 |
| Samad Pourmusavi |
Samad Pourmusavi does not believe that there will be any significant change in Iran’s policies towards non-Persian ethnic groups and their languages and cultures under the Hassan Rouhani government. The Southern activist, artist, and former political prisoner emphasized in an interview with Voice of America that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a consistent and unchanging policy in this regard.
According to him, in order to analyze the government’s stance on non-Persian ethnic groups or women's rights in Iran, one must assess not just the Rouhani administration but the entire system.
Pourmusavi suggested that Hassan Rouhani's policies resemble those of former president Mohammad Khatami. He argued that while the Rouhani government may grant certain limited rights or minor freedoms to non-Persian groups, the overall approach will still align with the core policies that aim to assimilate these groups.
Pourmusavi also evaluated Hassan Rouhani’s promises regarding the Turkish Language Institute and the teaching of mother tongues. According to him, even if these promises are implemented, the fundamental policy will continue to focus on the Persianization of non-Persian ethnicities.
He used the example of the platform for Turkish radio programs established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to explain this policy:
“They created a platform for the Turkish-language radio programs. The language spoken today is based on that platform. This language, which is mixed with Persian, is not truly Turkish; it is their fabricated ‘Azeri’ language.”
Living in exile in Toronto, the former political prisoner also shared his thoughts with Voice of America about the methods used in the Azerbaijan National Movement and by Turkish activists during this phase of the struggle.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Səməd Purmusəvi: İranda qeyri-fars etniklərlə bağlı əsas siyasət dəyişilməzdir