Iran: Azeri to Be Declared as Official Language – or Secession of South Azerbaijan

In four earlier articles entitled "Southern Azerbaijan to Secede from Iran - Middle East´s Most Influential and Most Unknown Factor" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94772), "Liberate Southern Azerbaijan – Save the Life of the Azeri Activist Yunis Aghayan" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94872), "Freedom for South Azerbaijan – Down with the Ayatollah Tyranny over 25 Millions of Azeris" (http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/95028) and "South Azerbaijan vs. Iran: Rise of the Azeri Cultural and National Identity, Fall of the Ayatollahs" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/95146), I offered an introduction to the critical issue of Southern Azerbaijan, denouncing the theocratic Shia Islamist tyranny carried out against more than 20 millions of Azeris in today´s Iran. I republished, amongst others, an Appeal to save the life of an Azeri Human Rights activist, Mr. Yunis Aghayan, and an ecological insightful concerning the great Lake Urumiyeh of South Azerbaijan that has been totally disregarded by the lunatic Ayatollahs. I also republished essays pertaining to the Azeri search for national integrity and cultural identity.

As more than 25 millions of Azeris struggle today under the criminal and inhuman regime of the Ayatollahs, the world community bears the responsibility to listen to them and actively contribute to their liberation.

I therefore republish here two appeals and petitions for the declaration of the Azeri language as official language in Iran, and first language for the primary and secondary education for all those demanding so. I call you to go the petition link (see below) and sign the petition that reflects concern and humanity for no less than 30% of Iran´s oppressed children.

Iranian Azerbaijanis Mother Language Rights

http://www.turkiran.com/1-iranian_azerbaijanis_mother_lang.htm

To: UNSECO, Human Rights Organizations

Appeal to: UNESCO and Human Rights Organization

On behalf of Iranian Azerbaijanis who respect the 21st. of February as the annual International Mother Language Day, and as the believers of UNESCO´s intention to achieve global peace through solving cultural differences.

Azerbaijanis had decided to celebrate this day in the city of Tabriz (the central city of Iranian Azerbaijan) in order to help a better understanding, integration and co-operation amongst the ethnic Iranian.

They had obtained proper permit from the special organization within the government of Islamic Republic of Iran for this occasion and had invited 18 linguists and related speakers to participate in this celebration.

In spite of necessary information which was presented to the authorities in Tabriz, assembling permit was denied by police force some hours before the beginning of the ceremony and the participants were obliged to leave the area without any clarification.

Referring to the latest statistics of UNESCO which clearly specifies that "half of the world´s 6000 to 7000 languages are in danger of extinction", we the 23,000,000 Azerbaijanis of Iran (UN statistics 1998) composing % 37 of Iranian population against 22,000,000 Farsi speaking population of the country (% 35 as the same statistics) are facing the danger of extinction of our mother language due to the lack of educating our children in our own language.

Although we, Azerbaijanis along with speakers of other languages and dialects are the actual nation of Iran, unfortunately since 1925 our language rights have officially been taken over by Farsi language and we have lost the rights of any development and protection over our own Mother language by forbidding them to educate in schools and other educational organizations, which concluded none Farsi languages to be sacrificed by Chauvinistic Pan-Farsism.

Even after the Islamic Revolution of Iran (1979) in-spite-of articles 15 and 19 of country´s constitutional law to protect none Farsi languages, the government has not been able to support none Farsi languages in the country and Iran has become the largest grave-yard of none Farsi mother languages and dialects.

In accordance with the latest verifications and investigations, Iranian nation is facing the danger of extinction of about 130 languages and dialects out of 200 living languages and dialects of the country within next 50 years if immediate actions are not taken to reserve them in proper ways.

We therefore take the opportunity of forwarding our appeal to the UNESCO and Human Rights Organizations to help us with reservation of our mother language within humanitarian bounds and boundaries before it becomes humanitarian disaster.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Sign the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/st12az34/petition-sign.html

Stop Depriving the Identity of the Children of Iran !

To: President Ahmadinejad

The Presidency, Palestine Avenue ,

Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Iran

Copy : Kofi Annan

Secretary-General of United Nations

Stop Depriving the Identity of the Children of Iran !

Autumn has arrived in Iran , and according to the tradition, millions of happy and excited children set out to their classrooms for the first time. First day at school is a day many children through out the whole world dream about and anxiously look forward to.

Now they, like so many before them, will get to learn to read and write, and to meet new comrades. But what quite half of the schoolchildren in Iran don´t know is that what´s waiting them in their classrooms is far darker than they can ever imagine. Soon they will learn that education in their mother tongue not only is forbidden, but that it´s also associated with great shame and punishment.

Iran is a multicultural country with several large ethnic groups represented, among them Azerbaijani-Turks, Persians, Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Baluchis. Over half of the country´s population is of non-Persian origin; despite this the only official language of the country is Persian. In paragraph 15 and 19 in Iran ´s constitution it is elucidated that use of mother tongue in education is permitted, yet the only language learned and used in the school system is Persian.

Like the rest of the world, Iran is today a country in change. We all know that the school period is a crucial milestone in every human beings life and that the first years in school have a great importance for the development of an individual. It is therefore important to remind the Iranian government of taking care of its cultural diversity and richness, instead of trying to eliminate it. Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Arabic, Turkmen and Baluchi schoolchildren in Iran need all the help they can get to be able to study in their mother tongue, to be able to be proud over themselves and their origin.

Nergiz Nedaei,

Chairman of the Azerbaijani-Turkish Youth Association in Sweden

Tel: +46 31 3310918

Hélène Goudin, member of the European Parliament (junilist)

helene.goudin@telia.com

Gudrun Schyman, member of the Swedish parliament

Former chairman of the Left party

Tel: +46 8 7864652

Anders Bengtsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel: +46 8 7864756

Mikael Damberg, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel: +48 8 786 46 97

Kent Harstedt, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Chairman of the Swedish UNICEF

Tel: +46 8 7865647

Lars Johansson, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel: +46 8 786 47 85

Hillevi Larsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel: +46 8 786 43 99

Anne Ludvigsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel: +46 8 7865313

Yoomi Renstrom, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel: +46 08 7864799

Ameer Sachet, member of the Swedish parliament (Social-democrats)

Tel:+46 8 7864732

Anna Sjodin, Chairman of Swedish Social-democratic Youth

Tel: +46 8714 48 00

Asa Westlund, member of the European parliament (Social-democrats)

awestlund@europarl.eu.int

Carl B Hamilton, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Chairman of the EU-commission

Tel: +46 8 7865765

Anita Brodén, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 4481

Kerstin Heinemann, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864744

Fredrik Malm, Chairman of the Liberal Youth Association in Sweden

Tel: +46 8 410 242 32

Cecilia Malmstrom, member of the European parliament (Liberal Party)

cmalmstrom@europarl.eu.int

Gunnar Nordmark, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel: + 46 8 7864182

Birgitta Ohlsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 47 30

Tore Robertsson, Industrialist

Member of Malmo municipal executive board (Liberal Party)

Tel: +46 40 944030

Nyamko Sabuni, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel:+46 8 786 43 10

Olle Schmidt, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Former member of the European parliament

Tel: +46 8 410 242 15.

Cecilia Wigstrom, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 5616

Christer Winback, member of the Swedish parliament (Liberal Party)

Tel: +46 8 7865557

Tove Fraurud, chairman of the Association for Young Lefts in Sweden

Tel: +46 8 654 31 00

Berit Jòhannesson, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864678

Kjell-Erik Karlsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 47 79

Sten Lundstrom, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 08 7864624

Rolf Olsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864650

Jonas Sjosted , member of the European parliament (Left Party)

jsjostedt@europarl.eu.int

Sven Erik Sjostrand, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 -7864581

Camilla Skold, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864682

Tasso Stafilidis, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 57 12

Eva-Britt Svensson, member of the European parliament (Left Party)

e-b.svensson@bredband.net

Karin Thorborg, member of the Swedish parliament (Left Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864618

Staffan Danielsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Center Party)

Tel: + 46 8 7864437

Lena Ek, member of the European parliament (Center Party)

lek@europarl.eu.int

Agne Hansson, member of the Swedish parliament (Center Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 4297

Kenneth Johansson, member of the Swedish parliament (Center Party)

Tel: +46 8 7865346

Hakan Larsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Center Party)

Tel: +46 8 786 44 33

Johan Linander, member of the Swedish parliament (Center Party)

Tel: + 46 8 786 44 42

Sven Brus, member of the Swedish parliament (Christian-democrats)

Tel: +46 8 7864759

Per Landgren, member of the Swedish parliament (Christian-democrats)

tel. +46 8 786 43 53,

Torsten Lindström, member of the Swedish parliament (Christian-democrats)

Tel: + 46 8 7864686

Alf Svensson, member of the Swedish parliament (Christian-democrats)

Former chairman of the Christian-democratic Party

Tel: + 46 8 786 50 11

Anders Wijkman, member of the European parliament (Christian-democrats)

Former vice general secretary of the United Nations

Former general secretary of Swedish Redcross

anders@wijkman.nu

Christoffer Fjellner, member of the European parliament (Conservative Party)

cfjellner@europarl.eu.int

Cecilia Magnusson, member of the Swedish parliament (Conservative Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864637

Alexander Chamberland, mouthpiece for the Green Youth party in Sweden

Tel: +46 704 36 86 91

Mona Jonsson, member of the Swedish parliament (Green Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864535

Jan Lindholm, member of the Swedish parliament (Green Party)

Tel: +46 8 7864443

Carl Soderbergh, general secretary Swedish Amnesty

carl.soderbergh@amnesty.se

Note

Picture: South Azerbaijan in the path of independence