Tehran's Republic Street completely collapsed on January 19 of last year following a massive fire, resulting in the deaths of 16 firefighters and six personnel from the building. The owner of the Plasco building, the Foundation of the Oppressed, is an economic institution under the supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and some city council members and reformists have criticized the Tehran municipality for not sealing the building prior to the incident despite its 'dangerous condition.' During the Sunday gathering, one trader told ILNA, 'The goods of the traders are threatened by thieves every night, and for this reason, traders have set up several tents at the back door of the Plasco building to guard the building and prevent thieves from entering and looting their property.' The Plasco shopkeepers are demanding the reinforcement of 286 intact units of the building and have also requested that the Foundation of the Oppressed take immediate action to rebuild or at least reconstruct this location, as the fate of several traders remains uncertain. ILNA reports that no representative from the Foundation of the Oppressed was present among the protesting traders by noon on Sunday to hear their concerns. The head of the union of shirt makers and sellers also explained in an interview with ILNA on Sunday that 'on May 20, the head of the Foundation of the Oppressed informed us that they would reinforce the northern part [of the building] and that the groundbreaking for the new building would take place on June 20, but they have not acted on these statements so far.' Mojtaba Doroudian added that 'currently, one of the demands of the Plasco traders is for the Foundation of the Oppressed to clarify what will happen to the upper part of the building. Will they build and reinforce it, or will the traders have to carry out the repairs themselves?' He mentioned that 'there have been several thefts from this building so far, which has forced traders to take turns setting up tents there at night.' He said, 'The Plasco traders officially requested the Foundation to clarify the situation, but the organization's managers refused to provide a written and official response to that letter, stating they would speak with your representatives in person. However, the in-person meeting also yielded no specific results.' ISNA news agency reported on June 11 that on that date, the affected traders of the Plasco building separately protested for two consecutive days in front of the buildings of the Foundation of the Oppressed and the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. The protesters also demanded a specific timeline for the return of their commercial units in the reconstructed Plasco building, while the deputy of the Foundation of the Oppressed told the traders that 'the status of the traders' lease rights in the Plasco building will be determined in the judicial authorities.' The Shahrvand newspaper also reported on June 11 in an article titled 'The Cry of Plasco' about the gathering of 100 Plasco traders in front of the Foundation of the Oppressed building, stating, 'All traders of the 286 undamaged shops in the Plasco building are dissatisfied... Their shops were safe from collapse and explosion in the building, but now thieves have entered their shops, and in recent weeks, air conditioners, some goods, and their lamps have been stolen.' Previously, on April 20, Ahmad Masjed Jamei, a member of the Tehran City Council, criticized again the lack of funding for firefighting and the absence of fire-fighting facilities in buildings over 40 meters, reporting that after the Plasco incident, some protesting firefighters were 'reprimanded' and 'forcibly' transferred from their jobs. In this context, the two-day gathering of the Plasco traders in front of the Foundation of the Oppressed and the Tehran Prosecutor's Office highlighted the 'reprimand and forced transfer' of protesting firefighters in the Plasco case, with seven organizations and ministries being accused of negligence in the Plasco building incident. The committee investigating the Plasco incident stated that the order to evacuate the building was issued after the collapse.