By: Hamid Dadizadeh

Language and Human Identity: South Azerbaijanis, a Case Study

The “primordial and enduring importance of our mother language” has repeatedly been emphasized by the world renowned researchers and writers. Mother language is referred to as “the homeland of our innermost thoughts”.1. The interrelatedness of language with other human faculties and senses takes us spontaneously to the position to pay more attention to the dimensions of language in the history of human civilization. One can approach the mother language from a variety of perspectives (e.g. educational, sociological, psychological, artistic/literary, historical, political, and post-colonial) … (Please click here)

Hamid Dadizadeh

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 UNICEFTel: +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 SwedenTel: +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

After I went to Tehran and became a member of the parliament, my desperateness and hopelessness was intensified. I saw tons of unanswered petitions and telegrams there. I noticed that most of the persons who have entered into the fraction of freedom- the fraction that we had enthusiastically tried to found it – have small and personal intentions. I was successful to find out that all parliament and state foundations are in hand of some backward-looking despiteful persons, thefts, liars and charlatans.
Those observations had a huge affect on my mentality. I knew that I would not get along well with the traitors who had occupied the parliament. I felt that those traitors would not easily allow me to be in the parliament. For that reason, I said all my words using the opportunity. I said the requirements of 16000 Azerbaijanis who elected me and sent me to the parliament. They listened to my words accurately and silently and supported me. But those supports were nothing except a black curtain to hide their dishonesty. As soon as they had an opportunity, they said to themselves “It seems that this Azerbaijani is not that kind of person who can be unvoiced. He should be banished from here”. They disagreed with my credential.
Nevertheless, I did not get disappointed and with the help of the liberals who were gathers in the Freedom Front, we started our fight. It is a sigh that our fiery speeches and papers were ineffective and unanswered. Tehran moved but toward back, toward suppressing the rights of the nations.
Finally, the situation was turned to such crucial condition that I understood that there is no outcome for staying in Tehran and giving hot speeches and writing papers. I fell to thinking about the debate that we had had one year ago in here, Tabriz.

Persia's kings are history's great villains. Does the British Museum's show do them justice?
By Jonathan Jones
(A farsi translation of this paper can be found here)
Thursday September 8, 2005
The Guardian

By Jamil Hasanli

On September 10, 1945, one week after declaration of the famous 12 Shahrivar (September 3) manifest and the announcement of the establishment of Azerbaijan Democrat Party (ADP), Seyed Jafar Pishevari gave a speech about the party and their target for one hour and half. An abstract of the speech was published in Azerbaijan Newspaper. I will try to translate the speech from its Farsi version translated by Sirus Madadi that can be found here.




About the foundation of the Azerbaijan Democrat Party (ADP)About two and half years ago, I proved here that Iran would pass this war (the World War II) undamaged. I have the same opinion yet. There is no doubt about that since the international politicians have guarantied that.
The subject of the independency (independency of south Azerbaijan from Iran) is not a debatable subject and nobody wants to deny that. Blessed Mosavat, one of the pervious leaders of the Democrat Party, did recommend us to avoid proposing the independency. He said “This can be discussed when it is doubtable and discussable. The independency of Iran is a firm and indisputable subject.”
I pointed out this intentionally to avoid misusing of our clear slogans by some partials.
(While he was drawing the map of Iran with his finger on air, he said :) I clearly do exclaim that our words and requests are not out of this map. Our discussion is about the inside of the borders of Iran. If all consider this again, our discussion and agreement will be easy.
Attendances can remember my extended second speech. In that time, I was elected by 16000 Azerbaijani for the parliament. Perhaps, most of the audiences of that speech are here now. Considering the condition of the country, I said that the country could not be saved from adversity just by a member of the parliament. I was so regretful that day because a worker kissed my shoulder enthusiastically and said, “Go, I entrusted you to god. You may be able to treat our pains”. I knew that until the condition of the country, especially Tehran, was not changed, I would not be able to fulfill the ambition of that worker. Because of that, I asked people for help that day and said:” A member of the parliament cannot do anything lonely. People should take hand of one another to find a solution for their problems.”