Iranian MPs have spoken out against the construction of a wall around the parliament building that began in March. The wall is meant as a security measure against protest gatherings.
ISNA reports that Rasht MP Gholamali Jafarzadeh addressed Parliament on Tuesday April 21 and objected to the wall, saying: “Parliament has to be a glass building that is completely transparent and it must not lose its connection to the people.”
He stressed that the very action promotes an air of insecurity in the country.
Hasan Kamran, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy commission, had earlier expressed his concern about the wall.
The head of architecture for Parliament has said the blue metal wall is a temporary. There are plans for a concrete wall to be built, and the current metal fence will be installed on top of that.
The Tabnak website asserts, however, that the wall is a reaction to protests and demonstrations in front of parliament, noting that previously there had been talk of building a designated area for public protests in front of parliament. That was never carried out, the report continues, and now a wall is being built to discourage protest.
“In recent days, parliament has been witnessing a number of large protests including those by teachers and retired steelworkers. Perhaps this [building the wall] has made the MPs think of building a stronger fence around themselves,” Tabnak writes.
What is more noteworthy, the website says, is that parliament is refusing to issue any information to the public regarding this action.
