Əlirza Quluncu (Alirza Quluncu) - October 29, 2024
In an interview with Voice of America, sociologist and political activist Vahid Qarabagli discussed the term "Pan-Turkism," frequently mentioned in Iran's political sphere recently. Qarabagli emphasized that the term is a label used to silence activists fighting for cultural rights and against discrimination in Iranian Azerbaijan.
Recently, anti-Turkish rhetoric has become more frequent in Iranian media and political discourse compared to previous years. For example, in recent weeks, the act of saying “welcome” in Turkish on ATA Airlines' Tabriz flights was condemned as Pan-Turkism propaganda. Additionally, some individuals appointed or expected to be appointed to state positions have been accused of being Pan-Turkists in the Iranian press.
"I think the recent increase in the use of the Pan-Turkism label in Iranian media, social media, news sites, and among Iranian journalists is actually related to Pezeshkian's potential election as president. Before his election, Pezeshkian was accused of Pan-Turkism due to his past activities and statements. Now, with his presidency, there is a feeling of threat, and branding people as Pan-Turkists is a reaction against Pezeshkian," Qarabagli said.
Qarabagli underlines that the Pan-Turkist label is brought up to silence people.
"They don’t even provide a definition of what Pan-Turkism is in Iran. They present Pan-Turkism as if it’s extreme nationalism. The centralist forces that support the dominant monolingual hegemony in Iran use this to stigmatize and label activists who are working for socio-cultural and civil rights and questioning discrimination in Azerbaijan, to delegitimize and criminalize their activities. They think that by frequently using this accusation, they can silence people," he stated.
Referring to examples from previous years where accusations of Pan-Turkism were raised, the political activist highlighted that those advocating for the Turkish language, publishing Turkish-language calendars, publishing Turkish books, or organizing Turkish book fairs have been branded as Pan-Turkists in courts.
"The most recent example is the accusation against ATA Airlines in Tabriz for saying 'welcome' in Turkish, labeling the company as Pan-Turkist. This rhetoric is a mechanism to suppress and subdue Turkish identity. There are other anti-Turkish narratives as well, like racist jokes that dehumanize and degrade Turks. Pan-Turkism is another form of this. The target is to stigmatize and delegitimize those who speak about the Turkish language, Turkish interests, and the discrimination faced in Azerbaijan in Iran. They use it in the courts to imprison people under this label. It’s also used in the media to silence someone aspiring to a position or discredit a journalist writing an article."
According to Qarabagli, although accusations like Pan-Turkism are brought up to silence people, they actually “lead to an increase in responses against racist rhetoric.”
"There is a discourse in Iran that says to Turks, 'You are not Turks; you are Azeris, and only your language has been Turkified.' When there is an objection to this—saying that our language is Turkish and we are also Turks—these people are labeled as Pan-Turkists. But people naturally resist this because there is an underlying racist narrative here. I don't think these racist discourses will succeed. As long as there is oppression, there will also be resistance. For instance, we see that filmmakers continue making Turkish-language films despite the pressures. In Azerbaijan, they are fighting to defend Turkish identity, the Turkish language, and the rights of Turks," he added.
