 |
| Sharifeh Jafari |
Human rights groups report that in Iran’s Azerbaijan provinces, activities related to language, culture, and the arts are heavily restricted, and those involved in these fields constantly face government persecution, threats, and pressures. One of the victims of these pressures, Sharifeh Jafari, the director of Pinar Publishing House, which was shut down by the government in September 2011, shared her experiences in an interview with Voice of America.
Poet, writer, publisher, and radio and TV producer Sharifeh Jafari is from the city of Miyana in East Azerbaijan. Due to the persecution and pressures she faced because of her activities, she left the country before being arrested and moved to neighboring Turkey about five months ago, where she currently resides in Ankara.
Before establishing Pinar Publishing House, Jafari worked as a writer and editor for radio and television in Zanjan, Azerbaijan. Later, the broadcast of a literary program she produced, titled Green Leaf, was halted by the authorities.
According to her, the reason for the program’s termination was the mention of the name of the Zanjan-born poet and active member of the Azerbaijan National Government, Hökümə Billuri, during a live broadcast. Following this, the officials of Zanjan Radio and Television accused Sharifeh Jafari of promoting communism in the program.
Hökümə Billuri, an Azerbaijani Turk poet and literary figure, was born in Zanjan in 1926. After the collapse of the Azerbaijani National Government in the South in 1946, she moved to the Republic of Azerbaijan. She passed away in 2000 at the age of 75.
According to Sharifeh Jafari, “According to Zanjan radio-television regulations, 40% of the words used in programs in the Turkish language had to be in Persian.”
After her time in radio and television, Jafari decided to focus on book publishing and established Pinar Publishing House. The books published by the press, which focused on Azerbaijan and Turkish culture, literature, and history, were well received by the public and found success at book fairs. However, according to the publisher, “It was very difficult to get permission to print books in Turkish. Even the books that received publication permission often faced issues with writing rules, and publishing was not allowed.”
Despite receiving publishing permissions, books such as a poetry collection titled Love is Freedom and a book titled A Brief History of the Turks (translated from Turkish to Persian) were not allowed to circulate after publication. The publishing house's director, Sharifeh Jafari, was once again accused of promoting Pan-Turkism.
According to statements released by the Association of Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners (ADAPP), “Book publishing in Azerbaijani Turkish in Iran is highly restricted, and even previously authorized books are not allowed to be reissued.” In recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has shut down newspapers and publishing centers that distributed articles and books about Azerbaijan and Turkish culture and history.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Şərifə Cəfəri: Kommunist və Pantürkist olmaqda günahlandırıldım [Audio]