Cultural activists and social media users in Iranian Azerbaijan condemn the ongoing alteration of historical Turkish place names and the continuation of the "Persianization policy."
Recently, the name of a village called "Köynək" in Zanjan province was changed to the Persian name "Kuyi-nik" (meaning "good street"), which has been widely discussed on social media and websites that focus on information related to Iranian Azerbaijan.
The name of Köynək village, located in Abhar city of Zanjan province, was previously changed to Kuhgin (Kuhcin). However, the name was changed again by the Cabinet of Ministers. This time, a Persian name, "Kuyi-nik," which vaguely resembles the original Turkish name, was given. A sign with this name has been placed at the entrance of the village.
According to the website of South Azerbaijan Television (Günaz TV), "The widespread process of distorting and changing Turkish names began during the Pahlavi era in Iran with the aim of denying the history and identity of the Turks, and it continues today. However, in recent years, with the rise of national consciousness in South Azerbaijan, there has been an increase in protests and opposition to the changing of Turkish names."
In 2014, the former deputy governor of West Azerbaijan province, Hadi Bahadiri, stated that "about 2,000 historical Turkish names were changed during the Pahlavi era and after."
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran höküməti türk yer adlarını farsa dəyişdirməyə davam edir