Dear Landsmen,

It is with great honor that I can share with you that the first parliamentary resolution in Europe and America , specifically about South-Azerbaijan, has been laid in the Swedish parliament. The resolution which was initiated and drafted by the Azerbaijani Youth Association in Sweden , was laid on October 31 by Mr. Hans Linde, a member of the Swedish Parliament and the Left Party’s representative in the Swedish Foreign Affairs committee.

The resolution gives a historical background to the ruling chauvinistic system in Iran as well as explains the situation of the South-Azerbaijanis today. It brings up not only the cultural discrimination in the country but also the systematic economical and social oppression conducted against the Azerbaijanis. The banishment of the Azerbaijani language in the school system and media as well as in all other public contexts, the distortment of the Azerbaijani history, the economical negligence of Azerbaijani regions, the Persification of Azerbaijani geographical names and the reducing of land areas bearing the name Azerbaijan, are given as examples of the Persian chauvinism and the forced assimilation of the Azerbaijanis in Iran. The resolution also mentions the mass demonstrations in the Azerbaijani areas in northern Iran , which took place in the end of May earlier this year. Through the publishing of the degrading article and cartoons in the state owned newspaper “ Iran ”, which initiated the demonstrations, the Iranian state’s anti-Azerbaijani propaganda is clearly identified. It is stated in the resolution that this is a part of the strategy of diminishing the national self picture of the Azerbaijani nation in Iran and a way to instill shame over their origin. 

Concretely, the resolution proposes that the Swedish government within the UN, EU as well as other international bodies shall work so that:

1. the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to study and write their own history
2. the Azerbaijani language gets the status of an official minority language in Iran .
3. the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to freely use their language in both oral and written form and that the language is educated in the schools.
4. the right of the Azerbaijan people to build their own political and cultural organizations.
5. the right of the Azerbaijanis to preserve their culture and heritage.
6. the democratic, cultural and human rights of the Azerbaijanis are defended and secured.

The resolution will be treated within the Swedish Foreign Affairs committee, and will later be discussed in the Swedish parliament where Mr. Linde and his party will have to defend the above mentioned proposals. After voting, a final decision regarding the resolution will be taken.    

The laid resolution is an official document recorded in the Swedish Parliament’s archive. It will be circulated among the parliamentarians as well as among journalists and academics working with questions concerning human rights and Iran , meaning that a great number of influential people will have access to this material, something that will contribute to the further enlightenment of the South-Azerbaijani matter.

Despite its small geographical size, Sweden is a leading country in the international community when it comes to human rights issues. Thanks to Sweden ’s long tradition of defending victims of injustices and condemning repressive regimes it has gained great authority and respect among other countries. Thus, the fact that Sweden has chosen to engage in the case of South-Azerbaijan increases the attention around the question in the international community, especially within the European Union. The contents and the terms used in the resolution are also of great importance. For the first time the politically controversial terms “Persian chauvinism” and “South-Azerbaijan” as well as the numbers 30 million are used together in written form on the highest parliamentary level.

Organizations in the Diaspora have the possibility to fulfill their national duty in many ways. One way is through lobbying, a path that our organization has chosen. For several months we have been aiming for this resolution to be laid and have therefore worked hard and with focus for this to come through, among others things by a number of visits to the Swedish parliament and by establishing and nurturing contacts with members of the Parliament. During our work we have understood that if you believe you can achieve, something that concretely has been proven by this resolution. We believe that this resolution will help not only our organization, but all other Diaspora organizations, tremendously in their work to raise awareness about South-Azerbaijan. We also believe that thanks to the inspiration from our brave brothers and sisters inside, our Diaspora will continue to strengthen and continue to achieve great accomplishments in serving its nation.

Congratulations!

Respectfully

Nergiz Nedaei

The Azerbaijani Youth Association in Sweden

1. Proposal for parliamentary decision

1.      The parliament makes known for the government as its opinion that Sweden within the EU, UN and other international bodies shall work so that the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to study and write their own history

2.      The parliament makes known for the government as its opinion that Sweden within the EU, UN and other international bodies shall work so that the Azerbaijani language gets the status of an official minority language in Iran .

3.      The parliament makes known for the government as its opinion that Sweden within the EU, UN and other international bodies shall work so that the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to freely use their language in both oral and written form and that the language is educated in the schools.

4.      The parliament makes known for the government as its opinion that Sweden within the EU, UN and other international bodies shall work for the right of the Azerbaijan people to build their own political and cultural organizations.

5.      The parliament makes known for the government as its opinion that Sweden within the EU, UN and other international bodies shall work for the right of the Azerbaijanis to preserve their culture and heritage.

6.      The parliament makes known for the government as its opinion that Sweden within the EU, UN and other international bodies shall defend the democratic, cultural and human rights of the Azerbaijanis.

2. Background

Iran is a multicultural country with a population composed of several different ethnic groups, such as Azerbaijanis, Persians, Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, Balochis, Armenians, Assyrians and others. Despite this, Iran is often erroneously regarded as a Persian state.

According to official statistics from Iran the Azerbaijanis constitute 24 percent (circa 17 million) of the total population of the country, while UN estimates the Azeribaijanis quantity to approximately 30 million. These are mainly concentrated to the Azerbaijani provinces in northern Iran , but are also in great amounts scattered around remaining parts of the country, especially in the capital city Teheran.

The Azerbaijani provinces in Iran are also referred to as South-Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan was divided in 1828 through the Turkmenchay treaty, between what was then tsar Russia and what is today Iran. The border went with the Araz River. The land north of the river accrued to the Russians and the land south of the river remained a part of the territories of the Gajar dynasty (parts of today’s Iran). Hence the expressions North- and South-Azerbaijan, where North-Azerbaijan refers to the Republic of Azerbaijan which after the collapse of the Soviet Union established an independent state, while South-Azerbaijan refers to the Azerbaijani provinces in northern Iran.

The Azerbaijanis belong to some of the oldest ethnic groups in the area with a history going back several thousand years in time. Since circa a thousand years back, until 1925 (with some exceptions)., the “ Persian Empire ” was ruled by Azerbaijani dynasties The last Azerbaijani dynasty (the Gajar dynasty) fell the year of 1925 when Reza Shah Pahlavi ascended the throne. Pahlavi was an enthusiastic adherent of the idea of the superiority of the Persian people and introduced with his entrance to power the vision of a Persian Iran. He now applied the Persian chauvinism in reality and laid the foundation of the assimilation politics that still prevails in Iran .

As a result of Reza Shah Pahlavi´s vision of a cultural homogeneous Iran , the Azerbaijanis in the country have for over 80 years had to endure oppression and violation of inhuman kind. They have had to suffer an assimilation politics which has aimed to eliminate all traces of their ethnical and cultural identity. Their history has been rewritten and deformed. Their language has been forbidden. They have had to endure ethnical cleansing and been exposed to coerced transportations of their own land. Sweden shall work so that the Azerbaijanis have the right to study and write their own history. This is what we would like the parliament to make known for the government.

But despite almost a century of oppression, insults and restrictions of their most fundamental human rights, the Azerbaijani’s fight for their legitimate rights and democracy has never ended. In 1945 after massive national discontent towards the central governments systematical oppression they managed to establish a self-governing regime in the Azerbaijani part of Iran . Only one year later it was crushed by the Shah. Thereafter followed executions of tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis on open squares and streets with the purpose to deter and discourage the people. The shah also captured and executed the whole Azerbaijani intellectual elite- an enormous violation of the human- and cultural rights of the Azerbaijanis.

Despite great setbacks and enormous resistance from the Iranian state, the protest movements in South-Azerbaijan are growing. The movement got a huge upswing when the Republic of Azerbaijan (North-Azerbaijan) gained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet-Union. The differences between the divided people became clearer than ever. The Azerbaijanis in Iran could witness how the Azerbaijanis in the Republic of Azerbaijan gained cultural rights and self-governance.

3. Situation today

The Azerbaijanis in Iran are today constantly struggling for their cultural and ethnical survival. The use of the Azerbaijani-Turkish language is forbidden in schools, as well as in all other public contexts. Incorrect and distorted history is taught in the schools where the Azerbaijanis are denied their Turkish ethnicity. Newspapers, journals and other publications in Azerbaijani-Turkish are forbidden and not a single Azerbaijani TV-channel exists. Sweden shall work so that the Azerbaijani language gets the status of an official minority language in Iran. This is what we would like the parliament to make known for the government. Sweden should within the UN, EU and other international bodies work so that the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to use their language in oral and written form and that the Azerbaijani-Turkish language shall be allowed to be educated in the schools. This is what we would like the parliament to make known for the government.

Political organizations are prohibited and culturally and politically active Azerbaijanis are being imprisoned, abused, tortured, and “disappears” on a daily basis. Their crime is to fight for their most basic human rights. Azerbaijani names are not allowed and geographical names on lakes, cities etc are constantly changed into Persian names. The Azerbaijani provinces are incessantly being cut up in peaces. To a beginning they were united in one region from which more and more cities and counties have been excluded. This results in that the Azerbaijani provinces, as time go by, make out less and less land areas. Due to economical discrimination, a mass emigration of Azerbaijanis to Persian areas has taken place, and still takes place. The newly arrived Azerbaijanis in these areas are met with discrimination and humiliating treatment.

As is being clear from investigations and reports regarding the different ethnic groups´ situation in Iran , the Azerbaijanis are “well integrated” into the Iranian society. This can be understood as if the Azerbaijanis are less oppressed than other ethnic groups. In reality it is the contrary. They have been exposed to violent oppression which has forced them to assimilation. The reason for this is the large number of Azerbaijanis, and their strong position in the Iranian society. They are often urbanized, well educated and capital strong. Many of Iran’s intellectuals have been, and are of Azerbaijani origin. The last century’s four national revolutions have all been led by Azerbaijanis. They have often started in South-Azerbaijan. Much energy and force has therefore been laid upon crushing all forms of ethnic consciousness among this group, since the regime knows that it’s first when the Azerbaijanis´ becomes nationally conscious that the question of minorities can cause real problems for the regime.

The strategy has been to abuse the Azerbaijanis psychologically and to crush their national self picture, so that they won’t have anything left to defend. . They want to infuse shame among the Azerbaijanis over their origin.

Sweden shall work so that the Azerbaijanis have the right to build their own cultural and political organizations. This is what we would like the parliament to make known for the government.

The latest example is from May 12 this year when the state owned newspaper “ Iran ” published a very humiliating article and some caricatures, where the Azerbaijanis were resembled to cockroaches living on the excrements of Persians. In the article, which’s headline was “How to prevent the cockroaches from turning us into cockroaches”, different methods of how to eliminate the cockroaches, i.e. the Azerbaijanis, were discussed. Massive demonstrations in the biggest Azerbaijani cities such as Tabriz , Urumiye, Naghadeh, Khoy, Miandoab, Zanjan, Ardabil and Miyaneh broke out in protest to the cultural oppression and the racist politics in the country. The demonstrations in South-Azerbaijan which lasted over two weeks are the largest since the Islamic revolution in 1979. The regime answered to the demonstrations with brutal violence, which resulted in dozens of dead, hundreds of injured, and thousands of arrested.

After for over 80 years been victims of a massive Persification campaign, parts of the Azerbaijani community in Iran are on the surface assimilated, whilst every Azerbaijani is a bearer of the Azerbaijani cultural heritage. The Azerbaijanis like all other peoples have the right to their own culture and cultural heritage. Sweden shall work for the Azerbaijanis right to their own culture and cultural heritage. This is what we would like the parliament to make known for the government.

Today there is a frightening silence around, and unawareness about, the oppression that the Azerbaijanis in Iran are living under. This is much a cause of the fact that the international community has not taken its universal responsibility and given the Azerbaijanis in Iran the attention and the political support which they are in need of. However the question is raising more and more attention among different human rights defending organizations, which are frequently reporting about the violations of the human rights of the Azerbaijanis in Iran .

The fact that the Azerbaijanis human rights are not respected in Iran is not acceptable. Their cultural rights must be respected in entire Iran. Sweden and the Swedish government have a responsibility and have to take part in the defense of the human rights of the Azerbaijanis. Sweden should play an active role within the UN, EU and other international bodies to break the silence around the oppression of the Azerbaijanis in Iran . Sweden should work so that the Azerbaijani question is brought up on the international agenda. Sweden should also in its bilateral contacts with Iran take every opportunity to promote the democratic, cultural and human rights of the Azerbaijanis. This is what we would like the parliament to make known for the government.