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| Activists Holding Placards for Mother-Tongue and Turkish Language Education in Ardabil During Election Campaigns |
In the election precincts of Iranian Azerbaijan, particularly in major cities like Tabriz and Urmia, many candidates for the second round of Iran’s parliamentary elections, to be held on April 29, have expressed that if elected, one of their top priorities will be to demand education in the Turkish language.
Candidates supported by both the conservative and reformist factions, as well as independent candidates, have articulated these promises during election campaigns, debates, speeches, statements, and interviews with newspapers.
In an interview with the ISNA news agency, Shahabeddin Bimiqdar, a candidate from Tabriz, stated that he would work towards the creation of a 24-hour Turkish language channel on Iranian television and emphasized that teaching the Turkish language in schools is one of the key priorities for Tabriz reformists.
“Teaching Turkish is an important demand of the Azerbaijani population, and along with the establishment of the Turkish Language Institution, it should be brought to the agenda in the future parliament,” Bimiqdar's words were reported in the media.
Another candidate from Tabriz, Zahra Saei, who claims to represent women and the younger generation, stated that, in addition to addressing women's issues, she would also focus on demands related to the mother tongue.
Sai highlighted President Hassan Rouhani's commitment to the establishment of the Turkish Language Institution and suggested that this promise would be fulfilled after the situation normalizes. She also mentioned that, if elected, she would pursue this issue in the parliament.
Conservative candidate from Tabriz, Mohammadreza Mir Tājeddini, emphasized in an interview with the media that "teaching and protecting the Turkish language is essential."
The demand for education in Turkish is also on the agenda of both usulgera candidate Ruhollah Hazratpour and reformist Hadi Bahadini in Urmia.
Recently, a debate took place between the two candidates at the Qazi Tabetabaei Technical Vocational School in Urmia. During the debate, the politicians answered students' questions, stressing the importance of language rights and identity issues.
According to the Ainanews internet newspaper, in a debate conducted in Turkish, when a student, who admitted not fully knowing Turkish, asked a question in Farsi, Hadi Bahadini responded with a remark: “Learn Turkish, because it’s a skill.”
Candidates from Azerbaijani Kurdish backgrounds are also bringing up the issue of mother tongue education during their election campaigns.
The Iranian Parliament (Islamic Consultative Assembly) consists of 290 deputies. In the first round of the 10th term elections, most of the members of parliament have already been determined. In the second round, 68 deputies will be selected from among the 136 candidates.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Təbriz və Urmiyədə ‘türk dilinin tədrisi’ namizədlərin gündəmində