Azerbaijan is a historical motherland of Turks. From the time immemorial and from the time of the great Sumerian empire,
Turks were the inhabitant of Azerbaijan. Throughout the known human history Turkish had been and is the official language of the region. In the last 80 years and after the collapse of Turkish Qajar empire, Persian chauvinists brought to power Reza shah by the means of military coup d'état and forced Persification of Azerbaijan.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Southern Azerbaijan has fertile soil and a pleasant climate and has for a long time been the destination of nomadic tribes.
The Azerbaijani Turks established their first united empire in 1501 as the Great King Ismail Khatai declared the Safavid Empire in Tabriz in the year of 1505. The Safavid were replaced by Nadir Shah Avshar and created the Avshars Dynasty.
The Gajar (Qajar) dynasty was the last of the Turkish dynasties to rule Persia. Turkic states, such as the Gajar state, strongly affected the history of modern Azerbaijan. The Gajar dynasty ruled most parts of present day Iran, including Southern Azerbaijan, 1794-1925. During this time only men from the Azerbaijani people could claim right to the throne of the state of Gajar.
The undercurrent dynasty seems to have been to unite all land previously ruled by their ancestors, the moves led to long lasting wars between the Gajars and Russia, as Russia quested to seize Southern Caucasus.
Ultimately, these hostilities led to the division of Azerbaijan into a northern part ruled by Russia and a southern part ruled by the Gajar confederation, as agreed in the treaties of Gulustan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828). Before the split the Azerbaijani boarders reached from what is today Derbet, the most southern city of Russia, to the province of Hamadan, south west of Tehran. During Russian rule of Northern Azerbaijan its territory decreased significantly, this later became the Republic of Azerbaijan.
New Land Iran and South Azerbaijan occopatioan
Southern Azerbaijan is the Southern part of historically united Azerbaijan annexed to Iran after 1925 following the collapse of the Turk- Gajar Empire.
South Azerbaijan is currently a region in northwest Iran which lies south of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and est of Turkey.
South Azerbaijan encompasses the province of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardebil Province, Zenjan Province,Hamadan, Ghazvin and parts of Anzali -Markazi Provinces.
The most significant cites of South Azerbaijan are Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, Zenjan, Khoy, Salmas, Sovuqbulaq (Mahabad) Sulduz (Naghadeh), Qoshachay(Miyandab), Ahar, Mughan, Sarab, Sayinqala(Shahindej), Astara, Saveh, Ghazvin, etc.Tabriz is the largest city and the capital of Southern Azerbaijan.
This region has great geographical and environmental diversity made up of mountains, valleys, forests, lakes and marshlands.
Southern Azerbaijan is mostly populated by Shi’a Muslims; however, there are other religions minorities such as non-believers, Sunni Turks and Ahl Haq followers in South Azerbaijan. Regardless of different religious views, the Southern Azerbaijanis speak Azerbaijani Turkic, a dialect of Oghuz Turkic language that is similar to Turkish and Turkmen.
It is extremely difficult to give an accurate estimate of the population, since it has been reported that the Iranian authorities tamper with the official statistics. The members of the population of Azerbaijani descent in Iran is estimated to be around 30-35 million .
There are additionally large communities of Azerbaijani Turks living abroad, not only in Azerbaijan, but in countries such as Turkey, Russia, Georgia, U.S.A, Kazakhstan, Germany, Ukraine and Canada.
Many immigrants from the Southern Azerbaijani territory have moved to other parts of Iran such as Tehran. At present, nearly 8 million Southern Azerbaijanis live outside Southern Azerbaijan, where more than a million of them are political immigrants, living in Europe and America. A million of them live in southern Iran while approximately 6-9 million live in the city of Tehran.
South Azerbaijani Turks ruled their own and neighbouring nations for thousands of years. Their just governance over Persians, Armenians, Georgians, Arabs, Indians, Kurds and other peoples of the region is embedded and told in the literature and culture of the region. As long as history can remember, under South Azerbaijani Turks all people were equal and treated as such. Their religion, culture, language, traditions, and integrity were respected and in most cases promoted. There is no single case of forcible assimilation to any language or religion in the region ruled by South Azerbaijani Turks.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims, lived side by side under Gaznavids, Saljuks, Safavids, Afshars, Qajars, and many other Turkish empires, regional, or local governments for thousands of years. Under South Azerbaijani rules no language banned. All languages were protected and promoted. This was the norm for millenniums in the region up until 1920s.
This is the issue that is of importance and preference for us. National independence, and national identity for South Azerbaijani Turk, is the vital issue here.During the Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) Southern Azerbaijan played a key political role, as the starting point of the revolution occurred in Tabriz, capital of Southern Azerbaijan. During the First World War the Gajar dynasty remained in power in Tabriz, and the city became one of the most powerful in Iran, holding the seat of the crown prince. In 1920 the Pro-democracy revolution under Sheykh Muhammed Khyabbani also begun in Tabriz and Southern Azerbaijan gained independence for six months. However, this short lived independence was put to an end by battles between the Soviet Union and Iran and resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of Azerbaijani Turks.
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New Land Iran and South Azerbaijan occopatioan
In 1925 when the Gajar state collapsed, Southern Azerbaijan was annexed into Iran and there was a massive move of non-Azerbaijanis to the cities of Gazvin and Hamadan where more than a half of the population are now of Azerbaijani descent.The Azerbaijan People’s RepublicOffice Building of the Government of South Azerbaijan in Tabriz. 1945-1946After the Second World War, Southern Azerbaijan became an independent state, the Azerbaijan People’s Republic, was established. During this year of independence, the Turkish language in schools and on radio stations became ingrained and Tabriz was established as an urban and cultural center. Independence, however, again only lasted for a short time, after a year the Soviet Union and Iran again fought bloody battles for the state in a process which killed approximately 35,000 people. After the crushing of the independent state, the Iranian government gathered all Turkish publications published during the republic and burned them in public. All people that had worked or supported the formation of the independent state were persecuted, and led to the movement for Southern Azerbaijani rights underground.
After the so called revolution of 1979 and coming to power of terrorist regime of Persian Iran, assimilation policies were followed and intensified. Turkish Students were taught a foreign language of Persian in the schools. The very existence of Turks in the so called country of Iran was denied.
As everything run by the Persian government, all schools, offices, hospitals, courts, TV and media, and every official and unofficial business were forcibly done in foreign language of Persian. South Azerbaijani economy is plundered by the Iranian terrorist regime, literally taking away all underground and above ground riches and leaving a desperate and poor situation for people, pushing the working forces out of South Azerbaijan to look for pity jobs in Persian areas.
Over 70% of non-Persian population of so called Iran is deprived of their basic human rights by Persian terrorist regime. With the exception of Persian language, all other languages are banned and their territories occupied. Colonial powers of the time preferred to eliminate Turkish rules over the area now called Iran, bringing to power some illiterate Persian mad man called Reza Pahlavi.This brought to en end the great Turkish Qajar empire. Unfortunately after the collapse of Qajar empire in 1923 and instalment of Reza Pahlavi by foreign powers to the crown, the situation changed drastically.
A very tolerant Qajar system gave way to a despotic, narrow minded, racist regime with the fever of Aryan melancholy. Reza Pahlavi who was uneducated and illiterate himself, hired many intellectuals to fabricate "a one language, one religion" country of so called Iran. Reza Pahlavi and his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi were successful in creating such a country with the blessing of major world powers, billions of dollars of revenues from oil, and of course with the fear created by major massacres of thousands of South Azerbaijani Turks in the course of 57 years of Pahlavi rule.
Under Reza Pahlavi's Iran, everybody was considered of a pure Aryan race and anybody claimed otherwise would be branded as remnants of previous invaders to the glorious land of Cyrus The Great! Many paid foreign and domestic orientalists, many paid learned university professors, and so called intellectuals were in accord with the Persification of Iran. Every so called branded Iranian was considered direct descendent of great and glorious kings of supposedly pre-Islamic times. Of course oil dollars would buy or suppress any conscious person in the world. But when Reza Pahlavi went too far, and his regime was aligning with Aryan Nazis of Germany, he was deposed and exiled by the same powers who brought him to power and died in misery in Durban, South Africa.
We remember him for his ignorance, his despotism, his anti-Azerbaijanism and his anti-Turkism. Long gone was the devil, and South Azerbaijani Turks were using the opportunity to group under "Azerbaijani Democratic Party" to regain their self determination. 1945 witnessed South Azerbaijanis creating their own state again, an state with full human rights record, and full compatibility with the world's democratic and modern countries of even present time. Women were free to vote and be voted. Education in the mother tongue of South Azerbaijani Turkish were free to everyone. Attempts were made to construct roads, bridges and buildings after over twenty years of Pahlavi destruction of South Azerbaijan.
After one year of construction and rejuvenation of South Azerbaijan, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was installed in Tehran as a king of the kings, decided to invade South Azerbaijan. The Iranian regime with the green light from Soviet's Stalin and blessings of the world's power invaded South Azerbaijan. Based on independent eye witnesses thousands and thousands of innocent people were massacred.
Farm lands were burned, people's houses were plundered, women were raped, and men were killed. Persian army knew no limit in barbarism committed in South Azerbaijan. In 1946, the world watched the Persian army rape South Azerbaijan.Persian army had free hand in creating the state of horror in cities and villages of our motherland. For over 10 years Shah's army and secret services prosecuted South Azerbaijani Turks at will. Kidnappings, exiling, tortures, and killings were common tools of oppression Persian regime applied on our people. Estimated 35,000 people were killed in first few weeks of the occupation. Following days, months and years were worse. Thousand of children, women and elderly died on the way to exile to southern deserts of Iran.
Only after his majesty were satisfied with the complete suppression of South Azerbaijani movement, he issued a declaration of public amnesty. The state of fear and oppression continued until 1979 revolution which ousted Pahlavi regime and replaced it with a theocratic terrorist regime of mollas. The so called revolution of 1979 were aborted by abrupt coming to power of mollas.Only the administration changed, leaving the system intact. All projects of assimilation, depopulation, de-Turkisation, and destruction of South Azerbaijan were followed by Islamic regime. Oppressions were increased, population doubled, and poverty is hundred time worse than before. South Azerbaijan was further disassembled, and name of Azerbaijan was taken from many areas with the pretext of creating new provinces.
Names of cities, rivers, roads, mountains, and people were changed by force to some meaningless Persian names. Iranian terrorist regime's pursue of nuclear arsenal only will be used as a deterrence for world community not to question the atrocities committed by them inside the prison called Iran. Islamic regimes extended fist of terror, and barbaric shout of “ death to America, death to Israel, death to England” should not be seen as the attitude of so called “Iranians”.There is no such a thing as “Iranians”. There are South Azerbaijani Turks, and millions of other non-Persians, and then their is a Persian-Shia terrorist government of Iran. Iran's terrorism has extended it's hand to neighbouring countries and all over the world. In the last 33 years Iranian terrorists had kidnapped and killed hundreds of people around the world. Many opposition figures were assassinated by Iran's terrorists all around the world. South Azerbaijani members also were among the terror targets recently. Iran is a prison of peoples.
Non-Persians are running the game, and others are forced to be Persianized. Backed by army of terror, torture, killing, exiling, and many other ways of intimidation, and humiliation, backed by oil dollars, and world power's blessings, the uniformation and Persification of the country called Iran, is being realized in the last 80 years. Iranian opposition can afford to talk about human rights in Iran. US can afford to talk about nuclear issues with Iran. But, for us, the South Azerbaijani Turks, the issue is our very being as a nation with our own identity.Our issue is, our undeniable right to govern ourselves.
South azerbaijanian problem is not in Iran. South Azerbaijanian problem is with Iran, which is occupying our land, South Azerbaijan, and destroying our people, Turks. Yes, we can and we should talk about human rights in every case and everywhere, but the sensitive issue here is our people's right, the national rights.
New Iran
74%Non-Persian peoples of so called Iran such as Arabs, Beluchs, Turkmens, Kurds, Lors, and South Azerbaijani Turks are living under constant terror organs of so called Islamic regime. Iranian Islamic revolutionary Guards (Pasdaran) which is a world known and recognized terrorist organization is the regime’s tool of plundering non-Persian peoples' resources, and using them in spreading terror around the world.
South Azerbaijani Turks, who are in the majority in the so-called Iran, are subjected to a severe violations and discriminations. Insulting Turks has become an ugly but accepted norm in the Persian culture and literature. Nowadays it is difficult to watch TV or read a newspaper in Iran and not be exposed to insults on Turks, likening Turks to donkey, cockroach or any other humiliating names.
On May 22nd 2006 South Azerbaijani people poured to the streets in millions protesting Iranian official newspaper “Iran’s” recent insults on Turks, calling them cockroaches and demanding basic human rights in their own lands, but terrorist regime's response was killing almost one hundred, injuring over four hundred and arresting over fifteen thousand of innocent and defenceless people. At the present time over one hundred South Azerbaijani right activists are under torture in the so called Islamic Iran. Persian chauvinist and terrorist regime is continuing unlawful, illegal, and random arrests of South Azerbaijani right activists. Economic Discrimination
Along with other non-Persian nationalities in Iran, Southern Azerbaijanis suffer from economic discrimination. Discrimination against non-Persian peoples since the 1979 Revolution has been led by the tight centralism of the state built on an ethnic hierarchical system; the economic consequences of this severely influencing the daily lives of non-Persians in Iran.
For instance, strict rules in the financial system and a relentless lack of government investment in the region has contributed to mass emigration from rural areas and finds a flux of more than eight million emigrants living in overcrowded poverty in the capital and other central cities.
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Along with routine harassment, economically discriminating policies have been practiced. As a local newspaper disclosed, government investments in industries and mines in Kerman, a central city in Iran, have been 300 times bigger than in the four Azerbaijani provinces.
ARTS AND DANCEAND Music
The Azerbaijanis have a rich and distinct culture, a major part of which is decorative and applied art. This form of art is represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing, jewellery making, engraving metal, carving in wood, carpet-making, lace-making, pattern weaving and printing, knitting and embroidery.
dance Southern Azerbaijan’s national and traditional dress consists of the Chokha and Papakhi. There are a number of Azerbaijani dances; these folk dances are ancient and very melodious. There are often performed at formal celebrations and the dancers wear festive clothes or Chokha cloaks. These dances have very fast rhythms, and demand skill from the dancer. The national clothes of Azerbaijan are well preserved within the national dances.
Azeri-instruments The music of Azerbaijan builds on folk traditions that reach back nearly 1,000 years. For centuries Azerbaijani music has evolved under the badge of monody, producing rhythmically diverse melodies.
Mugham and Ashik are some of the many musical traditions of Azerbaijan. Mugham usually consists of poetry with instrumental interludes. When performing Mugham, the singers attempt to transform their emotions into singing and music. In contrast to the Mugham traditions of Central Asian countries, Azerbaijani Mugham is more free-form and less rigid; it is often compared to improvised jazz. UNESCO proclaimed the Azerbaijani Mugham tradition a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003.
Ashik is based on the mystical troubadour tradition, where a travelling bard sings and plays the saz, a traditional Turkic instrument. This tradition has its origin in the Shamanistic beliefs of the ancient Turkic peoples. Ashik songs are semi-improvised around common themes. Azerbaijan’s Ashik art was included in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO on September 30, 2009.
Right to Self-Determination
Banner demonstrated in reads:" South Azerbaijan Is Not Iran". Tabriz, South Azerbaijan, 2013.
The banner demonstrated by Southern Azerbaijanis reads:” South Azerbaijan Is Not Iran”. Tabriz, South Azerbaijan, 2013. South Azerbaijan has demonstrated will and ability to realize its Right to Self- Determination. South Azerbaijan had established democratic self-governance in 1920, 1945 and 1979. The people of South Azerbaijan enjoyed an inordinate political, social, cultural and economic development and preserved its cultural, linguistic, ethnic and territorial identity while self-governed. The people of South Azerbaijan have demonstrated a resilient will to exercise and realize their right to Self Determination. In a free plebiscite, if held today, the vast majority of people of South Azerbaijan would vote for a Self- Governed South Azerbaijan which is the paramount remedy available under international law.
INDUSTRIES AND HANDICRAFTS
Industries include machine tools, vehicle factories, oil refinery, petrochemical complex, food processing, cement, textiles, electric equipment, and sugar milling. Oil and gas pipelines run through the region. Wool, carpets, and metal ware are also produced
Territory and Identity
Turks have dominated and ruled Iran and the lands beyond it for thousands of years, and the northwest of Iran has long been the Azerbaijani Turks’ homeland. However, after the Gajar, the last Azerbaijani kingdom in Iran collapsed, the Pahlavi dynasty dominated Iran and this saw the beginnings of the anti-Turk movement.
As a result, the Iranian government has consistently and repeatedly split Southern Azerbaijan into several different regions and perused a policy of separating the peoples of the region from their native languages and culture. Iran’s regimes have also altered the ethnic demography of the separated provinces of Azerbaijan by relocating groups of Fars into some of the Southern Azerbaijani provinces like Qazvin and Hamadan.
The continuance of the assimilation policy in Southern Azerbaijan by the regime in Tehran has lead to a significant social and national identity crisis. The Iranian government has been running wide spread propaganda against any non-Fars national identity in Iran, so that the ethnic peoples will stop embracing their own traditional cultures and assimilate into the Persian centralised model. Southern Azerbaijani women face double discrimination, since they experience inequality in terms of their gender and also for belonging to a minority group.
LANGUAGE AND RELIGION
In Southern Azerbaijan the Azerbaijani Turkish is spoken by 99 % of the population (35-30 million people). It is a Turkic language that is similar to the language spoken by the Turkish and Turkmen, and distinct from the Iranian state language, Farsi.
Azerbaijani Turkish is widely spoken in everyday life, and in Southern Azerbaijan also used in mosques. However, not many Southern Azerbaijanis are able to read or write in their mother language since the education is centralized and regulated from Tehran, and there is no state education performed in the language.
The Azerbaijanis are followers of Islam. The Muslim population is approximately 95% Shi’a and 5% Sunni; differences traditionally have not been sharply defined. Most Shias are adherents of the orthodox Ithna Ashari school of Shi’a Islam.
DATES OF INTEREST
National Statehood Day- 12 December
Southern Azerbaijanis commemorate the 12 December as the National Statehood Day since the Azerbaijan People Republic was established on 12 December (21 Azer) of 1945, under the leadership of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party and its charismatic leader Mr. Jafar Pishevari who also served as the first president of the Republic of Southern Azerbaijan between 1945-1946. The National Statehood Day is mostly celebrated by Southern Azerbaijani communities living abroad since Iranian government suppresses such attempts inside Southern Azerbaijan. Genocide Day—17 December
17th December is the anniversary of the Southern Azerbaijanis genocide carried out by the Tehran regime during its occupation and the overthrowing of Azerbaijan
Evidence of vandalism and destruction of Southern Azerbaijan by Persian Army
People’s Republic in 1946. During this invasion, 35000 Southern Azerbaijani civilians were killed and half a million were exiled or arbitrarily detained.
The mass killings was discussed at the Nuremberg Court in 1948 and finally in 1950 was legally recognized as an act of genocide.
The United States Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas in his famous book “Strange Lands and Friendly People” notes the event, he describes as vandalism done by Iran Army in Azerbaijan reminds him of the Nazis soldiers’ behavior towards France. This violence is known as the Genocide in Southern Azerbaijan.
Book Burning Day—17 December
During the aforementioned invasion of Southern Azerbaijan by the Pahlavi regime in 1946 all the books found to be published in the Azerbaijani Turkic language were burnt in public on 17 December 1946.
The public use of Azerbaijani people`s mother tongue has been prohibited since then.
The United Nations has accorded the aforesaid actions against the Southern Azerbaijanis between 15 December 1948 and 19 December 1966, as breach of the international covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and it has also been declared as cultural genocide.
Southern Azerbaijani civil activists hold special ceremonies on “book day”. They present Azerbaijani Turkish books to each other as gifts and some even donate Turkish books to retailers.
International Mother Language Day—21 February
Since Azerbaijani language has played an important role in awaking of Southern Azerbaijan people and also in profile raising of Azerbaijani identity, every year in February 21, Azerbaijani activists prepare gatherings and demonstrations against the governing regime in the face of large personal risks.
National Uprising Day—22 May
22 May Tabriz, mass demonstrations
bestselling magazine analogizing Turks to beetles feeding from the Fars’s toilet. It followed to ask how to prevent the increase in the beetles population. And answered that they were mostly not able to talk in their own language, it suggest that, the Fars, should not even spare the time to defecate on the beetles. This clear political and media bullying to promote cultural assimilation is strong in Iran, however, causes great offence to the nationalities.
Thus, on the 22 May, hundreds of thousands of Southern Azerbaijanis demonstrate in Tabriz and other major cities, and even some of the smaller towns of Southern Azerbaijan. During the uprising hundreds of protesters were killed and injured, and thousand more imprisoned. However, it became a turning point in the Southern Azerbaijan national awaking movement’s resistance against the religious theocracy which dominates in Iran. Since then, every year on “The National Uprising Day” Southern Azerbaijan people do demonstrations and have ceremonies in memory of those killed in 2006.
NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
Southern Azerbaijan is famous for its great natural beauty. There are 17 rivers and two lakes in the region. The northern, alpine region, which includes Lake Urmia, is mountainous, with deep valleys and fertile lowlands. Grains, fruits, cotton, rice, nuts, and tobacco are the staple crops grown the region. The temperatures in Southern Azerbaijan are also very variable. For example, in the north, winters are generally cold and snowy and summers are moderate. While in the plains the regions experience winters that are relatively cold and warm summers. The Orumieh province located in the north-west of Southern Azerbaijan, it is a mountainous area with a diverse and vast topography. A long mountain range is situated on the western part of the province which forms the international border with Iraq and Turkey. Melted snow that originates from the mountains creates many streams that flow through the various valleys making fertile lands.
URMIA LAKE CRISIS
Lake Urmia, which lies in the North-West part of Iran, is considered to be the largest lake in the whole Middle East (with a surface of about 6000 km2). However, since 1999, the water level in the lake has generally been declining, drying out 75% of the lake. The decline is linked to both continuous droughts and the construction of 47 reservoirs and dams on the lake’s tributaries under the pretence of agricultural development. In effect, flow of fresh water to the lake has been halted.
Urmia Lake
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Environmental experts have repeatedly warned the government of Iran and the international community about the continuously declining water level in Lake Urmia, which leads to increased salinity, the destruction of the lake’s ecosystem and higher occurrences of wind-blown salt-storms in the region. This devastating process also seriously affect agriculture, which relies on the lake’s water to survive, as well as the lives of the local population – a majority of which are ethnic Azerbaijanis who have witnessed continued discrimination from Iranian authorities.
The issue of Lake Urmia is decidedly politicized, especially when taking into account the fact that the salt remaining from its drying up is incredibly rich in Uranium. Great risks exist of seeing the local population scattered away from their homeland as their habitat no longer allows them to survive – all because of the authorities’ (mis)management of Lake Urmia’s ecosystem.
The Iranian authorities have alleged that they have established a special commission to address Lake Urmia’s problems and have allegedly provided financial support for the improvement of the ecological situation in Southern Azerbaijan. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated a special fund for the prevention of the drying up of Lake Urmia. Although encouraging, these steps have not been able to stop the disastrous environmental situation in Southern Azerbaijan from worsening.
Many South Azerbaijan activist believe that the Iranian regime has been pursuing a strategy issued by the regime’s National Security Council to diminish the lake in order to utilized the lake’s uranium rich salt for its nuclear program.