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| Bulut Alemdar |
Bulut Alemdar says that the people of Iranian Azerbaijan now trust national activists over government institutions when it comes to social and economic issues. The political activist, who lives in Istanbul, analyzed the recent pressure and restrictions placed on Turkish activists and publishers in an interview with Voice of America.
“Until today, Turks in Iran and South Azerbaijan were mostly focused on political and cultural rights. However, in recent times, they have also started to address economic issues, environmental issues, and other problems in these regions. As a result, little by little, the people have begun to trust our national forces on these matters, rather than the government. This represents an alternative power,” he says.
Alemdar believes that Tehran is trying to silence the prominent leaders of these forces, which have become an alternative power in Iranian Azerbaijan, to neutralize them.
“For this reason, they attempted to stifle the leaders of this movement, particularly those inside South Azerbaijan. They adopted a policy of intimidation, scaring them, and trying to push them away from the region,” the political activist states.
Alemdar also comments on the arrests of activists who attended the 11th anniversary ceremony of the mysterious death of Qulamreza Amini, and the pressure on Abbas Lisani and his lawyer, whose prison sentences were increased from 8 to 15 years in the Appeal Court.
“Mr. Abbas Lisani speaks courageously inside, without any conservatism, clearly presenting what he wants and the rights that belong to us. Because of this, they applied pressure to his family, and to his circle. But they couldn’t silence him. They are trying to stop Mr. Abbas by giving him a long prison sentence and exile. When we say Mr. Abbas, he is one of the most important individuals at the forefront of the movement,” he says.
Alemdar also shared his thoughts with Voice of America about the restrictions imposed on Turkish publishers in Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran, particularly regarding Turkish-language books.
Recently, Turkish publishers operating in cities like Tabriz, Urmia, Binab, and Tehran were not allowed to participate in the 17th Tabriz International Book Fair. After protests, the Department of Guidance and Culture of East Azerbaijan province allowed the publishers to set up a pavilion at the fair.
According to Bulut Alemdar, “The Iranian government has been applying pressure for years on institutions and individuals who are trying to print and distribute books in Turkish. Our publishers were not exempt from this. They have imposed bans on Turkish publishers and writers, pressuring them, detaining them, and arresting them. They were publishing normal books in Turkish, not political books, but stories, poems, and other works.”
Despite all this, Alemdar believes that the Iranian government will not be able to completely ban the publication of Turkish books.
“They cannot stop it 100%. If they do, the rebellion will intensify even more. That’s why some of the books of publishers are being thoroughly investigated, searched, and scrutinized by security forces. They change words, sentences, and even punctuation where they find it necessary. Nevertheless, despite all the pressure and oppression, they still didn’t want to accept these publishers at the Tabriz Book Fair. The reason for this is that the government doesn’t want books in our mother tongue to be displayed. They know that if displayed, the people will flock to that pavilion, to that section. They will see each other, support their own publishers, and these forces will become stronger,” Bulut Alemdar adds.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Bulut Ələmdar: Güneydə əhali artıq İran dövlətinə deyil, milli fəallara güvənir