Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 24, 2023
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| Teoman Aktan |
Political scientist and activist Teoman Aktan, in an interview with Voice of America, discussed the causes and impacts of mass political and social movements emerging in different regions of Iran.
Referring to the official state policies during both the Pahlavi and Islamic Republic eras, the political analyst says, “There has been a century-long denial, a century-long repression. As a result of this denial and repression, violence has emerged in both the social and political spheres. There has been impoverishment. There are policies of discrimination in every field. There is racism. And all of these have led to society being condemned to a deep silence over time.”
He emphasizes that large-scale social protests, such as the May 2006 Uprising in Iranian Azerbaijan, paved the way for breaking this silence:
"Social movements like the one that emerged in 2006 break apart these periods of silence and create the conditions for the oppressed segments of society to reappear as political actors."
On May 12, 2006, a cartoon published in Iran, an official Iranian government newspaper, sparked protests. The cartoon depicted a child asking a cockroach questions in Persian, while the cockroach responded in Turkish. The accompanying text discussed ways to eliminate cockroaches. The mass protests that lasted for days, especially in cities like Sulduz, Tabriz, Urmia, and Khiyav, were violently suppressed by police and military forces.
Teoman Aktan believes that such social movements create opportunities to challenge the political and ideological identities and concepts established by the government.
According to him, “In Iran, only those who fit a specific profile in terms of language, religion, culture, class, and gender can enter the political sphere and have the right to engage in political activities. However, those who fall outside this official narrative or resist adopting it have always faced significant barriers to political and cultural participation.”
Aktan highlights that the country has turned into a prison for those who do not embrace the official ideology.
"Iran’s official state ideology confines minorities and even groups that are not minorities but have been marginalized, trapping them within a prison. The country itself becomes a prison for all groups that do not adopt the official ideology. Social movements pave the way for the repoliticization of this space, as well as for redefining politics, democracy, the state, ideology, and everything that is official and unofficial. That is why these movements are extremely important for us," he states.
Since 2006, political organizations affiliated with the Azerbaijani National Movement and Turkish activists have held events commemorating the anniversary of the May Uprising. However, following the massive protests that erupted in Iran last September and lasted for months, groups within the national movement have begun to pay even more attention to the May Uprising and its message.
According to Teoman Aktan, “It is important to recognize that every movement has its own history. These social movements do not emerge suddenly. They have a past and a background. When discussing these movements, different groups attempt to impose their own narratives, and in doing so, they either weaken the opposing side or try to position it in a marginalized stance. Therefore, Turkish activists have come to the conclusion that they must also put forward their own narrative regarding these social movements.”
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Teoman Aktan: May qiyamı kimi ictimai hərəkatlar İranda toplumun məhkum olduğu səssizliyin pozulmasına imkan yaradır