The latest on the reaction to the murder of Sirwan Azizi, Kurdish Kolbar, who was carrying several cartons of cigarettes in the Betush area in the outskirts of Sardasht, 250 activists in an open letter expressed their sympathy with Sirwan Azizi’s family and other Kolbar families who have lost their family members in recent years and condemn against killing of Kolbers by Iran’s authorities and also expressed their deep hatred of any violent clash with Kolbars.
A copy of this letter, which has been provided to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), is as follows:
Dear Iranian, people of Kurdistan, Officials, local and national authorities,
As you are aware, for years, Kurdistan is under the shadow of poverty, underdevelopment, discrimination and security approach by government and many people who find no other means to earn a livelihood but to risk their lives and work as Kolbar across the Iran-Iraq border.
However, in recent years, the government established some regulations such as the organising Border co-operatives, the issuance of pass cards, the Determine quantity of commodities allowance and determination of the amount of goods [around $60 per month] and efforts in the direction of systematise and legitimisation of the Kolbars issue, but many people still have to put themselves at risk of serious dangers, out of the rules set, in relation to their low salaries. Each year, too many oppressed Kurdish people in Kurdistan end up taking up the dangers such as crossing the minefields, climbing impassable passages for long hours, tolerating hot weather, avalanche and snow blizzards just to feed their families.
But in addition to that, what has turned the Kolbars problem into a tragedy is the blind shootings of the military forces, which has often caused the death, injury or disability of this defenceless people.
Although some officials have even raised objections to the Kolbars cruel murders [by military forces], practically, the protests of the people of the region have not been taken into consideration and The authorities’ reaction has only come to light in the media and what is happening every day is fearless firing and constant killings of the oppressed.[According to the existing laws, none of these complaints have so far led to legal prosecution of the officers accused of arbitrarily killing the kolbars.] In the last instance of this irresponsible behaviours, we have witnessed the death of Kolbar by direct shootings of military forces in Sardasht. The image of the innocent young man grieves the heart of every free human being, which has been innocently fallen on the ground with several cartons of cigarettes near his dead body. A heartbreaking image that was widely reflected in social networks. Obviously, the repetition of these painful incidents in recent years, has shown that there is no serious and honest will to end up this unfavourable series.
We, the signatories of this letter, offer our sincere condolences and sympathy to the Kolbar family, and other victims of these years and express our deep concern and hatred of any violent clash with Kolbars and the Kolbars issue. We also call to put an end to the unjustifiable silence of the people, activists and parliamentarians in this regard. We ask the relevant authorities to stop these non-Islamic and illegal acts as soon as possible and at least for once, respond to what happened after the shedding of the innocent blood of this oppressed one. Obviously, this valid demand is based on the natural right to protect the lives of the citizens. Maybe it is a beginning to bring the authorities and perpetrators of these disasters to the law and reform the structures and policies of this issue, on the agenda. Otherwise, the continuation of the current process and the unbearable killing of the Kolbars will cause more disappointment and distrust and divergence.
Therefore, it is assumed to all libertarians in Iran and Kurdistan to accompany this legitimate campaign in order to stop the blood and tears party.
