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THE
STATEMENT OF
THE
ASSOCIATION OF (SOUTHERN) AZERBAIJANI ACADEMICS (AzBilTop)
IN
THE FORM OF
THE
STRATEGY FOR CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE –
NOT
ATTENDING CLASSROOMS ON THE COMMENCEMENT DAY OF THE NEW ACADEMIC YEARS
Whilst
we are fast approaching the commencement of schools, universities and
teaching institutions, regrettably we are once again witnessing the
longstanding wishes of non-Persian nations and the ethnic groups, the wish
to educate in our mother tongue.
Our
children, teenagers, and youth and by the same token all non-Persian
nations and ethic groups will enter the new academic year out of all
innocence to acquire science, knowledge, and free themselves from
ignorance. In spite of ascending to high scientific levels, they are in
ignorance of their mother tongue, identity and history, in other words
they are a victim of ignoring own nationhood and ethnic endeavours, a
victim of cultural apartheid, and intoxicated by chauvinist mindset and
policies.
Southern
Azerbaijani and all Turkic children together with all their fellows are
preparing under such a condition that all the promises for education in
mother tongue and the provision for appropriate facilities by the
authorities and by members of parliament have turned out to be empty
promises. The authorities must stop implicating the problem of education
in mother tongue with such infantile excuses of pan-Turkism, pan-Arabism,
undermining national security, where in the latter case they fail to
specify that the undermined security concerns a peculiar ethnic group. The
authorities must come to terms with their policies clearly violating
universal resolutions and conventions related to the solution for this
problem of education in mother tongue, in particular those related to
human rights and language rights. Even the implementation of appropriate
provisions within the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran has
been neglected.
We
appeal to knowledgeable and conscientious souls and ask that what can we
do in these situations? Should we not raise our voice of protest?
Under
the situation that we are in, we have considered all the directions of
actions and in particular the sensitivity to the conditions within the
country and the whole regions of
Southern Azerbaijan
. We are arrived to the
conclusion that it is necessary to carry on our struggle in the form of
civil disobedience. Thus, refusing to attend the classrooms on the first
day of the new academic year is the most convenient and peaceful approach.
Let us hope that this method of struggle by the children of the nations
and ethnic groups including intellectuals and conscientious souls as well
as those fair-minded individuals holding power will lead to the change of
heart and mind of the authorities and change of policies to provide all
the appropriate means for education in our mother tongue
We
hope that the authorities and the members of parliament of
Southern Azerbaijan
will take the necessary steps
towards the realisation of their promises in reinstating the official
status of the Azerbaijani Turkic language and founding the appropriate
institutions towards the full realisation of the potentials of Azerbaijani
Turkic. We hope that they will undertake their duties towards the nation
of
Azerbaijan
.
The
Association of Southern Azerbaijani Academics appeals to all the strata of
the nation of
Azerbaijan
, in particular to students,
teachers and our own members to rally behind us and all in one voice. Our
appeal is not to attend to schools on the commencement day of the new
academic year as a protest to the cultural atmosphere within the country
ruled by chauvinistic policies and as a protest for safeguarding our
language and culture. Thus, whilst we are respecting the diversity of
opinions and creeds, we declare that having considered the conditions in
the country and the whole region of
Southern Azerbaijan
, particularly the post-mortem
of the mass protests of the May 2006, it is inappropriate to resort to
street protests and gatherings. Seemingly, such initiatives can expose our
innocent and tormented nations to further vulnerable situation.
The
Association for Southern Azerbaijani Academics (AzBilTop)
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