By Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 13, 2023
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| Musa Ashofte |
Some social activists and local politicians in Iranian Azerbaijan have expressed concerns over changes being made to the region's administrative divisions.
In an interview with Voice of America, Turkish activist and researcher Musa Ashofte, who lives in West Azerbaijan Province, stated that over the past century, governments in Iran have "divided Azerbaijan into separate provinces to prevent Turks from presenting themselves as a unified political and geographical entity."
During both the Pahlavi era and the Islamic Republic period, many cities in Iranian Azerbaijan—such as Qazvin, Hamadan, Zanjan, and Ardabil, along with their surrounding regions—were granted the status of ostan (province). Once these areas became provinces, the name "Azerbaijan" was removed from them.
"When we talk about Azerbaijan in Iran, we can refer to two Azerbaijans: one is historical Azerbaijan, dating back 100 years, and the other is today’s legal and official Azerbaijan. Due to the policies and planned administrative changes over the last century, in what was once the large and historic Azerbaijan, only two provinces now carry the name Azerbaijan: West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan. Over the past few decades, it’s become evident that there’s a plan to implement these changes in West Azerbaijan as well," Musa Ashofte explained.
The researcher believes that within the framework of the Iranian state, there is an effort to prevent "Turks from presenting themselves as a unified political and geographical identity."
He noted, "Since the establishment of the modern Iranian nation-state in the past century, the Iranian government has sought to prevent Turks from presenting themselves as a unified political, geographical, and administrative identity. In the Azerbaijani region—and even in a larger region inhabited by Turks beyond Azerbaijan—they have employed various methods to divide them. As a result, six or seven provinces and many cities have been separated from Azerbaijan. Some of these have been annexed to neighboring provinces with different identities."
Ashofte pointed out that in previous years, projects to create a new province in West Azerbaijan were proposed but were eventually withdrawn due to public backlash.
"For years, we have witnessed the state’s intention, particularly in West Azerbaijan Province. The state wants to carve out a part of West Azerbaijan, turn it into a separate province, and detach it from Turkish and Azerbaijani identity. The Turkish public in Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, Zanjan—everywhere—has responded with strong reactions and protests. They have always opposed this plan. Even some members of parliament have felt compelled to break their silence. As a result, the state has occasionally retreated from this plan but has later revisited it with different justifications in different phases," Musa Ashofte concluded.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Musa Aşüftə: İranda dövlət türklərin müştərək siyasi və coğrafi kimliyə sahib olmasını istəmir