Iran's Ethnic Factions Threaten to Split the State: The Multiethnic Fabric of Iran Starts to lJnra . S ENDERS WTMBUSH Los 1,, e1e,s linies (1923 Curreiit Fik ) Dec 16 1979 ProQuest Historical Nel%spapers Los Angeles Times (1881 1987) pg. HI Iran ‘s Ethnic Factions Threaten to Split the State By K ENDERS USH WThule the eyes of the word have been fastened on the plight of American hostages in Tebran and on the fanatical city mobs that cheer each new pro il iiimtimi by Ay 4 vuah Rwiuil Khuw u, Ii , u h b w slowly fraying at the edges. No facet of the conflict in Iran is likely to affect the pos' crisis political environment more fundamentally than unrest and militancy among that state's important ethnic minorities, The changing political equation is a very simple one The dominant Persian majority is rapidly losing its ability to control events alorg Iran's periphery, which is inhabited primarily by non Persians. Ethnic minorities have seized the opportunities resulting from chaos at the center to advance a variety of local de mands. In its present state of disarray, the Iranian army or at least those soldiers and units loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini, for It should be remembered that Iran's army is a multiethnic one will probably not be able to contain lo- cal rebellions for very long, and there is no suggestion that this sit .ation will Improve in the future Therefore, the Iran that emerges from the continmng turmoil will logically contain not one center of power, as in the shah's time, but several, thereby confronting policy makers with a complex international dilemma that they should have addressed long ago and for which they should have formulated sensible policies and contingency plans. hr other words, fran, like the majority of the world's coun- tries, is not an ethnically homogeneous ration but a diverse multiethnic state The problem of confusing nations and states is a coin moo one For example, Americans insistently refer to the inhabitants of the Soviet Union as “Russians,” when in fact ethnic Russians constitute less than 50% of the population and only one of some 140 distinct ethnic groups A simi ar confusion exists concerning Iran, which is in habited no only by Persians but also by a number of siza- ble ‘ninnrities including Azerbaiianis, Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs and Baluchis, as well as the less-populous Lurs Bakhtiaria Qashqais and others Demographic data about these peoples is difficult to find and unreliable. Azerbaijanis are the largest minority, estimated to num- ber from 4 million to 5 million. They are followed by the Kurds, who iiiuiñber between 2½ million and 4 million, the Arabs, 1½ million; Baluchis, 800,000 and Turkmen, 500, 000 Added to the smaller groups, it is probable that ethnic minorities comprise as much as one third of the Iranian population, perhaps more, Importantly, the larger minorities inhabit strategic hoc der areas and hence are potentially disruptive of Iran's re lations with adjacent states, The Kurds have been the most bothersome in this regard, influencing at various times in recent history Iran's relations with Iraq, Turkey and Syria. The Azerbapams are split almost evenly between Iran and the Soviet Union and have been the center of several ccn- troversies between those two states in the last five dec- ades, Turkmen are also split between the Soviet Union and Iran, although the great ma only live in the former coun- try. Baluchis, in southeast Iran, have historically been a restive force in Iranian politics They are divided i rs ever charging proportions among Iran, Afghanistan nd Pakis tan. Iranian Arabs live primarily in the provinte of Khu- zistan bordering Iraq, but are more worrisome to the au- thorities because they inhabit and work in Iran's vital oil producing areas The current crisis in fran is perhaps a classic example of a state's multiethnic fabric unraveling under the impact of a breakdown of central authority and of the speed with which the infection of ethnic self assertiveness is passed from group to group. It is not surprising that the Kurds were the first to press their national demands on the Khomeini regirse, even to the point of taking up arms Kurds have long sought a uni fled national homeland embracing the Kurdish populations of Iran, Iraq, Syria. Turkey and the Soviet Union. Their strong historical traditions, distinct language, culture and religion were at edds with the Iranian practice, which for ably discourages the observance of cultural tradi.ions that are not Persian, which requires the teaching of the Persian language and Persian history in schools, and which accepts Shia Islam Kurds are Sunni Muslims as the state reli- gion, Baluchis and Turkmen, who have similar grievances against Iranian authorities, were rapidly infected by Kur dish activities and moved to oppose the reconsolidation of an imperial Iranian state. Iranian Arabs, who seek to stem the flow of Persians to Khuzistan a migration that has relegated the Arabs to a minority in what they consider to be their own national region joined in with demands of their own. Thus began an epidemiC of minority protest which has only this week culminated in an armed rebellion of the state's largest minonty, the Azerbaijanis In many respects, the Aserbaijams' protests are ironic Like the dominant Persians, they are Shia Muslims and, therefore, they have escaped the religious discranniation dealt to Kurds, Turksnen, Baluchis and other Sunnites Moreover, Azerbaijams for many centuries have accept ed Persian culture the state culture as their own, even though ethnically they are Turklc and speak a dialect of Turkish Many of the great Iranian dynasties ;noludnsg the greatest, the Safavid dynasty have been Turkic, and Azerbaijan nobility have always been accepted at an equal level with Persian nobility Today, many prominent Irani- Please Turn to Page 3, Col, 1 Blocked due to copyrIght. See full page image or microfilm Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner Further reproduction prohibited without permission
Continued from First Page ans are Azerbaijanis. While the Azerbaijanis have had to make concessions regarding the use of their distinct lan- guage and the teaching of their own history, they are for the most part well-integrated into Persian society, and most consider themselves Iran ians. Since the 1920s, there have been several Azerbaijanln- dependence movements.” although one must approach the appraisal of these movements with caution. For the most part, they were the products of Soviet attempts to in- fluence particular Iranian policy decisions by creating a specter of internal unrest among Iranian Azerbaijanis, which the Soviets then could control This was the general pattern of events surrounding Sheik Mohammed Ithia- bani's National Democratic Party in 1920, Kuchik Khan's Soviet Socialist Republic of Ghilan in 1921 and Ja'far Pish- thv ri' D niocrattc Party ot Azethaijan i t t the 1940s. There can be no doubt that the participants in these differ- ent movements sought more autonomy within the Iranian state or outright separation from it, but there is little evidence of mass support for the movements. Not surprisingly, each movement collapsed when the Soviets withdrew support—including military support In the case of Pishihvari, the Soviets abandoned him to his fate when they successfully exacted oil concessions from the Iranian government This long experience suggests that the Soviets are not. interested in an Azerbaijani inde- pendence movement for its own sake, perhaps from fear that what happens in iranian Azerbaijan could be trans- mitted across the border to Soviet Azerbaijan. There has been no acknowledgement to date of Soviet involvement in the current Azerbaijani protest, and, judg- ing from the swift escalation of Soviet involvement in Af- ghanistan, it is difficult to imagine why the Politburo would want to risk destabilizing another part of the Soviet b t i T w' th M aby rntrigi it g ii Irat i n AzeTbaijan. Rather, the current round of Azerbaijani protests ap- pears to have been suggested by the protests of other eth- nic minorities—a kind of bandwagon effect—and carried to arms by the personal feuding of two old men, AyatollaI Khomeini and the religious leader of Iranian Azerbaijan, Ayatollah Kazem Shariat-Madari. The Ayatollahs' mutual antipathy is clearly based in part on rivalry for leadership of the Islamic revolution, a position Shariat-Madari be- lieves should be his because he is older than Rhomeini ai d assisted the younger man to attain his standing as an aya- tollah. That each man should lay claim to a loyal group of followers—even to the point of armed conflict—is perfect- ly within the Shia tradition of emulation for ayatollahs and unquestioning support of them. It would seem th matter little that on most of the fun- damental issues regarding the establishment of an Islamic republic, the two men are reported to be in concert. The armed attack on Shariat-Madari's house in Qom several days ago by tne ni pa t sans was anunpar onab1e pro- vocation to those who follow the Azerbaijan leader, and they responded in kind. Khomeini's charge that the Azerbaijanis supporting Sha- riat-Madari “were opposed to Islam from the very first day” is unlikely to cause anything but amusement from the objects of the attack, all of whom probably are fer- vently committed to Shiism. Nor is his charge that these renegades are ‘corrupters of Islam” likely to stir much more resentment than if one Catholic accused another of being a bad Christian. But similar blasts at Kurds, Baluchis or Thrkmen, who are Sunni Muslims, will probably prove to be much more serious. By accusing Sunnites of undermining his Islamic revolu- tion, and by implication of perverting Islam itself, Khomeini faces the real danger of forcing open a schism that lies at the very heart of Islamic civilization, the Shia- Sunni split. To date, Khomeini has judiciously confined himself to speaking of the brotherhood of Islam,” benign- ly avoiding mention of a subject that every Muslim knows lurks just beneath the surface. One slip of his acerbic tongue could bring this house of cards down, sending non- Shia ethnic minorities into open opposition to participation in a new Iranian state and costing Khomeini the moral support of most of the world's Muslims, who are Sunni. All dissenting ethnic groups have stressed that their im- mediate objective is to gain more cultural, linguistic and political autonomy within an Iranian state. There have been no outright calls for national separatism, although same factions of Kurds and Baluchis are known to favor this course. For them, demands for broader autonomy within an Iranian federation may be tactical moves de- signed to secure a forward position in their fight for na- t ona1 independence. These may be sound tactics and un- doubtedly will produce same permanent concessions from whatever government eventually assumes power in Teh- ran. However, national independence for these groups ap- pears no more feasible now than it did before Khomeini This would require the concurrence and cooperation of many governments, most of which are themselves unsta- ble or unwilling to act. Stifi, if conflicts between the re- belling minorities and the Persian center continue to esca- late, demands for total national independence will undoub- tedly be heard, especially from the Kurds. The situation could be complicated still further if minor- ity ethnic groups were to ally against Khomeini. At the present time, it is difficult to imagine any long-term man- ority alliances because the minorities are themselves di- vided by religion, language, history and geography. In the short run, however, the threat of minority alli- ain t the Persians may force more significant and more rapid concessions from Khomeini and his successors. It is probably for this reason that Ayatollah Ezzedin Hos- semi, the spiritual and political leader of Iran's Kurds, has stated that the revolution must go on until all major ethnic groups in Iran win a larger measure of autonomy, implying that what is good for one is good for all and that the min- orities must be ready to stand together to achieve their in- dividual objectives. For Iran's ethnic minorities, Khomeini's Islamic revolu- tion offers an exceptionally fluid environment in which they can press for their own demands with some hope of realizing them. Thus the situation should be seen for what it is, a chance to achieve political objectives. While most of the individuals who compose the different dissenting groups are devout Muslims, they are not in sympathy with Khomeini's brand of Islam or his concept of an Islamic state which would concentrate poler in the hands of a few religious figures. Whatever their grievances under the shah, the ethnic minorities, including the Shia Azerbaijanis, understand that they stand t gain nothing from such a political ar- rangement. In fact, their rights and privileges might be circumscribed even further. Hence their eagerness to make their respective cases before Khomeini can consoli- date his power and insist on the implementation of his Is- lamic constitution. Civil war between Persians and non-Persians is a possi- bility, but more moderate voices around Khomeini will probably not allow the situation to come to that. By now it is clear to everyone that the Iranian army is incapable of holding the minorities in check; therefore, the Khomeini forces will have to accede to some minority demands. With the minorities in armed opposition, the state can- not be reconstituted. Furthermore, excessive military acti- vity in crucial border areas is an invitation for foreign in- tervention, most logically from the Soviet Union. If civil war does occur, the likely contenders are the political left and the devout Muslim right, a conflict that will take place largely in the major cities. The Iran that emerges from these upheavals will be much different from that of the shah's time. If a new state can be built, it will be one in which minority ethnic groups play a more important role in the governance of their own S. Enders Wimbush is a member of the so&l seie,zce de- partment of Rand Corp., Santa Monica, and is the author of the recently ptthlished “Mulim National Communism in the Soviet Un on7 in addiUon to numerous articles on notional- üy prob1em. . FIis comments i this ariwle reflect lus own opinions, and not those of the Rand Coip, or its research spo7 sors. The Multiethnic Fabric of Iran Starts to Unravel Along the Borders lives and the management of state affairs. Regional power centers in Kurdistan, Khuzistan, Azerbaijan and Baluchis- tan will be in a better position to demand political, cultural and economic concessions of the Iranian state, for, among other reasons, the much wider distribution of arms in re- cent months gives them the power to do so, or at least to cause the government in Tehran serious difficulties. International realignments are likely to structure the way in which Tehran treats important minorities still further. According to some reports, for example, Iraq, long the implacable enemy of Kurdish autonomy movements, is sending aid to Iran's Kurds. Azerbaijanis in Turkey have indicated their support for their brethren in Iran. In the east, Baluchis undoubtedly will be affected by the fighting in Afghanistan and upheavals in Pakistan. And, of course, looming over all of this is the Soviet Union, which shares Azerbai aflis, Kurds and Turkmen with han. Should Soviet leaders feel inclined to promote internal turmoil in Iran or even to intervene militarily, it is safe to assume that they will do so through a minority nationality under the guise of “restoring peace” or of supporting a “frateriial national liberation movement” Western statesmen will be forced to come to grips with these new realities if they hope to influence events and to reassert their own national interests in this region of the world. Moreover, a comxnitment to become more adept in eth- nic politics should not end with iran, as ethnic unrest there is symptomatic of the much larger phenomenon of ethnic self-assertiveness worldwide. Similar patterns are evident in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Canada, the Philippines, Western Europe, the Soviet Union and elsewhere. This is not by definition a menacing trend; it will become so if we fail to understand it. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.