Wednesday, 16 July 2003

IRANIAN AZERI LEADER SUPPORTS THE FEDERALIZATION OF IRAN

Published in Field Reports

By Gulnara Ismailova (7/16/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Chehregani was elected to the Iranian parliament from Tebriz in 1996, however the Iranian authorities prohibited his election and since then, Chehregani suffered from torture during arrests at several occasions.

Chehregani’s last visit to Baku took place in March of last year,from where he left for the West. His present visit to Baku coincides with greater American pressure on the Iranian regime.

Chehregani was elected to the Iranian parliament from Tebriz in 1996, however the Iranian authorities prohibited his election and since then, Chehregani suffered from torture during arrests at several occasions.

Chehregani’s last visit to Baku took place in March of last year,from where he left for the West. His present visit to Baku coincides with greater American pressure on the Iranian regime. Washington considers Chehregani as a trustworthy figure. He has inspired trust being both an academician and a charismatic person. According to Chehregani himself, “representatives of the American government see in his movement the only real force in Iran which can resist to the regime of mullahs”. At his final press conference in Baku, he declared that “in the nearest future, the struggle of southern Azeris will give results. The transformation of Iran into a federal state in the nearest 18 months is a reality”.

Thus Chehregani sees the future of Iranian Azerbaijan within the framework of a federation, but with a parliament, a government, and a militia of its own. Chehregani appears convinced that there are plans for the democratization of Iran in Washington, and that “this historical chance cannot be missed”.

At the same time, he emphasized that the struggle of Azeri Turks for their rights requires the support of the international democratic community. ”In the West, the idea of a partition of Iran is not supported. Therefore, at this stage, it will be more reasonable to create a state for Azeri Turks within an Iranian federation. The 35 million Azeris of Iran cannot remain outside of process of democratization, and, in order to avoid the situation of the Iraq Turkmens, we must be in the vanguard of struggle for democracy”, declared Chehregani.

Some natives of Southern Azerbaijan have criticized Chehregani, accusing the leader of MNRSA of betraying the interests of southern Azeris in opposing the partition of Iran. A statement by the representative of the World Congress of Azeris Teymur Eminbeyli noted that Chehregani struggles for the integrity of Iran, for its federalization. “If they will change their position, we can start to cooperate. Now it is impossible”.

Meanwhile, Chehregani\'s visit to Baku coincided with the activization of the national liberation movement of Azeris in Iran and with the fourth anniversary of the suppression of a students’ demonstration by the Tehran regime.

A traditional annual campaign on the fortress Bezz, from where the legendary Azerbaijani leader Babek headed resistance against the Arabian yoke in the ninth century, took place in Southern Azerbaijan with the alleged participation of about 2 million people. “Despite the actions of the Iranian authorities, a campaign of Azeris in honor of Babek’s birthday has taken place. It was more radical and politically sated than previous ones”, - the head of Baku bureau of MNRSA Huseyn Tukelly informed. He also informed that for the first time, the campaign was carried out under the Azerbaijani banners.

The reaction of the Iranian embassy in Baku to Chehregani\'s statements was surprisingly cool. As the press-secretary of the embassy Izzetullah Jalali declared, the Iranian government is not going to take preventive measures concerning the oppositional leader for his revolutionary appeals in the press. ”Tehran faithfully supports the freedom of speech and pluralism of opinions”, declared Jalali. He also noted that there no need to make a revolution in Iran. “Azeris of Iran already made a revolution in 1979 and are very satisfied with its results”.

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The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.

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