Refree aziz, your points are "matin" here, but I personally like to know how you feel about separatists in Azarbaijan. Please be as clear as you can be. I think this will resolve a lot of misunderstandings.
ME Jaan,
Turks of Azarbaijan have been suppressed badly like any other people in Iran. But there has been a little angle in the way they have been suppressed and that is their Turkic identity.
I see many people try to picture the following:
- We are Turkified and were Aryans so we should consider ourselves Iranians.
- We should call ourselves Azari in order to avoid to be identified as Turks.
- If we call ourselves Turks then that means we like to be a part of Turkey.
- One automatically is a separatist and should be kicked out as soon as he says the word Turk and not Azari.
My points are as the following:
- The right of Azarbaijani Turks, many of whom are not Azarbaijani anymore but Malayeri, Shirazi, Tehrani etc., to practice, read, write and promote Azari Turkish language should not be compromized because of parania of separatism or thinking that promoting the language of 25% of Iranians will weaken unity or Persian language. I think Iranian identity and Persian language is too strong for that.
- Promoting Azari Turkish will be actually a plus in absorbing all Iranic people like Azarbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and even Turkey to some extent who are Iranic by culture but speak Turkish. Iranian culture has been a dominant factore in theirs but now we are giving it away to Turks of Turkey because of this non-sense pure Aryanism antiques of 19th century.
- Iran is a pluralistic culture and country. If you want it united you need NOT to worry about minority separatists only. You need also be worried about those majority separatists much more. They are driving force to push minorities aside. They are the reason that one young sensitive person could be felt unrespected and seek refuge in separatism to fight his identity survival fight.