The Voice of Mirza Xazar

Dear Landsmen,

It is with great honor that I can share with you that the first parliamentary resolution in Europe and America, specifically about South-Azerbaijan, has been laid in the Swedish parliament. The resolution which was initiated and drafted by the Azerbaijani Youth Association in Sweden, was laid on October 31 by Mr. Hans Linde, a member of the Swedish Parliament and the Left Party’s representative in the Swedish Foreign Affairs committee.

The resolution gives a historical background to the ruling chauvinistic system in Iran as well as explains the situation of the South-Azerbaijanis today. It brings up not only the cultural discrimination in the country but also the systematic economical and social oppression conducted against the Azerbaijanis. The banishment of the Azerbaijani language in the school system and media as well as in all other public contexts, the distortment of the Azerbaijani history, the economical negligence of Azerbaijani regions, the Persification of Azerbaijani geographical names and the reducing of land areas bearing the name Azerbaijan, are given as examples of the Persian chauvinism and the forced assimilation of the Azerbaijanis in Iran. The resolution also mentions the mass demonstrations in the Azerbaijani areas in northern Iran, which took place in the end of May earlier this year. Through the publishing of the degrading article and cartoons in the state owned newspaper “Iran”, which initiated the demonstrations, the Iranian state’s anti-Azerbaijani propaganda is clearly identified. It is stated in the resolution that this is a part of the strategy of diminishing the national self picture of the Azerbaijani nation in Iran and a way to instill shame over their origin.

Concretely, the resolution proposes that the Swedish government within the UN, EU as well as other international bodies shall work so that:

1. the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to study and write their own history
2. the Azerbaijani language gets the status of an official minority language in Iran.
3. the Azerbaijanis in Iran have the right to freely use their language in both oral and written form and that the language is educated in the schools.
4. the right of the Azerbaijan people to build their own political and cultural organizations.
5. the right of the Azerbaijanis to preserve their culture and heritage.
6. the democratic, cultural and human rights of the Azerbaijanis are defended and secured.

The resolution will be treated within the Swedish Foreign Affairs committee, and will later be discussed in the Swedish parliament where Mr. Linde and his party will have to defend the above mentioned proposals. After voting, a final decision regarding the resolution will be taken.

The laid resolution is an official document recorded in the Swedish Parliament’s archive. It will be circulated among the parliamentarians as well as among journalists and academics working with questions concerning human rights and Iran, meaning that a great number of influential people will have access to this material, something that will contribute to the further enlightenment of the South-Azerbaijani matter.

Despite its small geographical size, Sweden is a leading country in the international community when it comes to human rights issues. Thanks to Sweden’s long tradition of defending victims of injustices and condemning repressive regimes it has gained great authority and respect among other countries. Thus, the fact that Sweden has chosen to engage in the case of South-Azerbaijan increases the attention around the question in the international community, especially within the European Union. The contents and the terms used in the resolution are also of great importance. For the first time the politically controversial terms “Persian chauvinism” and “South-Azerbaijan” as well as the numbers 30 million are used together in written form on the highest parliamentary level.

Organizations in the Diaspora have the possibility to fulfill their national duty in many ways. One way is through lobbying, a path that our organization has chosen. For several months we have been aiming for this resolution to be laid and have therefore worked hard and with focus for this to come through, among others things by a number of visits to the Swedish parliament and by establishing and nurturing contacts with members of the Parliament. During our work we have understood that if you believe you can achieve, something that concretely has been proven by this resolution. We believe that this resolution will help not only our organization, but all other Diaspora organizations, tremendously in their work to raise awareness about South-Azerbaijan. We also believe that thanks to the inspiration from our brave brothers and sisters inside, our Diaspora will continue to strengthen and continue to achieve great accomplishments in serving its nation.

Congratulations!

Respectfully

Nergiz Nedaei
The Azerbaijani Youth Association in Sweden

I didn't fall, I'm still on foot... A short overview to the political activity of one of our fellow countrymen Intigam Mammadov It is quite a long time that I have attentively been observing through media the social-political activity of our brave fellow countryman Intigam Mammadov, a member of the Musavat Party currently living in emigrant in German Federative Republic. It is already nine years that he has been living in this European country with strict rules and at the same time he truly continues his social-political struggle doing all his best . As an Azeri he struggles to prove that Azerbaijani generations are deserving and able to live in society with equal and fair laws as other nations . Though Intigam had to leave his own country as there was danger for his life after he joined the struggle to free his country of the violent conditions made by a group of governmental clerks, and his activity was against the benefit of Azerbaijan government , he hasn't forgotten his people and their troubles. And that's why as an activist he began his work on Human Rights Defense that is against tyrannical power structures and the mathia in Azerbaijan that has "lost" amount of money stolen from the common people. Today, Intigam as a representative of the Caucasian Human Rights Defense Organization in Germany does useful things for the region in this direction . He chose this kind of activity in order not to let the others be in such sad situation as he was who felt the pain of police beatings and were brought to the police office with hands locked in chains, was hurt, abused, kept there for many days due to any kind of objection demonstration in his own country. Only the person who has felt this pain and met the violence, whose rights were stolen can defend human rights warmly like him. Always remembering all this violence Intigam can’t be indifferent to such cases in life. There exists a strong unwilling base for his activity in Azerbaijan: the violence to media and freedom of speech, to the representatives of media, their being kidnapped, abused and detained the violence of citizens’ rights, the license of governmental representatives and clerks and other cases of violence of human rights. Intigam is not tired of becoming helpful in the struggle to improve the rights of his people using all existing, impressive means of making announcements that attract the attention of the international communities to these horrible cases and writing objection letters directly to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Struggling together with his German friends for the rights of his people, Intigam also takes an active role in the ceremonies and cultural life of this European country. This gives him an opportunity to continuously explain the truth of Karabakh - the wound of Azerbaijan, to the German people and attract the attention of the world community to the genocide of our people. We are proud of Intigam and at the same time we feel deep sadness when observing the activities of Azerbaijani sons like Intigam in foreign countries. We feel sorry that such active people as Intigam Mammadov are unable to return to their own land and don’t have a chance to direct collaboration with their countrymen, to be actively involved in the social - political life of the country. Because as long as the clan of Aliyevs is in political power in Azerbaijan to be in politics and struggle for human rights in this country always means to put your own lives in serious danger. But we believe that there will come a day when their activity will be appreciated. Recently the process of democracy that has already happened in the whole post-soviet countries and has reached the Caucasus as well, so the tendency of integration to european values will happen in Azerbaijan too, Azerbaijan will also turn into the hearth of highest moral values and democratic measures and become the hearth of civil society and the place of laws defence. Then those like Intigam Mammadov will really be appreciated for their hard , but honourale work.I wish you success in your deeds, my dear fellow countryman. (Sent from France)

Dream of opportunity leads to 'lip service' in Iraq By Pfc. Abel Trevino, 28th Public Affairs Detachment LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Balad, Iraq Mahir Ibrahimov came to the United States in 1993 from his homeland of Azerbaijan, a republic of the former Soviet Union, with his wife, daughter and a dream of opportunity. Eleven years after moving to America, he volunteered to help defend his country, the United States, the best way he knew how: by becoming a contracted linguist for the Army. "After 9/11, I felt it was very important to be helpful any way I could," Ibrahimov said. "I feel that this is a very important mission at this time. Nothing is more important than the events here in Iraq and around Iraq. Ibrahimov's striving to help the United States is not a recent trend for him: his previous employment consistently benefited his new homeland. To come to Iraq, Ibrahimov left his job teaching foreign languages at the Foreign Service Institute at the State Department. Prior to that, he was a consultant to several American companies engaged in international business and the president of The Educational and Business Center in Washington, D.C. Ibrahimov has made education an integral part of his life, from teaching to his extensive studies with several accredited universities around the world. Along with his master's degree, Ibrahimov is also a qualified Arabic and English linguist. He is fluent in Russian, Azerbaijani and Turkish and can communicate in another five languages from the Turkic linguistic family. He holds a doctorate from The Academy of Social Sciences in Moscow in international relations and political science and has taken educational classes from the School of Advanced International Studies affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and the World Politics Institute in Washington, D.C. All the classes I've taken and studied lately were related to international relations and political science, Ibrahimov said. "My master's degree was in international journalism plus linguistics of foreign languages. His proficiency in languages has earned him the nickname "Genius" by the civil affairs unit he is contracted to, while enabling him to actively participate in experiencing the regional cultures of Iraq. Getting to know the differences and particularities in all three customs is very interesting to me, he said. Since his arrival to Iraq on April 21, his travels with civil affairs and other units have taken him across Iraq, including Baghdad and many small villages. My opinion is, when I want to know about a country, I don't want to go to the big cities because all big cities are the same in all the countries, he said. In order to understand better their customs and culture, it is better to go to the villages; that is where you can feel the cultural spirit of the people. Ibrahimov said that he is in the process of writing a book on his experiences here, along with insights and nuances of the cultures he has experienced. This is a new, unique experience to add to my life, he said. I've never been in a real combat situation. I've had different experiences in my life. I've had good jobs, but I've never been in that kind of situation. Working on his book means more to Ibrahimov than just sharing what he's seen; it expands on his life's ambitions and passions. Education is something that requires persistence, Ibrahimov said. All my life, I've been doing something everyday: either practicing my languages, writing articles or my book or reading something just for enrichment. He also writes poetry, short stories and plays the piano when time allots him the luxury to enjoy his hobbies. He said his pursuit of education has kept him busy for many years and that everyone has to continuously practice to maintain knowledge. It's not just about getting the degree. After getting the degree the process is not over. People need to maintain themselves intellectually all their lives, he said. Editor's Note: Pfc. Trevino is a member of the 28th Public Affairs Detachment from Fort Lewis, Wash. and is deployed to Iraq in support of units at LSA Anaconda