NCRI – A number of farmers and ranchers in Kuhdasht gathered in front of the headquarters of regime’s governor in Kuhdasht, forming a human chain to protest against national land degradation.
One of the farmers in the rally said in this regard “our lands have been seized by some at gunpoint, while the officials have conducted no investigations in this regard so far.”
“In addition to our lands, our livestock are not immune from their intimidation, either”, he added.
Another protesting farmer from Kuhdasht pointed out that the farmers and ranchers in the region have deeds of their farm and husbandry lands, saying “faced with degradation of national lands, we decided to hold a protest rally so that our voices be heard by the officials.”
The farmer said that they first raised their concerns in January 2017, saying “ever since our first protest, we’ve not been allowed to do any farming or husbandry even for our livelihood.”
“The officials are all talking about environmental protection, green space, and maintenance of trees”, he added, “but none of them cares about the farmers in the region. We teamed up with other residents in the area, pursuing for moths our concerns over conservation of natural resources, but none of the entities or organizations responsible paid any attention to our protests.”
In the meantime, protesting farmers of ‘Tang-e Darab’ point out, while holding deeds of their farmlands in hand, that none of legal or natural persons has presented any documents to prove their ownership of the lands, saying that despite doing necessary follow-ups, the officials have not been responding. They wish their production and job didn’t go to waste this way, and that the officials cared about them.
Having a highland mild climate, Kuhdasht is located in western Lorestan Province (Southwestern Iran), with most of its people being involved in farming and husbandry.
