Taher Shir Mohammad - Deutsche Welle Persian, February 12, 2009
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| 1978 Tabriz protests |
Ethnic groups played a significant role in the success of the 1979 Revolution. But were their hopes and demands fulfilled after the revolution? What is their current view of the revolution and the country's ongoing issues? Ethnic experts answer these questions for Deutsche Welle.
According to ethnic group experts, including Yousef Azizi Beniorof, an Iranian Arab writer, throughout modern Iranian history, from the Constitutional Revolution to the 1979 Revolution, Tehran could not complete its revolutions without the involvement of Tabriz.
Benitorof points to historical facts and says, “In the Constitutional Revolution, it was Sattar Khan, Bagher Khan, and the Azerbaijan movement that led to the success of the revolution. In the 1979 Revolution, it was the Tabriz uprising on the 29th of Bahman (February 18, 1978), the oil strike by Arab workers in Khuzestan, and the struggles of other ethnic groups in Iran that brought the revolution to victory.”
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| Yousef Azizi Benitorof, an Iranian Arab writer, says that the ethnic groups made the 1979 Revolution successful. |
Thirty Years of Disappointment After the Revolution
Yousef Kar, an analyst on the issues of the Turkmen of Iran who was imprisoned twice before the revolution, believes that ethnic groups make up a significant portion of Iranian society, and no major or popular change can happen without their participation. He adds, “The Turkmen actively participated in the 1979 Revolution, where people rose against the dictatorial regime, expecting that with the success of the revolution, they would fulfill their national and ethnic demands. They wanted to receive education in their native language and have autonomy in their affairs, but they faced harsh repression. Thirty years after the revolution, their hopes and demands remain unfulfilled.”
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| Yousef Kar, a Turkmen political activist living in Germany. |
The Transformation of Ethnic Hopes into Disillusionment
Dr. Abdol-Sattar Doshuki, one of the founders of the "Association of Baloch Residents in the Center" at the time of the revolution, refers to the events after the revolution that destroyed the hopes and dreams of the ethnic groups. He says, “After the victory of the revolution, the Baloch people, though anxious and worried, eagerly awaited the realization of the promises made by Ayatollah Khomeini and the Islamic Republic government regarding freedom, equality, ending discrimination, and social justice. In 1979, during the first year of the Islamic Republic’s establishment, severe repression of the Baloch people in Zahidan, the killing of Turkmen leaders in Gonbad Kavous, suppression of Arabs in Khuzestan, and Turkish in Azerbaijan, as well as the deployment of military forces to Kurdistan, led the majority of ethnic groups and nationalities in Iran to despair of the Islamic Republic, a despair that has lasted for thirty years.”
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| Dr. Abdol-Sattar Doshuki |
The Green Movement Revives Hope Among Ethnic Groups
Doshuki continues by mentioning that responding to the demands of Iran's ethnic groups became one of the main issues in the presidential election campaigns of the June elections. He adds, “Mir-Hossein Mousavi delivered a speech in Turkish and Persian at the Baghe Shomal Stadium in Tabriz, which can be seen as a symbolic gesture. Furthermore, the support of the Baloch, Turkmen, Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks, and Kurds for Karroubi and Mousavi shows national alignment in expressing a shared pain.”
He further states, “The Green Movement is essentially a reflection of the same cry for freedom from the Kurdish, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen, and other people, whose voices have been silenced by the Islamic Republic over the past thirty years. Now, after thirty years, it can be said that the ethnic groups and other Iranians have recognized their common pain and are shouting it together. Although the protests in Tehran have gained more international media coverage, the collective cry is now heard.”
The Role of Azerbaijanis in the Revolution
Yashar Hakakpour, the spokesperson for the Association for the Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran, says that despite the significant role Azerbaijanis played in the 1979 Revolution, they have not gained even the most basic of their rights. He told Deutsche Welle, “The 1979 Revolution was the result of cooperation between various forces in Iranian society. Azerbaijanis, as one of the largest ethnic groups in Iran, played a key role in the revolution. The February 29, 1978 uprising was crucial to the success of the revolution. However, thirty years after the revolution, Azerbaijanis are deprived of basic rights, such as the right to education in their mother tongue, and other rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Their peaceful struggle is suppressed, Azerbaijani activists are imprisoned, and they are harassed.”
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| Yashar Hakakpour believes that the current perspective of the people of Azerbaijan on the current issues of Iran is different from the revolutionary period. |
The Wall of Distrust Between Ethnic Groups and the "Center"
Hakakpour concludes that the way Azerbaijanis view the situation now is different from the early days of the revolution. Protests after the election were more concentrated in cities like Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz, while Azerbaijan remained silent. He adds, “In recent months, there has been much discussion about this issue, and references have been made to the 'anger of Azerbaijanis.' In my opinion, this issue is a serious topic. The reduced trust between the ethnic groups and the central government, along with the differences in their demands, has had a significant impact.”
Hakakpour also refers to the differences in these demands as a barrier to the unity between ethnic groups and the Green Movement. He believes that if the demands of the Azerbaijanis are accepted by the leaders of the Green Movement, the wall of distrust could be dismantled.
Continued Support from Turkmen for the Green Movement
Yousef Kar, aware of the issues concerning the Turkmen of Iran, speaks about the alignment of interests between the ethnic groups and reformists in Iran. He believes that Turkmen have supported freedom-loving, reformist, and transformative forces in Iran at every opportunity during these thirty years, and they voted for Karroubi and Mousavi in the presidential elections with the same hope. He told Deutsche Welle, “Mehdi Karroubi sent a message on the anniversary of Makhtumqoli Faragi, a national poet of the Turkmen people, and questioned why the language of this poet and mystic should be banned in Iran, even though the constitution grants freedom to ethnic languages. For this reason, Turkmen supported Karroubi. Similarly, Mousavi, wearing a traditional Turkmen outfit, raised the issue of human rights. Turkmen became hopeful and, in the Green Movement, because it fights for freedom, human rights, and democracy, they continue to support it.”
Hope from the 1979 Revolution to the Green Movement
According to ethnic rights activists, along with the suppression of the Green Movement in Tehran and other major cities in Iran, pressure on ethnic groups has also increased.
Some ethnic affairs experts warn about the lack of coordination between the ethnic movements and the Green Movement. Benitorof, the Iranian Arab writer, says, “Now, with the separation of the struggles of non-Farsi ethnic groups from the freedom-seeking and democracy-seeking struggles of the people of Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Tabriz, I believe this movement will either fail or be prolonged. Even if it succeeds, without the participation and efforts of non-Farsi people, this victory will be incomplete. We will again witness the resurgence of the national problems of non-Farsi ethnic groups. Therefore, creating coordination and unity at this moment is the best solution.”
Editorial: Keivandokht Ghahari
The link to the original article in Farsi on Deutsche Welle Persian:
قومیتها و انقلاب ۵۷