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| Mehsa Mehdili |
In an interview with Voice of America, Mehsa Mehdili states that the "Southern Azerbaijan National Movement" will strengthen if it engages in dialogue with Iran's centrist groups. The national activist says, "We should not just sit and wait for centrist groups to come and talk to us. We must be proactive. Above all, we must present ourselves to the Turks in important positions within those centrist organizations."
"There are many Turks within the centrist opposition. In fact, many of the leading figures in various groups are Turks. They are one of us. They are Azerbaijanis. Unfortunately, as the Southern Azerbaijan National Movement, we have not been able to present ourselves to those Turks, let alone to centrist non-Turkish activists," says Mehdili.
She explains that while some of the reasons for this situation are dependent on Iran's political environment and centrist groups, other reasons are related to the national movement's own forces:
"Some of the reasons depend on Iran's political culture, the lack of a culture of dialogue. Some of it is also due to centrist groups always seeing problems from their own perspective. But part of the reason is also on us, as we have not emphasized the necessity and importance of dialogue. This is a serious weakness."
Mehsa Mehdili adds, "We cannot stay in an isolated circle. Whether today or tomorrow, we must engage in dialogue with both the central government and opposition groups. Otherwise, we will be left out. Regardless of which system we believe in or what form of governance we want, we must have connections with other groups in Iran. This will demonstrate our strength."
In her opinion, the forces of the national movement should not wait for centrist groups to come to them but should proactively create the conditions for dialogue.
"Our mentality has been that we have always expected from them. We hoped that centrist media would bring us into the agenda, that they would take the first step. If we have a message or an idea, we must have the confidence to present it to different groups. This must start with us. We should not be waiting for them. The fact that they do not see us is true. But our problem is not their problem. We must make them understand that if you want to solve the problems in Iran, you need to see us."
She mentions that among the forces of the national movement, there are those who view dialogue with centrist groups as a sign of weakness and attack those who act in this direction.
"Our proactivity will show that we have developed our abilities. It will not be a sign of weakness... We must start by establishing contact with the Turks in centrist groups," Mehsa Mehdili adds.
She mentions that some individual and collective activities in this direction have already been carried out.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Məhsa Mehdili: Özümüzü mərkəzçi qruplardakı türklərə anlatmalıyıq