Opinion  Guy Bechor
Iran’s ethnic troubles
Guy Bechor
Published: 18.05.12, 00:56
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15 Talkbacks for this article
1. It Would Be Only NATURAL For The Illegal
(05.18.12)
Regime Who Stole the last election From the Iranian people to Uravel, why you ask Because Only Goodness is Undivided! And on the opposite side Evil is Always DIVDED. As the islamic theocrats/ Dictators disregard the Basic Rights of choice Which Ha Shem has given us Freely, what separates Humans from animals are; a prehensile thumb and the ability to reason. Why a tyrannical group of Manglomaniac's could think for one nanosecond they could change what Ha Shem Deemed The Natural Order of Man is beyond comprehension. For this is why iran for all it's Hate and Ill will is going in the direction of Hades! The Good People of Iran can and must be saved!
2. Israel should help Iran's oppressed ethnics find freedom.
Chaim ,   Israel   (05.18.12)
There are two good reasons why Israel should help Iran's oppressed ethnics find freedom. 1) Morally, it is the right thing to do. 2) It would make trouble for the genocidal Mad Mullahs who lead Iran. That being said, it is no substitute for destroying Iranian nukes. Which we MUST do!
3. I disagree
Sassan ,   Orange County, USA   (05.18.12)
With a new regime, all these ethnic minorities would unite under a central Iranian unity. Therefore, when this regime falls there will not be an ethnic civil war but rather an Iranian unity of tolerance, peace, and true secular democracy.
4. It's not about the regime...
Persian CAT   (05.18.12)
Iranians of different ethnic and religious backgrounds have stuck together for thousands of years. There have ALWAYS been inclinations for separation by many of those groups. But the fact is when push comes to shove the Iranians rather remain Iranian. Khamenie is an Iranian Turk, a large number of Iranian armed forces commanders are Kurds, Arabs... Volumes of ink or bits have been dedicated to this topic and several of Iran's enemies have tried to take advantage of such "feelings". But at the end of the Iranians have stuck together. The Arabs could not change their languages and culture, and the Turks could not suck them into the Ottoman Empire. It is also the second country, after Viet Nam, that has got its independence from the US Empire State. Just remember Israel's utter failure to get the Iranian Jews to migrate to Israel.
5. a complete joke
PersianJew ,   Holon,TA,Israel   (05.18.12)
the overwhelming majority of Iran is populated by ethnic Persians, all the major cities, Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Qom, etc etc, Azeri's are a linguistic group, not a different ethnic group, and an Iranic people, the vast majority of Azeri's under 30 speak Persian as a first language due to state assimilation, the Kurds are almost all Shia Muslim found in the provinces of Kermanshah and Kordestan, they have never been seperatists, and the Arabs of Iran fought on the front lines against Saddam,this entire piece is absolute nonsense, I have family still living in Iran and I was born and raised there, I expect more from YNet, even during this nuclear Islamofascist crisis.
6. bullsh.............
jorge   (05.18.12)
represion in Iran is so obsesive and brutal, otherwise they would just split, sooner or later they will. They are worried sick when even the scapegoat, Israel, is not driving the Iranian people to forget the oppression and mismanagement of the ayatollahs
7. i see no problems
tavit ,   australia   (05.18.12)
well its probably because they are causing trouble ? no mention of the Armenian , Assyrian , Jewish communities , maybe those trouble makers should learn from other minorities .
8. Hurrah, YNET opened its eye, after 30 years
Istvan ,   BUDAPEST HUNGARY   (05.18.12)
But when will US and Israel do the same ? The beludshis are forgotten ,there are some 10 million sunni beludshis along Pakistan border. A silenced civil war is there, without any western echo.
9. Ethnic, not religious issue
D ,   London, UK   (05.18.12)
The Kurds and Arabs in Iran do not define themselves in terms of religion but their ethnicity - the majority of Arabs are Shia like the tribes on the other side of the Shatt al-Arab, but that doesn't make them more likely to be aligned to the regime. Iran is a multi-national country, having grown out of an empire with ethno-national groups straddling its borders (Balochistan, Kurdistan, Azerbaijan, Arabistan). Aryan and Islamic identity have failed to unite these peoples since the collapse of the Qajar dynasty and Iran can only be held together through tyranny.
10. Keep on dreaming
Philos ,   Herzliya   (05.18.12)
The Persian, Iranian, Kazar's, whatever you want to call them, have ruled that same bit of land since the time of Cyrus the Great. Bechor should keep his day job
11. Totally inaccurate, terrible statistics
Mehran ,   USA   (05.18.12)
This article is totally inaccurate and having been to Iran thrice, and being Azeri, I can say its a total exaggeration. "some 33% of Iranians are Sunnis, including the Arabs and Kurds in the country". This is a GROSS exaggeration. Its may 5% sunni. This is part of an attempt to paint iran as falling apart at the seams which it is not.
12. 25 million azeri 5 million Turkemen minorieties largest
Tayfun_Turkey ,   Istanbul   (05.19.12)
Azeri minority of 25-30 million, and Turkemen minority of 5 million are major minorities of Turkic origin.
13. Looking through the wrong end of the telescope again?
M. Mir ,   Houston, US of A   (05.20.12)
The Azeri "minority" in Iran runs Iran. Azeris in Iran would like to annex Azerbaijan in to Iran to be reunited with them. And, of course, tht is what will happen within the next 10 -15 years. After Iran has established its primacy in the region.
14. Very un-infomred OpEd
Jeesh Daram   (05.21.12)
This guy does not know a single thing about Iran. Sorry but this is either paid propaganda or translated from Mongolian LOL!!!!
15. Structural weaknesses
Hadi Mohsen ,   B. Lebanon   (05.21.12)
The weaknesses are too apparent and people yearning for freedom of Persan dominance .The only remaining is for others to help them and cultivate the weaknesses that the Iranians are historically aware of .No public relations will hide the fact that Iran execute more people in public, let alone in secret.
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