In recent days, there have been calls by members of the European Parliament for Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy and Security Affairs, to take action to protect the rights of minorities in Iran, after an Iranian Kurd was executed following a sham trial.
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According to Amnesty International, "Davoud Abdollahi, from Iran's Kurdish Sunni minority, was convicted of "corruption on earth" and sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial." This comes after Iran's repressive regime banned Mahsa Amini's family the right to travel to France to receive the prestigious Sakharov Prize, which was awarded to her posthumously. However, the Kurds are not the only minority group to suffer gravely in Iran.
The South Azerbaijanis, who number around 30 million plus in Iran, are facing intense repression designed to eradicate their culture and transform them into Persians. Elnur Enveroglu, the deputy editor of Azernews, proclaimed: "The Persians historically have been scarce in number but to prove the power of their empire, they have committed ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, Kurds, etc. The main activity of the Persian Empire has been to assimilate all of the small nations of today's Iran where over 30 million Azerbaijanis live now."
He continued: "The country's ruling mullah clergy seeks to have influence over the people. Iran's economy is in a dire situation. The authority of Iran depends on nurturing several militant groups in the region. In the country, the repression is mainly against the Azerbaijani Turks who fear the regime. For example, in Iran, there are Armenian schools, where a few thousand Armenians can speak and study in Armenian. However, Azerbaijanis cannot speak and study in Azerbaijani."
Tarlan Ahmadov, the founder of the Azerbaijani Society of Maine, concurred: "There has been a deliberate oppression against Azerbaijanis in Iran that has lasted over a century, with the repression of their culture. They have no freedom of the press and collective assembly nor worshipping. This is outrageous. This should not be accepted. We have written numerous reports and made many social media posts, as well as sent letters to government officials about the protection of minorities in Iran, that have not yet been addressed. If this continues, children born to Azerbaijani families will lose their identity."
According to him, "A 100 year history has been targeting Azerbaijanis to lose their linguistic identity and to become Persian. Any ethnic group, if their language and culture is taken away from them, become no one. So, we want to fight for their rights and to bring attention to the world leaders to protect the human rights of all minorities in Iran. All of their rights must be protected by the constitution. They must be allowed to have their own language schools and to publish books in their languages. Their human rights activists should not be killed and imprisoned. They imprison many in Tabriz and other Azerbaijani cities, making the life of those people horrific. We are trying to educate here and stand with these minorities, and we are full support of the rights given to them by God."
The EU institutions have been informed about the human rights situation in Iran thanks to several important associations from South Azerbaijan and prominent media organizations, especially the AzFront Channel, who has played a critical role in highlighting human rights abuses in Iran. They informed the EU about the imprisonment of Hamid Yeganapur, Arash Johari, Peyman Ibrahimi, Alirza Ramezani and many others. Members of the EU personally called upon Mr. Borrell and the EU Parliament to take a tougher stance against the violations in Iran. They demanded an immediate end to social, ethnic, economic and environmental discrimination against Azerbaijanis and other minorities.
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Babek Chalabi, a South Azerbaijani dissident in the US, stressed: "The situation of the South Azerbaijani community in Iran, coupled with Tehran's expanding influence in the Middle East, presents a critical challenge that the international community, particularly the European Union, must not ignore. The plight of the South Azerbaijanis, Iran's largest minority, exemplifies a disturbing pattern of human rights abuses and cultural oppression that has largely escaped global scrutiny."
He added: "This negligence has broader implications. As the world turns a blind eye to the suffering of the South Azerbaijanis, the Iranian regime continues to expand its sphere of influence throughout the Middle East without worrying about internal problems. Iran's support for various proxy groups, evidenced in conflicts such as those in Gaza and its backing of the Houthi rebels, has destabilized the region. These actions include attacks on Israel and international commercial shipping, exacerbating tensions and undermining global security."
