Ural Hatemi: Resistance to Labels Like "Pan-Turkist" in Iran Can Be Achieved Through Awareness

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, November 18, 2024

Ural Hatemi

Recently, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's meeting with several political activists in Tabriz has sparked serious debates in Iran’s political environment. Some Iranian politicians, journalists, and academics have claimed that the president met with "pan-Turkists and separatists" and called on him not to meet with "individuals of unknown affiliations."

Sociologist and political activist Ural Hatemi, speaking to Voice of America, says that labels such as "pan-Turkist" and "separatist" are products of "confrontation and friction" in Iran's political discourses. He also emphasizes that these labels can carry "legal and penal consequences."

Ural Hatemi: Turkish Remains a Living Language in Iran Despite Years of Censorship and Obstruction

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, August 30, 2024

Ural Hatemi

Recently, some documents showing examples of censorship applied to Turkish books in Iran have been shared on social media. Among them, the director of the "Yaz" publishing house in Urmia, Behram Asadi, published a detailed open letter to protest the Iranian Ministry of Culture's policies concerning the Turkish language.

Sociologist and owner of the Qobustan publishing house in Turkey, Ural Hatemi, told Voice of America that "the corrections (requests for modifications) sent by the Ministry of Culture to publishers show that there is serious activity against Turkish in the censorship policies."

Ural Hatemi: Pezeshkian Represents the Restoration of the Islamic Republic

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 23, 2024

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist and political activist Ural Hatemi, in an interview with Voice of America, views the approval of the candidacy of the reformist MP from Tabriz, Masoud Pezeshkian, by Iran’s Guardian Council as a step towards the efforts to restore a significantly weakened Islamic Republic.

Ural Hatemi: The Iranian Central Government Wants to Empty the Intellectual Foundations of Political Movements

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, March 17, 2024

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist and political activist Ural Hatemi stated in an interview with Voice of America that political movements fighting against states like the Islamic Republic of Iran must engage in necessary activities and discussions to strengthen their intellectual foundations before revolutionary periods that stir society’s excitement.

Ural Hatemi on the Crackdown Against Turkish Activists in Iranian Azerbaijan

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, January 8, 2024

Ural Hatemi

The pressure against prominent political activists in Iranian Azerbaijan has continued since September. In recent months, many activists have been interrogated in intelligence service detention facilities for long periods. For many activists previously prosecuted, sentences have been issued.

Sociologist and political activist Ural Hatemi commented on the increasing pressure on Turkish activists and the goals the Iranian government is pursuing with these arrests in an interview with Voice of America.

Ural Hatemi: Iranian Governments Have Prevented the Development of Turkish as a Cultural and Social Asset for the Past Century

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, November 7, 2023

Ural Hatemi

A recent video circulating on social media, showing an individual presumed to be a speech therapist teaching a child to pronounce the letter "Q" in the standard Persian accent prevalent in Iran, has sparked widespread reactions in Iranian Azerbaijan.

In an interview with Voice of America, sociologist Ural Hatemi emphasized that these images illustrate the extent of assimilation policies in Iran.

Ural Hatemi: The Drying Up of Lake Urmia Is a Crisis for the World, Not Just Iran

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, August 01, 2023

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist Ural Hatemi, in an interview with Voice of America, discussed the ecological disaster occurring at Lake Urmia, its public and economic impacts on Iranian Azerbaijan, the Iranian government's policies regarding Lake Urmia, and the reactions of various groups in the region to the ongoing tragedy.

He says that the drying up of Lake Urmia is not just a local issue.

Ural Hatemi: The Ideology of the May 2006 Uprising Can Be Seen in Slogans Like 'Hey Hey, I Am a Turk'

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 15, 2023

Ural Hatemi

In an interview with Voice of America, sociologist Ural Hatemi discussed the essence and impact of the May 2006 uprising in Iranian Azerbaijan. Hatemi noted that the uprising marked a break between Azerbaijan’s socio-political trajectory and the central authority in Tehran.

Hatemi emphasized that the May 2006 uprising was not merely a reaction to cartoons published in a state-run newspaper. He highlighted slogans such as “Hey Hey, I am a Turk” and “Education in the Turkish Language” as reflections of the underlying ideology behind the uprising.

Ural Hatemi: "Non-Persians' Right to Self-Determination Counteracts the Condition of Iran's Territorial Integrity"

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 24, 2023

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist Ural Hatemi, in an interview with Voice of America, evaluated the calls for unity from some opposition groups abroad in Iran. Hatemi says that the terms and essence of this unity are determined by those who hold media power.

Ural Hatemi: "To Analyze Our Current Situation, We Must Look at Our Past, Especially the Period of the Azerbaijan National Government"

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, December 11, 2022

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.

Ural Hatemi: The Iranian Regime Sees A Woman's Hair As A Threat To Its Existence

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, September 29, 2022

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist and political activist Ural Hatemi, in an interview with Voice of America, points out that the number of forces loyal to the Islamic Republic of Iran is gradually decreasing.

Ural Hatemi: "The National Movement in Iranian Azerbaijan Focuses on Workers' Conditions, But This is Not Enough"

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, July 1, 2022

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist Ural Hatemi discussed the increasingly radical economic protests in Iranian Azerbaijan in an interview with Voice of America. According to Hatemi, the large-scale economic protests organized in Tabriz, independent of the National Movement, are a subject that requires analysis.

Ural Hatemi: Protests in Tabriz show that a new social movement is emerging in Iran

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, August 6, 2021

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist Ural Hatemi told Voice of America that the July 24 protest in Tabriz against water scarcity and in support of the Arab community marked the beginning of a new era in Iran's history of social movements.

Ural Hatemi: Elections in Iran are Directed by Khamenei and His Affiliated Institutions

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 12, 2021

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist Ural Hatemi spoke with Voice of America, analyzing the political and economic situation in Iran ahead of the June presidential elections, as well as the Iranian public's attitude toward the elections.

Ural Hatemi emphasizes that, compared to previous years, the Iranian population is now indifferent and hopeless ahead of the elections.

There Are Different Views on Turkey-Iran Relations in Iranian Azerbaijan

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, March 04, 2021

Ural Hatemi

Analyst Ural Hatemi spoke with Voice of America, discussing the historical direction and current situation of Turkey-Iran relations, as well as the expectations of the forces involved in the national movement in Iranian Azerbaijan regarding Turkey.

Ural Hatemi: Turkey and Azerbaijan's Cooperation Sparks Hope in Iranian Azerbaijan

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, December 14, 2020

Ural Hatemi

Sociologist Ural Hatemi, in an interview with Voice of America, discussed the recent Nagorno-Karabakh war, as well as the close cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey against the backdrop of the conflict, evaluating its echoes and long-term effects in Iranian Azerbaijan.

Ural Hatemi: The Iranian Government Fears the Solidarity Sparked by the Karabakh Issue

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, October 9, 2020

Ural Hatemi

Since September 29, in addition to the protests held in Iranian Azerbaijan and other Turkish-speaking regions, thousands of artists, lawyers, students, writers, and public figures have signed statements supporting Karabakh.

Ural Hatemi: The Long-Term Sociological Impact of the Pandemic

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 08, 2020

Ural Hatemi

“It is observed that when the virus affects different societies, different behaviors emerge,” says sociologist Ural Hatemi in an interview with Voice of America, discussing the various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on societies. The sociologist does not rule out the possibility of serious and lasting changes in communities.

Ural Hatemi: There is a New Wave of Turkish Cinema in Iran

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 17, 2020

Ural Hatemi

Ural Hatemi, the editor-in-chief of the "Maduniyyet" magazine published in Ankara, and sociologist, states, "The current interest in Turkish-language films in Iran has a history. This did not happen overnight or within a year or two. It started many years ago and has now reached its current success."

Ural Hatemi: The Iranian Regime is Now Reaping the Seeds of 40 Years of Oppression

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, November 22, 2019

Ural Hatemi

Ural Hatemi considers the current popular uprising in Iran as a continuation of the movement that began in the last days of 2017, initiated by the lower classes. In an interview with Voice of America, the sociologist states that the rebellion that began in December 2017 with protests from the poor classes marked the start of a new era in Iranian politics.