Voice of America, August 29, 2016
Turkmen Language Education Demanded from President Rouhani
Over 800 Iranian Turkmens, including intellectuals, writers, university professors, doctors, artists, cultural activists, homemakers, and individuals from various professional groups, have sent an open letter to President Hassan Rouhani.
The letter calls for the elimination of discrimination against Turkmens and the inclusion of the Turkmen language in the schools of the Turkmen Sahra region.
Internet portals operating in the Turkmen Sahra region published the letter some time ago and invited Turkmen citizens to sign it.The HRA (Human Rights Activists) agency, which reports on human rights in Iran, also published the list of signatories along with the letter on August 28.
According to the HRA, the open letter was delivered to President Hassan Rouhani through the members of parliament representing the Turkmen Sahra region.
The letter also requests the removal of obstacles preventing Turkmens from holding high government positions in the provinces of Golestan and Khorasan, where they reside.
Human rights defenders report that Turkmens belonging to the Sunni Hanafi sect in Iran face both religious and ethnic discrimination.
Turkmens live in many areas of Iran's Golestan, North Khorasan, and Razavi Khorasan provinces. These regions, located to the south of Turkmenistan, are referred to as Turkmen Sahra. Gonbad-e Kavus (Turkmen: Kümmet Gowuz) is the largest city in Iran with a majority Turkmen population.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
800 İran türkməni prezidentə müraciət edib