Yunes Shameli: Iranian Opposition Alliances Must Be Based on Clear Political Alternatives

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, January 29, 2023

Yunes Shameli, Political commentator

Political commentator Yunes Shameli discussed recent rivalries and maneuvers among Iranian opposition forces to gain political hegemony in an interview with Voice of America.

Yunes Shameli believes that the campaign launched by supporters of Reza Pahlavi to portray him as the representative of the Iranian people in the international community may lead to a closer relationship between the democratic forces in the opposition.

Yunes Shameli: "Turkish Language Activists in Iran Must at Least Learn to Read and Write in This Language Themselves"

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, July 1, 2022

Yunus Shamili

Political activist Yunes Shameli has commented on the status of the Turkish language in Iranian Azerbaijan and efforts to preserve and promote it. He states, “The Turkish language continues to survive in Iran, but the level of national language consciousness among Turks is very low.”

Yunes Shameli: Khamenei Says, "Keep Turkish in Homes, Don’t Bring It to Schools"

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, October 14, 2017

Yunes Shameli, Political Commentator

Political commentator Yunes Shameli assessed the recent statements by Iran's Supreme Leader regarding the Turkish language in an interview with Voice of America. Last week, a video surfaced on social media in which Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei asks a 5-year-old child whether they are "Turkish or Persian." The Supreme Leader of Iran then advises the child's mother to teach them Turkish at home.

Yunes Shameli: The Activities of Southern Azerbaijani Organizations Are Not Based on Collective Thinking

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, August 22, 2017

Yunes Shameli

“To develop and expand, the activities of organizations should be attractive, not defensive,” said Yunus Shameli, criticizing the literature used by organizations belonging to the national movement in Iranian Azerbaijan. Speaking to Voice of America, the political analyst emphasized that organizations should operate based on collective thinking to present an attractive image.

Yunes Shameli: The Government Is Trying to Create an Alternative to the Turkish National-Democratic Movement

Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, March 16, 2017

Yunes Shameli

According to Yunus Shameli, the Islamic Republic is applying heavy pressure on Turkish activists in Azerbaijan while also attempting to create an alternative movement to the Turkish people’s national-democratic movement. In an interview with Voice of America, the writer and political activist stated that the recent heavy prison sentences handed to Turkish activists are decisions made by political centers.

Salmas Statue Controversy and the Role of City Councils in Azerbaijan’s Political Struggle

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, March 20, 2015

Yunes Shameli

The removal of the statue of poet Ferdowsi in the city of Salmas, located in the West Azerbaijan province, and the subsequent coordinated actions of Iranian state authorities and nationalist groups against the Salmas City Council has drawn the attention of political experts. In an interview with Voice of America, Southern Azerbaijani political activist Yunus Shameli stated that such incidents and conflicts between center-oriented political movements and groups working for the interests of Azerbaijan will continue in Iran.

Yunes Shameli: Reformist and Revolutionary Actions Complement Each Other

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, August 21, 2014

Yunes Shameli

Yunes Shameli considers moderate and compromise-based approaches in democratic struggles, as well as revolutionary strategies, as complementary to each other, depending on political conditions.

In an interview with Voice of America, the Southern Azerbaijani writer and political analyst discussed the late Professor Javad Heyat’s achievements in preserving the Turkish language and culture in South Azerbaijan and Iran, as well as efforts to restore Turkish names to neighborhoods in Urmia. He also analyzed the Kurdish political movement’s recent successes in Turkey.

Yunes Shameli: Azerbaijanis Have Two Main Demands – Education in Their Mother Tongue and Saving Lake Urmia

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, June 21, 2014

Charges have been brought against participants of protests held in Tabriz and Urmia in June against the drying up of Lake Urmia. Southern Azerbaijani activists claim that the Iranian government has not done enough to address the ecological crisis in the lake. Reports indicate that some activists have been released on bail.

In an interview with Voice of America, Sweden-based Southern Azerbaijani activist Yunes Shameli commented on the protests held in various cities of Iranian Azerbaijan in response to the situation of Lake Urmia.

Yunes Shameli: Rouhani’s Government Continues Iran’s Policy of Ethnic Discrimination

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, August 29, 2013

Yunes Shameli

Yunes Shameli does not believe that Hassan Rouhani will take serious steps toward improving the rights of Azerbaijani Turks and other ethnic groups. In an interview with Voice of America, the Southern Azerbaijani journalist and political activist evaluated Iran’s new cabinet, as well as the expectations of women, ethnic groups, and religious minorities from the government formed by Hassan Rouhani, and whether their rights were considered in the selection of ministers.

Why Do Some Non-Persian Elites Serve Pan-Iranism? – Questions and Answers

Yunes Shameli - July 18, 2013

yunes.shameli@gmail.com

In continuation of discussions on the remarks of Seyed Javad Tabatabai (in Mehrnameh) about belittling and insulting the Turkish people in Iran, their history and literature, another thought and question arise from a different perspective, which I will briefly address.

Question: I don’t know why no Kurdish, Persian, or Arab speaker ever becomes a Pan-Turkist, or why Turks don’t become Pan-Kurdists or Pan-Baluchis, but you can find so many Pan-Persians! In the past, we had Kasravi, Arani, Taghi Zadeh, and more recently, Dariush Forouhar, Seyed Javad Tabatabai, Mohammad Arsi, and Kazem Movaqqar (who is an Arab Pan-Persianist)! This is truly a strange phenomenon of Pan-Persianism!

The Question of Mother-Language Education in Multilingual Iran

Younes Shameli - September, 2006

The following text is based on a speech delivered by Younes Shameli at a seminar in Stockholm marking the first day of Mehr (September 23), the opening day of schools in Iran.

The first day of Mehr—the day schools open—is approaching. Unfortunately, Iran’s educational system remains outdated, unrealistic, and harmful. It was founded upon an extreme form of Persian nationalism and continues to operate on that basis today.

This is despite the fact that at least 60 percent of children in Iran do not begin school in their mother language. Indeed, the disregard for these children’s mother languages continues throughout their lives.

The reality is that non-Persian children, who constitute the majority, experience distress from their first day of school because they cannot understand the language of instruction. When children begin learning in an unfamiliar language, they may become embarrassed even to express what they already know because they do not know that language. This sense of embarrassment may become an enduring personal characteristic that remains with them into old age.