Many political and civil activists representing Iranian minorities believe that the Green Movement is the product of previous movements such as ethnic movements. Mohammad Ali Tofighi, a former member of the Central Council of Mojahedeen’s Islamic Revolution of Iran and a political activist and journalist contends that ethnic groups have played an important role in the Green Movement, “The Green Movement was born following the fraudulent election but no movement can be formed without drawing on pre-existing social and political contexts. This movement, too, proceeded and deepened in a very short time by taking advantage of social gaps, with the ethnic gap being one of the most important. The wide-spread wave of pro-change sentiments expressed in support for Mr. Karubi and Mr. Musavi, which motivated people to protest against the election fraud, was itself influenced by the ethnic discourse that has sought to liberate diverse Iranian ethnicities from oppression and discrimination.”
Last year Iran was the scene of one of the most magnificent social and political movements in the thirty year long history of the Islamic Republic, namely the Green Movement. An undeniable characteristic of this movement was that it began and continued mostly in Tehran and did not spread to the non-Persian or non-Shia parts of society. This raises the question about whether the Green Movement is merely founded and rooted in the disagreement over the election results or whether ethnic and religious movements too have played a role in it.
Role of ethnic movements in the formation of the Green Movement
Many political and civil activists representing Iranian minorities believe that the Green Movement is the product of previous movements such as ethnic movements. Mohammad Ali Tofighi, a former member of the Central Council of Mojahedeen’s Islamic Revolution of Iran and a political activist and journalist contends that ethnic groups have played an important role in the Green Movement, “The Green Movement was born following the fraudulent election but no movement can be formed without drawing on pre-existing social and political contexts. This movement, too, proceeded and deepened in a very short time by taking advantage of social gaps, with the ethnic gap being one of the most important. The wide-spread wave of pro-change sentiments expressed in support for Mr. Karubi and Mr. Musavi, which motivated people to protest against the election fraud, was itself influenced by the ethnic discourse that has sought to liberate diverse Iranian ethnicities from oppression and discrimination.”
The more clear reality is that in a country with such a diverse amount of religions and ethnicities, one cannot rely on an abstract promise of democracy to bring a large number of people, who relate to democracy only on its periphery, to participate in the current movement for change.
Saman Rasoulpoor, a Kurdish human rights activist and journalist, emphasizes that the Green Movement was the result of accumulated demands and criticisms by Iranian citizens. He points to the unrelenting suppression of Iranian ethnicities in previous decades and describes the criticism against the status quo as most strong among Iranian ethnic groups. In his opinion, the unprecedented emphasis of the two reformist presidential candidates upon minority demands further raised the taken for granted grievances of ethnic nature. He says, “In the most pessimistic scenario, even if we assume that the candidates’ campaign in support of ethnic rights was only to attract voters, it is still reasonable to maintain that this emphasis was a result of pressure from the lower layers of society and the efforts of political and civil rights activists of these areas, thus making Iranian ethnicities an important force for the change of the status quo in Iran before the presidential election.”
Yousef Azizi Banitaraf, an Arabic-speaking Iranian journalist and writer, in an interview with the Al-Arabiyya network emphasizes, “The protest movement started before the election; in April of 2005 there was an uprising by the people of Khuzestan against the regime’s policies to change the demography of the region in opposition to Arab ethnicities and their identity.” In the same year, the Kurds, too, took to the streets and Iranian Turks (Azerbaijanis) organized a wide-spread campaign following the publication of an insulting article by a state-sponsored daily in 2006.
In contrast, some ethnic activists believe that the Green Movement originated in the middle class residents of Tehran. Yashar Hakakpoor, who is in charge of public relations at the Society for the Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran, emphasized the common demands of the pro-democracy Green Movement and ethnic movements, “The Green Movement has no specific demands and the uprising that took place in the northern areas of Tehran and some Persian-speaking cities, three groups each with different demands appeared. The first group comprised of reformists, demanding their share of power and wealth along with some measures of reform within the political framework of the regime. The second involved youth from the affluent layers of society rising against the current suppressive atmosphere, and the third consisted of the exiled opposition groups who would take advantage of any opportunity to weaken the Islamic Republic.”
Nevertheless one should not forget that not all of Tehran’s inhabitants are Persian and the fact that the core of the movement is based in Tehran does not mean that all political activists residing in this city are Persians and so do not pursue the cause of other Iranian ethnicities. Considering the centralist policies of the Pahlavi regime as well as the Islamic Republic, the non-Persians comprise a large group of political forces concentrated in Tehran. Therefore, political activities are mostly organized by ethnic and national elites out of Tehran. Jalal Jalalizadeh, a former representative of the sixth Islamic Parliament and a member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, agrees that the concentration of pro-democracy demands in Tehran does not exclude participation of ethnic groups as this concentration is just because of the presence of the Green Movement leaders and other political activists in Tehran. He says that “The active participation of various groups of students, workers, merchants and other stratums of society that each draw upon Iranian ethnicities in their own way implies that the Green Movement is represented by all ethnic groups.”
Manner of participation by ethnic minorities
One of the most important concerns raised in the first year of the Green Movement’s life was its lack of spread to other cities, particularly to those areas with ethnic and religious minorities. The political leaders in these areas have differing views on the manner of participation in the Green Movement. Some believe that minorities participate in the Green Movement in a parallel manner and by pressing for their specific demands they increase the overall demands addressed to the ruling party. Hakakpour has a similar opinion: “Last year those political and civil rights activists not residing in the capital pursued their demands relentlessly along with the Green Movement.” Jalalizadeh also says that “While demonstrations were not as wide-spread as in Tehran, this does not imply their indifference, the security and militarized atmosphere of these areas and the ease of suppression made them more vulnerable. The Kurdish cities’ strike in protest to the recent executions shows the active participation of ethnic minorities.” In addition, Mohammad Ali Tofighi, by emphasizing the formation of the Green Movement prior to the election, refers to the activities of the Kurds to reveal the participation of ethnic minorities, “They have played an undeniable role in the recent movement. The number of Kurds who participated in the election increased by one hundred percent. The role of Kurds in the street demonstrations is not small and some of the martyrs of the Green Movement are Kurds. There is no need to talk about the imprisoned. I think that the speeding, intensification, and review of the sentences of Kurdish prisoners,their elevation to death sentences and their hurried executions are in fact to intimidate the core and leaders of the Green Movement.” While Rasoulpoor admits that the Green Movement has failed to spread to Kuzestan, Azarbaijaan or Kurdistan, he remarks, “The absence of uprisings in other cities was due to the suppressive atmosphere. Various groups related to ethnic minorities both inside the country and abroad supported the movement. The imprisonment of well-known personalities such as Dr. Ramezanzadeh and the martyrdom of students such as Kianoush Asas conveys the alliance of ethnic minorities with the Green Movement.”
Impact of the Green Movement on ethnic minorities
One of the difficulties of theoretical debates on ethnic concerns is the use of the word “minority.” The ethnic and demographic distribution in Iran is not consistent with the designation of a particular group as an absolute majority and another group as a minority. While the studies of the Center for Strategic Research demonstrate that the present policies of the government are in favor of making the “Persians” and the “Shias” two majority designations, the facts on the ground show that a large percentage of Iranians are comprised of non-Persians. By drawing on the above, Hakakpoor says, “With the Green Movement limited to the northern areas of Tehran and a few more Persian cities, the importance of participation of other ethnicities in the culmination of this movement and towards its transformation to a nation-wide movement becomes more clear.” He describes the self-awareness of Iranian ethnic groups as a sign of major changes in the public sphere of non-Persian ethnicities, “They showed that, in contrast to previous decades, they have attained the highest level of national self-awareness and unlike the past they no longer follow blindly the decisions made for them by Persian intellectuals; if their demands are not reflected in the center they’ll pursue their own independent activities.” Similarly, Azizi Bani-Taraf describes the lack of attention from reformist parties and NGOs concerning last year’s ethnic protests as a shortcoming of the Green Movement in influencing ethnic minorities.
However, one has to admit that last year’s events made a significant impact on the mutual understanding of ethnic minorities in Iran. Furthermore, the outright denial of human rights during staged court trials and baseless accusations, this time not in the periphery but in the center of the country, lifted the atmosphere of mutual misunderstanding and suspicion to a more clear vision. Jalalizadeh expresses the sentiment that: “The opportunists and the gold-diggers were revealed. Now people are better aware of their positions and status and they know who they are facing. Unity, empathy, solidarity, and trust have increased among Iranians, and tolerance and respect among and between various groups have never been so high like today. I believe that people today, despite the negative propaganda of previous years against the Kurds and Sunnis, sympathize with them.”
Tofighi also points to the co-reinforcement of the Green Movement through a coalition of all ethnicities, “Sub-movements have realized that more than anything democracy can increase the possibility of the fulfillment of their demands. Therefore, through co-alliance with the Green Movement and co-reinforcement of the sum total of allied forces, these movements have generated more hope.”
An alliance between Tehran’s residents and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iran is one of the main achievements of the Green Movement and the people’s unending struggle for democracy. Rasoulpoor reminds us of the wide-spread reaction to the execution of five political activists, four of them Kurds, and says, “The birth of the Green Movement and the continued suppressions have brought about a better understanding between ethnic groups and other Iranian citizens. A new set of values are established that will not tolerate the suppression and humiliation of ethnic groups, and a critical take over the past and humane contemporary approach to ethnic problems are showing themselves in the body of the Green Movement in an unprecedented way.”
The reality is that the Green Movement started with the simple slogan of “Where is my vote?” A slogan that, to use Dr. Abbas Milani’s words, carries one hundred years of Iranians’ fight for democracy. But the more clear reality is that in a country with such a diverse amount of religions and ethnicities, one cannot rely on an abstract promise of democracy to bring a large number of people, who relate to democracy only on its periphery, to participate in the current movement for change. One should not forget that a large part of the people who participated in the presidential election did so because of the electoral campaign and promises of the two reformist candidates. One year has passed and the tenth government has survived in the absence of legitimacy and by resorting to excessive force, intimidation, torture, rape, imprisonment, and exile of political and civil activists. It is time now to reflect on the programs of the Green Movement once more.
Link:
http://www.gozaar.org/english/articles-en/The-Green-Movement-and-Iranian-Ethnicities.html
Link:
http://www.gozaar.org/english/articles-en/The-Green-Movement-and-Iranian-Ethnicities.html
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