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| Ural Hatemi |
It has been 76 years since the fall of the Azerbaijan National Government, which was established in Tabriz in 1945. Sociologist Ural Hatemi discussed the historical significance of the short-lived national government in an interview with Voice of America. He also commented on the slogan "Freedom, Justice, National Government," which has recently been heard in the streets of various cities in Iranian Azerbaijan.
According to him, the truths about historical and political events are usually better understood years later, when documents related to those events emerge.
"Although political-historical events can be understood during their own time, detailed analyses have always been incomplete. In other words, to properly analyze a political event, years must pass. The main reason for this is that certain unspoken truths are revealed later, and documents emerge. With these documents, we can analyze the discourses, ideologies, and structures. Therefore, after so much time, when we look at the research available, we can better understand the National Government and the conditions of Iran at that time," the sociologist said.
The Azerbaijan National Government implemented major reforms concerning the rights of peasants, workers, and minorities in a short period of time. Women were granted the right to vote, and education in Turkish began in schools.
In his interview, Ural Hatemi explained the slogan "Freedom, Justice, National Government," stating that the experiences of the National Government period could help analyze today’s issues.
He said that every society must first compare itself to itself, meaning that we need to analyze the processes that brought society from the past to the present, starting from its historical memory. "In this sense, we must first look at the processes in Iran after the Constitutional Revolution, especially during the National Government period, and the movements in between, like the Xiyabani movement, and the processes related to modernization, democracy, the constitution, the parliament, different rights, and the press," he said.
According to the sociologist, the slogan "Freedom, Justice, National Government" is a slogan that emerged and was shaped after years of oppression and suffering. Its content has developed over time and is summarized in these three words. "This slogan clearly, openly, and transparently expresses Azerbaijan's desires. I believe this is a very comprehensive slogan."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Ural Hatəmi: İndiki vəziyyətimizin analizi üçün öz keçmişimizə, xüsusilə Azərbaycan Milli Höküməti dönəminə baxmalıyıq