Jun 10, 2010

Southern Azerbaijan: Appeal to Stop violence Against Azerbaijani Turks


Active ImageAzerbaijan Turks, struggling for their rights in Iran Islamic Republic, recently meet unprecedented repressions by the Iranian authorities.

 

 

Below is a letter published by Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement:

Dear Sir/Madam,


Azerbaijan Turks, struggling for their rights in Iran Islamic Republic, recently meet unprecedented repressions by the Iranian authorities. It was impossible to wipe out all Azerbaijani Turks living in Iran, who consist of the half of the country population last century. The S. Azerbaijanis have been trying to get their national rights. But they have got none of their national and human rights due to the deceptive policy of the Iranian government and incompatibility of the international circumstance. More than 30 million Azerbaijani Turks do not have any school in their native language in Iran. This fact is hardly believed in the world.

At present, the Azerbaijanis’ democratic struggle is being trampled by different means in South Azerbaijan, Iran. The activists urging their national rights legally are being detained. In order to try the people in courts they are being accused by false charges. The authorities close the newspapers preferring democracy, the writers and prominent figures meet the political pressures. The “national self determination right” on the framework of the international law and democratic methods seems the only way to prevent this tragedy. In order to be considered as a nation the Southern Azerbaijanis, based to the UN explanation, bring together in themselves the terms such as the possession of a language, religion or culture; possession of private history and the past; possession of ability to preserve their independence, to protect their national identity and ownership of a land and territorial integrity and is received as a nation. That is why they have the right of self determination. The mass demonstrations of the Azerbaijani Turks whose culture and national identity are denied, which demand their political and cultural freedoms and expose to assimilation, were estimated.
 

The constitutional rights of the Azerbaijani Turks have not been provided. Furthermore, they can not use their political freedom and the discrimination policy against them is going on, and all these led to the appearance of the recent tensions   
 
The official “Iran” newspaper published a caricature likening the Azerbaijani Turks as cockroach on May 12, 2006. The next day S. Azerbaijani Turks began to protest the Iranian regime. Their protest increased gradually and turned into a huge uprising after 10 days. All the big cities of South Azerbaijan, Iran revolted against the mullah regime.  Thousands of people rallied as a protest in the cities such as Tabriz, Maragha, Ardabil, Meshkin, Sarab, Kaleybar, Zancan, Qazvin, Urmiye, Qoshachay and Sulduz.

The May events showed the brutality of Iran Islamic Republic. At that time dozens of activists were executed, hundreds of people were injured and thousands of the movement participants were detained. On the eve of the May events the Persian regime continues the arrest of the Azerbaijani Turks. Here are the names of the arrested Azerbaijani Turks in Iran:  

1. Ayat (Yurush) Mehralibayli – The activist of South Azerbaijan National Movement,   graduate of Tarbiyyata Mudarris University and columnist of the closed “Qopuz” (an old Azerbaijani instrument) magazine.  On May 10, 2010, ETTELAAT officials raided Ayat (Yurush) Mehralibayli house in Sofian town, which is situated near Tabriz city of South Azerbaijan, Iran. At that time Ayat’s 2 years old son Okhtay was also at home. ETTELAAT  officials began to beat him in the eyes of the child and confiscated the computer, CDs, books and the other things. They took him to Tabriz city while the child stayed at home alone for a long time. At the moment Ayat is being kept in the one-man cell of ETTELAAT  office in Tabriz and he is exposing to grave tortures.

2. Reza Abdi – The officials of the security services bodies conducted a search in his father’s house and confiscated his personal things and books.

3. Alirza Hoseynzadeh – The civil activist of South Azerbaijan national Movement and advocate of “Tractor” football club of Tabriz. He was arrested in Tabriz city on initial May 2010.

4. Hoseyn Nasiri – There is no information of this activist who was arrested in the demonstration held against the draining of Urmiye Lake some days ago. It’d be noted that Nasiri was arrested on the first anniversary of the May events in 2007 and was released instead of deposit after illegally remaining in the jail for some time.

5. Hoseyn Mahammadi Alvar – The activist of South Azerbaijan National Movement and advocate of “Tractor” football club of Tabriz. The state officials conducted search in his home without any court permission and confiscated his computer, CDs, books and other personal things. He asked the senior official of “Tractor” football team of Tabriz to complain to the football federation of the country on outrageous expressions of the Persian onlookers against the Azerbaijani Turks during the match between “Tractor” and “Misi Kirman” football teams. Mr. Hoseyn was arrested in the event of protecting Urmiye Lake sometimes ago and released instead of deposit.

6. Dr. Alirza Abdullahi - The activist of South Azerbaijan National Movement and a dentist. He was in prison for a year from 2003 to 2004. He was in the staff of the non-governmental organization “Bilim”, which was closed by the government.

7. Aydin Khacei – The famous activist of South Azerbaijan Students Movement. He is student of law in Tabriz University.  He was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment arrest in 2008.

8. Behbud Qulizadeh – He was arrested on May 21, 2010 in Qoshachay city and is being kept in the one-man cell of ETTELAAT office. He was also arrested by the regime officials on May, 2006 and was released after some months. He is a leader of the non-governmental organization named Yashil (Green) that has been closed by Iran government.

9. Shahram Radmehr – He was arrested on May 24, 2010 in Meshkin city.  The search was conducted in his father’s house, too and his personal things were confiscated. He exposed to 6 month prison arrest in 2004.

10. Siyamak Mirzayi – The student of Gilan University. He was arrested in Rasht city and is being kept in the one-man cell of ETTELAAT  office in Ardabil city. He is Azerbaijan student movement’s activist.

11. Bahman Nisirzadeh – The teacher and poet. He was arrested in Maku city. Bahman was arrested on May, 2006, too and was released temporarily after a monthly arrest.

12. Ahmad Agayi - The activist of South Azerbaijan National Movement. He was detained on May 20, 2010. He is a chief columnist of “Ildirim” magazine and a student of Bualisina University. Right now there is no information about him.

13. Tofiq Morteza Pur – The member of Tabriz Teachers Unity and the cultural activist was arrested in Tabriz by ETTELAAT officials in first May 2010.

14. Mustafa Jamshidi – The journalist and cultural activist of Mugan distirict.

15. Raman Jabbari – Journalist and was arrested in Mugan district.

16. Hafiz Sardar Pur –One of the cultural activists of Mugan district

17 Mahnaz Karimi – The activist and poetess, and was arrested in Mugan district.  

18. Nadir Azizi – He was arrested in Mugan district and is being kept in the one-man cell of ETTELAAT  office.

19. Mehdi Zeynali – He was arrested in Mugan district.

20.  Vali Azeriyun – He was arrested in Tabriz city. He is the brother of Tohid Azeriyun who was killed by the Iranian regime on the eve of the May events in 2006.

21. Karim Fathi Pur – Brother of 16 years old by Hoseyn Fathipur who was killed by the Iranian regime during the May events in 2006. He was arrested on May, 2010 in Naghade city and there isn’t any information about him.

22. Hamide Farajzadeh (Pinar) – She was arrested in Mutahari hospital where she  works in the morning  in Urmiye city on May 25 2010 and is being kept in the one-man cell of Tabriz ETTELAAT  office.  Hamide is the popular activisit of Azerbaijani women rights movement activist and colomunist of the closed “Chaghri” magazine.  She is  Ayat meyralibayli’s  sister-in-law.

23. Latif Hasani -  He is Phd student of International law in Baku state university and teacher of nongovernment high school in Karaj city of Iran. He was arrested on 24 May 2010 in Karaj city in his home. ETTELAAT officials searched his home and took his Computer, Books, CDs and other things with themselves.

24. Akbar Azad Alibabalu - He is a cultural and social activist of Iranian Azerbaijanis that defends Azerbaijanis cultural and civil rights. He was  arrested in May 25th, 2010 in Tehran, Iran. He was one of the founder of “Chichekler” cultural NGO which works on  children litrature and music. He was also in prison in June 2003 and 2008 for defending of Azerbaijanis human rights in Iran.
 
The arrest of the Azerbaijani Turks is still going on in Iran.  On the contrary to the modern international laws and the UN declaration on human rights Iran tramples the national rights of the nations and ethnic groups living in the country.  In fact, the human rights in Iran are regulated theoretically with different interior laws based to the 9th article of the Iranian Constitution.

Moreover, the Iranian state took the commitment to protect the human rights for the international community and organizations by joining the international conventions. The human rights are not only considered the interior affairs of Iran but also the problem of all the humanity.
 
We consider that the national rights of the millions of Azerbaijanis living in Iran and their struggle for their political rights must be supported by not only the Azerbaijanis but also all democratic community of the world. Because the human rights and struggle for democracy are not the interior affairs of any country.
 
Hoping the support of the world community, those people, who are against the Iranian regime which is indifferent to the civil laws of the democratic world, want their cultural and political freedoms by means of democratic and peaceful struggle, demands the pressures against their language, spiritual existence and identity to be stopped.

We urge the Iranian regime to release the arrested people and their relatives as they took part in the protest rallies in Iran, put an end every pressures against the Azerbaijanis who are struggling for their freedom, inform about  the whereabouts of the arrested.

We also urge the world community to help to open the debate on these issues in the UN Committee on Human Rights and the other international organizations.
Considering your respect to the human rights and civil freedoms in your mission and activity, we believe you to pay attention the events happened in Iran Islamic Republic and help thousands of people whose rights are being roughly violated.
 

We believe that you will not be indifferent to  all these happenings, trampling of the human rights and vandal attitude to the human values.