SMCCDI (Information Service)
October 27, 2005

A controversial “American Enterprise Institute” (AEI) conference on Iran, which took place yesterday, has boosted the wave of indignation and emotion among most Iranians. The event, labeled as “Unknown Iran - Another case for Federalism?”, was already shattered due to several days of protest actions which have started since October 17th.

The subject has become a hot topic on most Iranian abroad based or opposition - to the Islamic regime - satellite TV and radio networks. Callers are expressing their dismay or anger about some of the comments made by some of the speakers or the conference organizers’ true intention. Many are calling for protest gatherings or the organization of genuine conferences on Iran in order to expose the AEI. Other are slamming some of the speakers or the few organizations which rushed to the meeting for what is believed to be “getting a kind of recognition or obtaining future rewards”, or, by believing to be able to influence the conference’s nature, such as, the well respected Amanollah-Khan Riggi who made the only decent speech of the meeting.

Of course, those believers are qualified anyhow as “those who didn’t get the real purpose of getting played and helped somehow the organizers in their try to legitimize the meeting”!

Protesters’ initial concerns were generated due to the weakness of the content of the conference, its sudden timing and especially the initial selection and persistence of keeping some very questionable and separatist speakers from ethnicities who are living mainly in Iran’s ‘border zones’. Even, the sudden nomination of a so-called representative of Lor tribes “with nationalistic views” has not been sufficient in order to calm the concerns. Many see it just as a political move in order to try to calm the situation and to legitimize the conference.

Even Dr. Manouchehr Ganji - an opponent to the Islamic regime who was somehow trying to stay neutral in this case - is echoing now the protesters and many other political leaders. Most of them are seeing the AEI event as an action which intends to open the door to the gradual disintegration of Iran. They’re qualifying the meeting as a platform for promoting insane individuals who are well known for having the dark goal of creating future ethnic wars in the region and the Yugoslavisation of Iran. It’s to note that such possibility would surely have a domino effect and would spread across Iran’s current borders. It would plunge countries, such as, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Armenia, Turkmenistan and the so-called Republic of Azerbaijan (a name created by Stalin in 1914 for qualifying the territory known till then as Aran and which was detached from the Greater Iran) into wars that would impact the planet in various ways such as an unprecedented jump of Oil price.

Other Iranians see it also as a grave mistake which is un-deliberately helping the unpopular Islamic republic in order to consolidate its shaky power by creating a general fear on the future existence of Iran and playing Iranians’ nationalistic feelings. They qualify it as a wrong move which is, in reality, neutralizing some of the impact of the great July 16th comments of President George W. Bush on the “need of respecting the territorial integrity of Iran!”. It’s to note that several anti-regime riots took place in days after such unprecedented statement, as, several Iranian ethnicities had always the fear of creating the possibility of a disintegration of Iran in case of uprising.

It’s to note that the event’s purpose was officially “to inform Americans” but it took place without meaningful American or media presence and its content was afar from real facts which are existing in Iran. No real debate took place neither, as two of the speakers, as expected, used the AEI as a platform in order to spread their baseless claims and the two other tried to correct them. Even the background of most of its appointed speakers was far away from the usual norms which are usually observed for such occasions. As an example, the organizers tried to justify the presence of a notorious separatist speaker, named Rahim Shahbazi, by stating that the later has been involved “in creation of many websites”.

Indeed, Shahabzi is known for creating websites which are in reality involved in falsification of history about the region. He’s known for echoing falsified information which are dating from the Stalin era and which were spread by the defunct USSR Intelligence circles in order to separate the Iranian province of Azerbaijan. The baseless claims are contradicted by several distinguished International scholars, such as, Professor Donald Stillo or prominent Iranian-Azari historians or researchers, such as, Dr. Khalil Andache, Bahman Paymai, Dr. Assad Homayoon or the late Ahmad Kasravi.

Shahbazi’s also known for posting fascist, racist and genocidal comments on the Internet against Iranians and Armenians. He’s publicly calling them dogs and declaring seeing the day that snipers would finish them. He’s adding that it’s just matter of time. The finding of two of his comments via www.google.com were a major blow to the conference:
LINK1
LINK2

During the conference’s ending Q&A session, someone asked Shahbazi if he could state the date and the time when the elections were held which led to his - Shahbazi’s - election as representative of Azaris in Iran? He replied: “No one elected me. All Azaris in Iran are in jail.” Of course, he omitted to say that the current Supreme Leader of the Islamic regime and most high rank clerics are from Azarbaijan. He also forgot to mention that Iran had Azari rulers for the last 800 years minus the 50 years of Pahlavi dynasty when the Empress, most Prime Ministers, Diplomats, Managers and Head of Military Forces, as well as, the wealthiest Industrialists or Merchants were from Azarbaijan or Kurdistan.

Some Iranians, especially among the Azari community, are legitimately stating that “if creation of websites are a sign of achievement or notoriety, then AEI should start to admit the Islamist murderers who are posting abominable slaughtering scenes on the Internet”. They’re requesting a formal apology from the AEI Administration for admitting such individual in the name of the Iranian-Azari community.

On the eve of this conference, more than 900 people have signed an online petition urging the AEI, as a token of respect for Iranians and to help clarify its position that it does not seek to instigate or promote secession in Iran, by only having the Iran lion and sun flag on display as the only Iranian flag present at the conference cited above.
http://www.petitiononline.com/O4N7L2Y6/petition.html

Note: SMCCDI’s website is down and its mailing system can be stopped also, at any minute, but you can check updated news in reference to this campaign, by visiting:
http://marzeporgohar.org/

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The “Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran” (SMCCDI) / “Komite e Hamahangui e Jonbesh e Daneshjoo i Baraye Democracy dar Iran”

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Related: Iran

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