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| Ehsan Salmasi |
"In the last century, the Turkish language in Iran has faced numerous humiliations and setbacks. The bans on this language have still not been lifted. Now, at the very least, we want this attitude towards Turkish to change." This is the view of a language rights activist currently studying at Urmia University. In an interview with Voice of America, Ehsan Salmasi discussed a letter sent to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani by 1,811 students from universities in the cities of Iranian Azerbaijan, as well as the language rights demands raised in the letter.
Salmasi says that the main theme of the petition signed by students from the universities in Urmia, Tabriz, Zanjan, Maragheh, Khoy, and Kelaybar is the Turkish language:
"The subject of the letter is the Turkish language. The main demands are related to language rights. The demands include the official recognition of the Turkish language in Iran, the right to receive education in Turkish in schools and universities, the full implementation of Articles 3, 15, and 19 of the Iranian Constitution to remove existing discriminations, and the establishment of the Turkish Language Institute."
Salmasi emphasizes that the letter sent to the Iranian president was entirely prepared by the students, without any political group or faction being involved. He highlights that this fact played a key role in the success of the campaign.
The southern language rights activist also points out that the students faced some obstacles during the preparation of the letter.
He mentions that signature sheets collected at the Payame Noor universities in Urmia and Sulduz (Naqadeh) were seized by university officials, and that Atabek Sepehri, who was collecting signatures in the Mugan region, was placed under detention by the authorities for several hours.
The letter signed by 1,811 students also reminded President Rouhani of the promises he made two years ago during his election campaign regarding the establishment of the Turkish Language Institute. However, according to Ehsan Salmasi, the main goal of this letter is not related to the president’s previous promises.
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| The letter addressed to the President of Iran was signed by 1,811 students. |
In his opinion, President Rouhani's promises are actually the reflection of the demands of the people:
"One of the primary rights and demands of the Turkish people in Iran is the right to education in their mother tongue. In recent years, this demand has become more prominent. I think President Rouhani made language rights promises during the election campaign in order to win the votes of non-Persian ethnic groups, especially Turks, in Iran."
"We, as students, thought it was appropriate to request language rights from the person who holds the highest executive power in the Islamic Republic of Iran, namely the president. If someone else had been elected president, we would still have put forward our demands. This letter was written based on the desires of our people, not based on the promises made by Rouhani," Salmasi added.
The southern student also says that the goal of this letter is to change the policy towards the Turkish language in Iran:
"In the last century, the Turkish language in Iran has faced numerous humiliations and setbacks. The bans and restrictions on Turkish are still in place. Now, we at least want this attitude towards our language to change."
Ehsan Salmasi, while appreciating some recent positive steps taken by municipal councils and city council members in the Azerbaijan provinces in response to the people’s demands, states that these actions are not enough.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Ehsan Salmasi: Prezident Ruhaniyə məktubumuzun əsas mövzusu türk dili idi