Appeal
to : UNESCO and Human Rights Organization
On behalf of Iranian Azerbaijanis
who respect the
21 st. of February
as the annual International Mother
Language Day , and as the believers of
UNESCO’s intention to achieve
global peace through solving cultural
differences
Azerbaijanis had decided to celebrate
this day in the city of Tabirz ( the central city of Iranian Azerbaijan ) in order to help a
better understanding , integration and co-operation amongst the ethnic Iranian .
They had obtained proper permit
from the special organization within the government of Islamic Republic of Iran
for this occasion and had invited 18
linguists and related speakers to participate in this celebration .
In spite of necessary information which were presented to the authorities
in TABIRZ,
assembling permit was denied by police force some hours before the
beginning of the ceremony and the
participants were obliged to leave
the area without any clarification .
Referring to the latest statistics of UNESCO which clearly specifies that “ half of the
world’s 6000 to 7000 languages are in danger of
extinction “ we the 23,000,000 Azerbaijanis of Iran ( UN statistics 1998 ) composing % 37 of Iranian population against 22,000,000
Farsi speaking population of the country (% 35as the same statistics )
are facing the danger of extinction of our mother language due to the
lack of educating
our children in our own language.
Although we , Azerbaijanis along
with speakers of other languages and
dialects are the actual nation of Iran ,
unfortunately since 1925 our language rights have officially been taken over by
Farsi language and we have lost the rights of any development and protection
over our own Mother language by forbidding them to educate in schools and other educational organizations , which
concluded none Farsi languages to be
sacrificed by Chauvinistic Pan-Farsism .
Even after the Islamic Revolution
of Iran ( 1979 ) in-spite-of articles 15 and 19 of country’s constitutional law
to protect none Farsi languages , the government has not been able to support none Farsi
languages in the country and Iran has
become the largest grave-yard of none Farsi mother languages and dialects .
In accordance with the latest verifications and investigations ,
Iranian nation is facing
the danger of extinction of about 130 languages and dialects out of 200
living languages and dialects of the country within next 50 years if immediate actions are not taken to reserve
them in proper ways.
We therefore take the opportunity of forwarding our appeal to the UNESCO
and
Human Rights Organizations to help us with reservation of our
mother language within humanitarian bounds and boundaries before it becomes humanitarian disaster.
On behalf of out of Iran Azerbaijanis
The Cultural Azerbaijani Organization of Berlin
Germany March 2, 2005
Dr. M. A. Farzane
Dr. Siddige Adalati
Dr. Reza Baraheni
Dr. Zia Sadrolasharfi