Daily Alert Archives

Iran's Restive Minorities

(Jerusalem Post) Ely Karmon - Persians represent only 65% of Iran's population (55% according to other sources), with the remainder including Shi'a Azeris 16%, Kurds 7%, Lurs 6%, Arabs 2%, Baloch 2%, and Turkmens 1%. The suppression of minority rights has resulted in ethnic insurgencies over the years, and violent protests have spread in all provinces inhabited by these minorities. In Ahwaz, a majority Arab region in Iran's southwest, protests have been going on for weeks against the repression and confiscation of Ahwazi land and water. In the recent protests, huge crowds of Iranian Kurds have taken to the streets in Sanandaj and Kermanshah chanting against the Islamic Republic while supporting the Kurdish cause. Since 2013 there has been a surge of attacks against Iranian military and provincial officials in Iranian Baluchistan. There have also been periodic demonstrations in mostly Azerbaijani cities in northwestern Iran. It is possible that all these forces will take advantage of the momentum and boost their battle against the Islamic regime. The writer is a senior research scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.
2018-01-05 00:00:00
Full Article