Iran and the Specter of Ethnic Strife

While ethnic, linguistic, religious, and sectarian diversity is generally seen as enriching societies, political leaders worry it could potentially pose a threat if not carefully managed. Professor Sadeq Zibakalam of Tehran University, who was briefly involved in Iranian Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan’s negotiations with representatives from Iran’s Kurdish minority in 1979 and is well aware of the promise and potential perils of diversity in Iran, recently warned against dismissing the complaints of Iran’s minorities as “separatism.”

• February 6: In an interview with reformist Aftab News, Zibakalam said:
  • “We are facing a problem called ethnicity in this country. This is a real and visible issue. This problem does not get solved by calling it separatism. Over the past hundred years, whenever the central government in Tehran has been weakened, we have seen centrifugal powers in play, in particular in Kurdistan. When the constitutional regime led to internal conflict,” referencing Iran’s 1905-1911 constitutional revolution and its aftermath, “we saw certain problems in Iranian Kurdistan and Azerbaijan. During the reign of Reza Shah, there was unity and territorial integrity, but after his departure, these issues peaked once again. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the armed forces once again secured Iran’s territorial integrity and stability until the time of the victory of the revolution, when ethnic issues rose once again. Under the present circumstances, there are civic protests, and we are witnessing a kind of solidarity in Kurdistan and in cities populated by Kurds. If we act as we have over the past hundred years, we will not solve any issue. We must consider their wishes and requests and solve ethnic problems just like democracies, which have managed to solve problems by democratic means.”
  • “If you want to impose a Persian character on the country, something that has been done for the past hundred years, you cannot solve the problem. In Iraq, they tried to impose pan-Arabism on society by force, which did not have the intended impact. In my opinion, there is only one method, and that is democracy. Just as other nations, linguistic groups, and sects have managed to peacefully coexist in democracies, we too can achieve it by emulating their method.”

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