Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 8, 2022
Iranian officials and state media have responded harshly to the #Manofarsi (Me and Persian) campaign launched by social media users from non-Persian communities regarding language discrimination.
On February 7, during a press conference in Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh described the campaign as “a war against the identity of the Iranian people and the Persian language.” He referred to those participating in the campaign as “khannas” (devils).
In a report released by the state news agency IRNA on the matter, the campaign was claimed to be a “British and Saudi conspiracy.” IRNA made this claim based on the fact that the campaign news had been published in BBC Persian and Persian-language media funded by Saudi Arabia.The "Me and Persian" campaign, initiated by Turkish language rights activists about a week ago, quickly gained the support of thousands of social media users from various non-Persian communities. For over a week, thousands of users from Iran’s Turkish, Arab, Kurdish, Turkmen, Baloch, Gilak, Lur, and other ethnic communities have shared their experiences of discrimination they have faced at different stages of their lives using the #Manofarsi hashtag.
Some nationalist Iranians have started a counter-campaign with the hashtag "Farscanın qəndi" (Persian’s Candy) against this campaign.
Within Iran, some politicians, Persian literature specialists, and state institutions have expressed their reactions to the campaign, which have been published in official and semi-official news agencies.
Newspapers published in Tehran, such as Sazandegi, Jami-Jam (the publication of Iran's Radio and Television Organization), and Javan, have brought the "Me and Persian" campaign to the forefront on their front pages. The headlines in these newspapers suggest that the campaign is “a conspiracy against the Persian language.”
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İran rəsmiləri sosial mediada #Manofarsi kampaniyasına sərt reaksiya göstərir