Dilshad Aliyarli, Voice of America, February 20, 2021
February 21 marks International Mother Language Day. As in previous years, various cultural events are held in cities across Iranian Azerbaijan to commemorate the day, including distributing books to children. On this occasion, national and cultural activists also voice their demands for ensuring the right to education in their mother tongue for Azerbaijanis in Iran.In an interview with Voice of America, Javad Abbasi, a national activist living in the United States, stated that the Iranian authorities have so far shown no political will to guarantee Azerbaijanis the right to education in their native language. He emphasized that national activists continue their efforts to secure this right. According to Abbasi, developments such as the establishment of a department for Azerbaijani Turkish at Tabriz University have been made possible through the efforts of these activists.
