Iran`s Azeris stay out of post-election protests
The large Azerbaijani minority in Iran has not
joined protests being staged by opponents of the outcome of the
country`s presidential elections, a co-chair of a group uniting
Azerbaijanis around the globe told a press conference Thursday.
Tensions escalated in Iran after the June 12 elections. After President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a conservative, was re-elected with 63 percent of the vote, according to official tallies, the supporters of his main rival, ethnic Azerbaijani reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi, launched biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution. As a result of the police dispersals of the protesters, about 20 people have been reportedly killed and over a hundred injured so far, and 450 people arrested.
According to Sabir Rustamkhanly, a co-chair of the World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC), two forces currently face-off in their bid to gain power in Iran, and this has been confirmed by the leaders of the national liberation movement in the country. They said, however, that the movement is not joining this struggle.
The WAC co-chair noted that both camps involved in the struggle are adhering to the same position on the protection of Azerbaijanis` rights. "Therefore, Iran`s Azerbaijanis do not believe that the latest developments will positively affect their struggle for freedom."
Firudin Parviz Niya, another WAC co-chair, said Azerbaijanis have made the right decision by not joining the post-election protests. "Struggle for power between two forces in Iran does not meet the interests of our countrymen living there."
Niya believes that even if an ethnic Azerbaijani comes to power in Iran, this does not promise anything to the country`s Azerbaijani population. "The whole system in Iran has to change for Azerbaijanis` rights to be protected," he commented.
Niya added that the WAC would be closely watching developments in Iran and take a stance complying with Azerbaijanis` interests.
Iran is home to about 30 million Azerbaijanis, or about 40% of the country`s population of 70 million, which is predominantly Persian.
Tensions escalated in Iran after the June 12 elections. After President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a conservative, was re-elected with 63 percent of the vote, according to official tallies, the supporters of his main rival, ethnic Azerbaijani reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi, launched biggest street protests since the 1979 Islamic revolution. As a result of the police dispersals of the protesters, about 20 people have been reportedly killed and over a hundred injured so far, and 450 people arrested.
According to Sabir Rustamkhanly, a co-chair of the World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC), two forces currently face-off in their bid to gain power in Iran, and this has been confirmed by the leaders of the national liberation movement in the country. They said, however, that the movement is not joining this struggle.
The WAC co-chair noted that both camps involved in the struggle are adhering to the same position on the protection of Azerbaijanis` rights. "Therefore, Iran`s Azerbaijanis do not believe that the latest developments will positively affect their struggle for freedom."
Firudin Parviz Niya, another WAC co-chair, said Azerbaijanis have made the right decision by not joining the post-election protests. "Struggle for power between two forces in Iran does not meet the interests of our countrymen living there."
Niya believes that even if an ethnic Azerbaijani comes to power in Iran, this does not promise anything to the country`s Azerbaijani population. "The whole system in Iran has to change for Azerbaijanis` rights to be protected," he commented.
Niya added that the WAC would be closely watching developments in Iran and take a stance complying with Azerbaijanis` interests.
Iran is home to about 30 million Azerbaijanis, or about 40% of the country`s population of 70 million, which is predominantly Persian.
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