EurasiaNet Recaps - Azerbaijanis in Iran Seek Better Protection for Civi Rights

RECAPS

AZERBAIJANIS IN IRAN SEEK BETTER PROTECTION FOR CIVI RIGHTS

2/20/02
Q&A with Mahmudali Cohraqani, leader of the Azerbaijani United Islamic Front

Print this article Email this article

Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliyev’s long-awaited visit to Iran, which was supposed to take place February 18-20, has been postponed indefinitely, due in part to his uncertain health. Aliyev has yet to return to Azerbaijan from the United States, where he is being treated for an undisclosed illness. Presidential aides say it is too soon to determine when the Iran visit will be rescheduled. In a telephone interview with ANS television on February 19, Aliyev sought to allay concerns that his prolonged absence could have a destabilizing effect on Azerbaijani domestic developments. "I keep in touch by telephone," Aliyev said. "I give the necessary instructions."

Azerbaijani-Iranian relations have been marked by tension. A major source of friction concerns the Caspian Sea and the division of natural resources. [For background information see the EurasiaNet economic archive].

Another source of bilateral tension concerns Iran’s ethnic Azerbaijani minority. One of the leaders of the Iranian Azerbaijani nationalist movement is Mahmudali Cohraqani. He recently split with the National Liberation Movement of Southern Azerbaijan (NLMSA) and established a rival group called the Azerbaijani United Islamic Front, according to a report in the Baku newspaper, 525 Qazet. While the NMLSA continues to advocate a separatist path for Iran’s Azerbaijani population, Cohraqani has reportedly modified his stance, and now is willing to consider an autonomous zone for Azerbaijanis in Iran.

In January, Cohraqani toured several European countries, including Germany, Sweden and France, promoting awareness about the conditions that Azerbaijanis in Iran face. In France, Cohraqani met with the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Walter Schwimmer. EurasiaNet contributer Konul Khalilova interviewed Cohraqani when he was in Strasbourg. The text of his comments follows:

EurasiaNet: What is your goal for Azerbaijanis in Iran?
Cohraqani: The movement began long ago. You know that our nation has been under cultural occupation for a century. It is a fact even though many people deny it. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights refers to the situation on southern Azerbaijan in its report on Iran. That is, this movement has already become international.

EurasiaNet: How did you come to the movement? How do they regard you in Iran?
Cohraqani: Some six years ago, I was a candidate for the Iranian parliament. During the elections, I made speeches on [southern Azerbaijani Turks’] national identity. Then some 600,000 voters voted for me. But the Iranian leadership interfered with the issue and hindered my being elected to the parliament. An unprecedented incident took place in Tebriz. The people came into the streets. There was 10-hour clash among the central forces and Tebriz people. Hundreds of men were injured, hundreds of Azerbaijanis had to escape the country. It was Azerbaijan’s national liberation movement!

EurasiaNet: How is the movement regarded on an official level in Iran?
Cohraqani: Millions of Azerbaijani people live in the north and west of Iran. Some 95 years ago, the southern liberation movement began in Tebriz. As their successors, we demand democracy, freedom of expression and [full] human rights, particularly Azerbaijanis in Iran. � Millions cannot read or write in their mother tongue, and there is no school in their language. Even though the Iranian constitution envisages that Persian is the official language in Iran, it allows those whose mother tongue is not Persian to get education in their mother tongue. We have demanded that the government fulfill this pledge for long years. But those who make this demand are labeled as servants to the West and put in prison.

EurasiaNet: What is the goal of your visit to the European countries? What is the Iranian officials’ attitude to your visit?
Cohraqani: For six years, I was prohibited to leave Iran. But I wanted to go to Europe and communicate our problems to them [European officials]. During this visit, I held a number of meetings.

EurasiaNet: For nearly a decade, Tehran has been reluctant to allow Azerbaijan to open a consulate in Tebriz. What is your attitude about this?
Cohraqani: The Azerbaijani government must answer this question. I am surprised because some 10 years ago, an agreement for opening this consulate was reached. Iran was to open a consulate in Nakhichevan [an enclave of Azerbaijan], and Azerbaijan was to open one in Tebriz. Currently, there is an Iranian consulate in Nakhichevan, but they don’t want the Azerbaijani flag to be hoisted in Tebriz. I think the Azerbaijani government should exert pressure on the opposite side.

EurasiaNet: Is the information that you have been removed from the National Liberation Movement of Southern Azerbaijan leadership accurate?
Cohraqani: Is there such an organization? If there is national movement in Southern Azerbaijan, the nation will constitute it. They establish an organization without seeing or speaking to me, elect me chairman, and then dismiss [me]. I know what goals these people have. The enemies of the Azerbaijani nation have a finger in [the January 22 firing]. But all this carries no significance for me and does not concern us at all.

The Central Eurasia Project aims, through its website, meetings, papers, and grants, to foster a more informed debate about the social, political and economic developments of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is a program of the Open Society Institute-New York. The Open Society Institute-New York is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open societies around the world by supporting educational, social, and legal reform, and by encouraging alternative approaches to complex and controversial issues.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Open Society Institute and are the sole responsibility of the author or authors.