THE BAN ON SPEAKING
AZERI IN IRAN
On May 2006,
Safar Asari, governor of Maku put into effect a regulation
“banning to speak the Azeri in the official meetings and
making obligatory to speak Farsi”. The restlessness caused
by this regulation in the administrative structures in the
entire Maku still continues. On June 16, 2006, Mollah
Mirahmadi Musavi Rendi, Friday preacher of Maku, criticized
the decision taken by Asari during the Friday preaching
where Asari was present.
During the
Friday preaching, Mollah Mirahmadi Musavi Rindi stated that:
“the majority of the people living in Maku and the entire
officials here consist of the Southern Azerbaijanis.
Speaking their mother tongue is the natural right of these
citizens and this right cannot be changed. There has not
been any reservation about this issue in previous times and
the situation should remain as the same”.
After the
Friday preaching, a dispute took place between Musavi Rindi
and Safar Asari due to this preaching. During this dispute,
Asari said to Musavi Rendi that: “as the Friday preacher,
while firstly you should care about speaking Farsi, it is
wrong to incite people to speak Azeri. Nobody is prevented
to speak his/her mother tongue in the daily life; but the
Farsi should be spoken in the official circles”. Musavi
Rendi stated that the decision in question was not binding
for himself and he would continue to speak Azeri anytime.
