جمعه، مرداد ۲۳، ۱۳۸۸

فدراليسم قومي طرحي ارتجاعي براي آينده ايران -ويرایش دوم

Ethnic Federalism a Reactionary Plan for Iran's Future- Second Version
متن انگليسي در پائين صفحه English Version Below at the End
http://www.ghandchi.com/555-FederalismeGhomiEng.htm

فدراليسم قومي طرحي ارتجاعي براي آينده ايران -ويرایش دوم
سام قندچي
http://www.ghandchi.com/555-FederalismeGhomi.htm


دوباره با اينکه اين موضوعات را از نظر تئوريک بارها مفصلاً بحث کرده ام (1) اما مجبورم دوباره به روشني بيان کنم هرچند جريانات مورد خطاب من با استفاده از نام هاي مستعار در اينترنت سعي در ترور شخصيت و حمله به من دارند بدون آنکه رهبران آنها در بقاياي حزب دموکرات و کومله و کنگره مليت هاي ايران فدرال که سردمدار اين برنامه هاي ايران برانداز هستند،خود پاسخ گوئي کنند. از سوئي در تشکيلاتهاي فرونت تلويزيوني و راديوئي شان تظاهر به ايراندوستي ميکنند اما از سوي ديگر مخالفت علني با برنامه هاي ايران براندازشان را با ترور شخصيت از طريق نام هاي مستعار پاسخ ميدهند تا مسؤليت مواضعشان را مستقيماً برعهده نگيرند. مخالفت من با برنامه هاي اين گروها براي درهم شکستن ايران در نفرت قومي ارتباطي به ناسيوناليسم ندارد که به همان اندازه با آن مخالفم (2).

واقعيت اين است که در بخش هاي پيشرفته تر ايران جريانات واپسگراي اسلامگرا و استالينيست چند دهه است که در ميان اکثريت فعالان سياسي و حقوق بشري به کنار گذاشته شده اند و کسي در جنبش مدني يا در اپوزيسيون جديد سياسي ايران رابطه اي با اين گونه جريانات ندارد و هيچ آدم عاقلي خود را هوادار اين جريانات عقب مانده نميداند که نظير جمهوري اسلامي هنوز ميخواهند نان شهيدان 30 سال پيش خود را بخورند. اما در بخش هايی از ايران نظير کردستان هنوز بسياري ار فعالين جنبش مدني از گروه هاي استاليسنيت واهمه دارند . هنگامي که اين گروه ها ميخواهند از جنبش مدني اين مناطق بعنوان فرونت خود و برنامه فدراليسم قومی خود استفاده کنند، همراهی می کنند. تازه ترين نمونه اش هم راه انداختن گروه فدرال با درک روشن فدراليسم قومي در فيس بوک است که بايد آن را تحريم کرد.

حتي کومله و دموکرات امروزه به چندين پاره تقسيم شده اند هرچند هنوز خود را با اين نام ميخوانند و نظير حزب کمونيست گاس هال در آمريکا هستند که هنوز از يک نام بازمانده از تاريخ استفاده می کند و در هر دوره انتخابات هم دوباره آقاي گاس هال کانديداي آن حزب براي رياست جمهوري آمريکا ميشود که فقط مورد مضحکه هم نيروهاي سياسي محافظه کار در آمريکا است و هم نيروهاي آينده انديش. اليته اگر ايران دموکراتيک بود اين جريانات به همين شکل فکاهي آشکار بودند و با استفاده از جو مخفي بودن خود را به شکل نيروي مهمي نشان نميداداند و نيازي نبود آنقدر درباره شان نوشت هنگامی که در قرن 21 فقط به يک کاريکاتور مضحک جريانات تاريخي استالينيستي شباهت دارند که با رشد جنبش مدني در اين مناطق عدم جذابيت برنامه هاي عقب مانده آنها نيز بالاخره آشکار خواهد شد. آنهائي هم که در نقاط ديگر ايران از اين واقعيت خبر ندارند وقتي به اين مناطق ميروند مثل کسي که از شهر به روستا ميرود در ابتدا ظاهر تشکيلاتهاي مستحکم غير مذهبي بخاطر دفتر و دستکی در کشورهاي همسايه باعث ميشود که فکر کنند اين ها از نقاط ديگر ايران پيشرفته ترند و گوئي به حزب مدرن دست يافته اند در صورتيکه قوم گرايي اين ها که امروزه بجاي استاليسنيسم پرچم اين ها شده است دوقلوي مذهب گراِيي خميني است و هردو ارثيه جامعه کهن ايران هستند.

بسياري از فعاليني که از تهران جمهوري اسلامي فرار کرده و دفتر و دستک برخي از اين گروهکها را در کشور همسايه عراق می بينند تصور ميکنند که اين ها نيرويي هستند. اين جريانات با درست کردن لابي در آمريکا و اروپا و گرفتن پول از اين کشورها در چند ساله اخير و نيز با ايجاد رابطه با کشورهاي همسايه نظير آنچه فرقه دموکرات آذربايجان و کردستان پيشه وري و قاضي محمد در زمان استالين با آذربايجان شمالي کردند، هرچند بيشتر بسان کاريکاتوری که پايه اي هم امروز در ميان مردم ندارند، به تحميق نيروهاي صادق جنبش مدني و سياسي ايران و برخي مشاوران دولت هاي خارجي که با واقعيات کردستان ايران آشنائي ندارند، به تحميق مردم مشغولند و اينگونه براي خود پول و اسلحه دست و پا ميکنند. اين ها هيچ ربطي به جنبش واقعي مردم ايران ندارند و مانند کابوسي از اشتباهات دوران استالين، بر پيکر جنبش سياسي ايران سنگيني می کنند و می خواهند جنبش دموکراسی خواهي نوين ايران را به بيراهه ببرند. خط مشي هايي که به همراه کابوس تاريک نفوذ شوروي در نقاط ديگر ايران حتي در ميان فعالين کهن سال تر جامعه نيز، سالهاست به دور ريخته شده است، و بعنوان بخشي از تاريخي که جز ضرر، و ارمغاني جز جمهوري اسلامي که ديگرامروزه بي شباهت به شوروي استالين نيست، براي ما به بار نياورده است. امروز وقتي مردم ما می گويند جمهوری سکولار می خواهند يعني دولتی مي خواهند که نه اسلام گرا است و نه ايدئولوژي گرا و نه قوم گرا، نه آنکه بخواهند نفي سکولاريسم توسط دولت مذهبي را به دور بريزند و بجايش نفي سکولاريسم توسط قوم گرايي را بپذيرند.

اما اگر اسلام گرايان خميني براي مردم ما واپسگرائي دولت مذهبي را در قرن 21 به ارمغان آوردند اين ها در دوران سقوط استاليسنيسم و کمونيسم براي مردم ما برنامه حکومت قومي هديه دارند و خواب کردستان عراق را براي ايران می بينند و منتظرند که کمي اوضاع در ايران آزاد شود و بجاي کمک به رشد جنبش دموکراسی خواهی در ايران، با سوء استفاده از تلاشهاي کوشندگان آزادي در ايران، به تجزيه ايران دست بزنند. اين ها آنقدر هم وقاحت دارند که به نمايندگي از مردم کردستان براي تظاهرات بعد از انتخابات 22 خرداد مردم در تهران و نقاط ديگر ايران به شکلي پيام ميفرستند که گوئي کردستان ايران کشوري جداگانه است و گوئي اين ها هم نماينده اش هستند بجاي آنکه مانند فعالين کرمانشاه در مراسم يادبود کيانوش آسا، به همراه همه مردم ايران در جنبش دموکراسي خواهي ايران شرکت کنند، جنبشي که تأکيدش بر سکولاريسم است که هم ناقض اسلام گرائي است و هم قوم گرائي.

ايران نه کشوري است که از جنگ بيرون ميايد و نه مناطقي است که تازه بخواهند يک کشور مدرن تشکيل دهند که بخواهند تصميم بگيرند سيستم کانتوني سوئيس و مدل هاي کنفدراسيونيزم قومي را دنبال کنند يا از مدل فدراليسم کلوني هاي آمريکا، پيروي کنند. علت آنکه خود من فدراليسم استاني را براي ايران توصيه کرده ام که به شکل تطور فدراليسم در آمريکا شباهت دارد نيز ابداً بخاطر چنان تصور هاي باطلي نبوده است که فکر کنم تازه ايران قرار است کشور سازي کند بلکه صرفاً به اين خاطر بوده است که کشور موجود ايران که صد سال پيش بصورت دولت مدرن هر چند نه دموکراتيک، تکامل يافته و با استانهائي که ثمره تاريخ آن است شکل گرفته است، ميتواند با اين مدل فدراليسم استاني به **کنترل و توازن** بيشتر که رشد دهنده دموکراسي است بهتر پيشرفت کند. اصل معني فدراليسم استانی يعني انتخابي بودن سه قوه در هر استان بجاي انتصاب آن از مرکز است (3).

وگرنه حل مسأله حقوق اتنيکي چه اين مدل اتخاذ شود و چه نشود موضوعي مربوط به حقوق مدني در ايران است و دولت قومي راه حل آن نيست. اگر قرار باشد به اين سراشيب ها سقوط کنيم من نيز مانند بسياري ديگر از فعالين جنبش سياسي ايران می گويم که فدراليسم را از برنامه خود خارج کنيم چرا که اگر فدراليسم بخواهد مستمسکی براي تجزيه ايران و تبديل ايران به يوگوسلاوي ديگر باشد، مناسب عاملان استعمار است و نه آزاديخواهان ايران و ما را در جنبش سياسي ايران با چنان طرح هايی قرابتي نيست.

اصلاً بحث مخالفت با فدراليسم قومي به اين خاطر نيست که عملي نيست. بحث اين است که حکومت قومي در يک استان يا دو استان يا همه کشور ارتجاعي است. توجه به خواستهاي اتنيکي زباني و فرهنگي اصلاً ربطي به قبول دولت اتنيکي ندارد (4) همانگونه که توجه به خواستهاي مذهبي ربطي به قبول دولت مذهبي ندارد و اتفاقًا به عکس است و حکومت قومي و مذهبي خود عامل تبعيضات قومي است.

هر گونه تهديد شخصي و توهين و غيره هم پاسخ به اين بحث هاي من نيست. دولت مدرن بيش از يک قرن در ايران پس از انقلاب مشروطه شکل گرفته و ما تازه در آغاز کشور سازي در ايران نيستيم که بخواهيم مرزهايمان را تعيين کنيم و يا موضوع فکريمان اين سؤال ها باشد. اگر هم وضعيتي نظير يوگسلاوي در ايران پيش بيني کنيم، در تجریه انقلاب 57 آموخته ايم که اشتباه کرديم وقتي طرفداران حکومت مذهبی را مترقي پنداشتيم، اينبار آنها را که حکومت قومي برايمان خواب ديده اند را مترقي نگاه نکرده و به روشني با آنها از همين حالا خط کشي خواهيم کرد.

آنچه هم از گذشته هاي دور دست ايران چه در فلات ايران نظير کشورهاي تاجيکستان و ازبکستان و آذربايجان شوروي سابق است اگر روزي خواستند با ايران يا در منطقه متحد شوند نه فدراسيوني قومي است نه فدراسيون استاني بلکه پديده تازه اي است نظير اتحاديه اروپا و اصلاً به اين بحث ها ربطي ندارد و بازي هاي مضحک تجزيه طلبان براي توجيه از هم پاشاندن ايران است که ثمره اش هم نه تقويت دموکراسي بلکه ايجاد دولت قومي نظير دولت اردلانها در کردستان قرون وسطي در ايران است که شباهتش هم بيشتر به دولت فرمانفرمايان در استان فارس است که هردو نظير قدرت روحانيون متعلق به دنياي کهن ايران هستند و زنده کردنشان در هر نقطه ايران واپسگرائي و بازگشت به گذشته است همانگونه که آقاي خميني براي ما 30 سال حکومت روحانيون و عقب رفتن در تاريخ را به ارمغان آورد و نه مدرنيسم.

اشتباه معيني که برخي از دوستان سياسي کرد در ايران ميکنند اين است که دولت منطقه اي کردستان عراق برايشان مايه گمراهي شده است و حالا مثلاً ميگويند شيعيان و سني هاي کرد ايران اگر متحد شوند و يا اگر وحدت زباني بين کردها در استانهاي کردستان و آذربايجان غربی و کرمانشاهان و ايلام ايجاد شود ميتوانند دولت منطقه اي مثل کردستان عراق در ايران بوجود آوردند. اگر کردستان عراق، تازه تلويزيون و برنامه کردي دارد، آذربايجان شوروي سابق سالهاي مديدي است که همه اين چيزها را داشته است. موضوع کردها و آذري هاي ايران اين حرفها نيست و چرا مردم کردستان ايران را با اين حرفها گمراه می کنيد و از جنبش بزرگ دموکراسي خواهي مردم ايران دور می کنيد. اگر دوباره شما باعث شويد که خون مردم ايران براي اين حرف هاي پوچ حکومت قومي به زمين ريخته شود هيچ فرقي بين شما و خميني نيست که با برنامه واپسگرائي حکومت مذهبي سي سال مردم ما را به نابودي کشاند..

ترکيبات قومي مناطق ايران در زمانهاي مختلف به دليل جنگهاي با عثماني يا روسيه و تاريخ بعد از آن به آن گونه شکل گرفته اند که می بينيم (5). ايران نه تنها حالا بلکه در 100 سال گذشته در حال کشور سازي نبوده است و حتي در زمان انقلاب 57 چنين هدفي را جنبش در برابر خود قرار نداد که عده ای در بقاياي کومله و ديگران در بقاياي حزب دموکرات کردستان و جمعاً در کنکره مليت هاي ايران فدرال امروز دنبال ساختن کشوري از ترکيب استانهائي که دنبال تجزيه آن هستند حرف ميزنند. اين طرح های ايران شکن بس است. فعالينی هم در ميان اينان که در جنبش ايران احترامی داشتند در زمان شاه از فعالين سياسي در دانشگاه آريامهر تهران بودند و نه کسانيکه دنبال جکومت قومي ساختن در ايران و به خاطر دموکراسي خواهي در ايران جزو فعالين سياسي حساب شوند يعني نه بخاطر پاشداندن ايران با قوم گرايي. حتي کسي نميدانست اين دوستان کرد هستند يا که قوم گرا. تازه امروز که اصلاً جنبش سياسي ايران انقدر انقلاب را در نظر ندارد و در پي تحول مسالمت آميز است، عمليات مسلحانه چه جندالله چره گروه هاي مسلح در کردستان فقط به تطور اين جنبش ضرر ميزند.

آنها هم که به دنبال حمله نظامي به ايران هستند و فکر ميکنند حمله اي به ايران شود و کشورهاي کوچک از ايران بسازند فقط داغ خيانت بر پيشاني شان از سوي حتي کرد ها و آذري هاي ايران خواهد خورد و مانند آنان که بخاطر همکاري با صدام انگ خيانت خوردند به اينگونه از جنبش سياسي ايران طرد خواهند شد. اين کنگره مليتهاي ايران فدرال و بقاياي کومله و حزب دموکرات هم بهتر است بساط خود را زودتر جمع کنند و بجاي گرفتن پول از آمريکا و اروپا، فعالين صادق آنها به جنبش مدني کل ايران بهپيوندند و اين دفتر و دستک ها را براي عوامل استعمار بگذارند. دوران کمينترن و تصميم گيري بيگانگان براي مرزهاي ايران سالها است که سپري شده است و به همين علت است که جنبش مردم ايران پس از اين همه سال هميشه از دکتر مصدق به نيکی ياد می کند. کاري نکنيد که داغ خيانت تا ابد بر پيشاني تان بخورد. اگر اشتباه پيشه وري و قاضي محمد در دوران استيلاي استالينيسم بر جنبش بين المللي مترقي در جهان قابل درک بود اعمال بقاياي گروه هاي کومله، حزب دموکرات کردستان، و کنگره ايران فدرال نه تنها قابل توجيه نيست بلکه لکه ننگي خواهد بود بر پيشاني همه رهبران اين جريانات.

نيروهاي متعلق به حنبش دموکراتيک ايران که عامل خارجي نيستند بايستي صف خود را از اين جريانات جدا کنند و روشن کنند که به دنبال دموکراتيزه کردن ايران هستند . استفاده از مدلهاي فدراليسم استاني در کشور موجود ايران هم نه براي ايران فکني بلکه براي رشد دموکراسي در ايران است و بس. اگر همين مدل فدراليسم استانی هم باعث سوء استفاده تجزيه طلبان باشد من شخصاً حاضرم فدراليسم را از برنامه سياسي پيشنهادي خود حذف کنم تا که بگذارم از آن براي ايجاد جنگ داخلي در ايران استفاده شود. رهبران اين قوم گرايان بارها اين حرف ها را شنيده اند و بازهم فدراليسم را فدراليسم قومي معني ميکنند. خود هيچ سهمي از راه انداختن چنين فدراليسمي نميخواهم داشته باشم و اگر دنبال آن هستيد در هر مجلس مؤسساني بايد ضد فدراليسم رأي داد. من شخصاً تا وقتي که مشخصاً اين گروه ها منحل نشده اند يا اکثريت هواداران فدراليسم از فدراليسم قومي فاصله نگرفته اند، ديگر از موضع سياسي جمهوري فدرال در ايران حمايت نخواهم کرد. بازهم تکرار ميکنم مسأله ايران، کشور سازي نيست که حالا بخواهيم چهار استان را ادغام کنيم و کردستان تازه اي بسازيم که بعداً به کردستان بزرگ پژاک برسد (6).

اين ديدگاهها در مورد آذربايجان دنبال شد و يک نسل نابود شد. اين راه غلط را دوباره آزمايش نکنيم. مسأله عملي بودن يا نبودن مطرح نيست مسأله اين است که اين ها راه غلطي براي هر نيروي جنبش دموکراتيک ايران است و انرژي جنبش را بجاي سوق دادن به دموکراتيزم به سوي تنفر قومي ميبرد. حزب پژاک نمونه زنده آن را در ترکيه نشان داده است و ايران تازه با مسائل ترکيه روبرو نيست که اين شعبه پژاک يا کومله يا حزب دموکرات کردستان يا کنگره ايران فدرال براي مردم ايران تجويز ميکنند. اين کارها ربطي به آزاديخواهي براي ايران ندارد و جنبش نوپاي سکولار و دموکراتيک ايران را نابود ميکند.

به اميد جمهوري آينده نگر دموکراتيک و سکولار در ايران

سام قندچي، ناشر و سردبير
ايرانسکوپ
http://www.iranscope.com
23 مرداد 1388
August 14, 2009

پانويس ها:


1. http://tinyurl.com/p3f3ab
2. http://tinyurl.com/q37ywu
3. http://tinyurl.com/p8bv9f
4. http://tinyurl.com/ppr75a
5. http://tinyurl.com/rceagk
6. http://tinyurl.com/qzqaor


Ethnic Federalism a Reactionary Plan for Iran's Future- Second Version
http://www.ghandchi.com/555-FederalismeGhomiEng.htm

Persian Version متن فارسی
http://www.ghandchi.com/555-FederalismeGhomi.htm

Again although I have repeatedly discussed these issues from a theoretical perspective (1) but I have to clearly state my political position although the political groups I am addressing here try character assassination and attack using pseudonames on the Internet without their leaders inside the remainders of Democratic Party of Iranian Kudistan (PDKI.org) and the remnants of Komala (komala.org) and the Congress of Nationalities for Federal Iran (iranfederal.org) who are at the helm of these destruction programs for Iran to take responsibility for such personal attacks. On one hand in their radio and TV front programs they pretend to be Iran lovers but on the other hand open criticism of their Iran-breaking platforms is met with character assassination under pseudonames so that they would not have to take direct responsibility for their destructive political positions towards Iran. Let me emphasize that my opposition to these groups and their programs to break up Iran in ethnic hatred has nothing to do with nationalism which I oppose as well (2).

The reality is that for decades the Islamist fundamentalist and Stalinist groups have lost any following in the more advanced parts of Iran among the political and human rights activists and nobody in the Iran's civil rights movement or in Iran's new political opposition has any relationship with such groups and noone in a democratic mindset would consider her/himself a sympathizer of such backward sects which still try to find following, just like the Islamic Republic, by boasting the number of martyrs they have had in the last 30 years ago and previous to that. But in some parts of Iran like Kurdistan there are still some civil rights activists who are afraid of these groups. When these groups try to use the civil rights movement of areas like Kurdistan as a front for themselves, and for their ethnic federalist platforms, these activists are intimidated to go along. One of the most recent examples of such efforts by these ethnic sects is the formation of a group called Iran Federal with a clear *ethnic* federalist mind set in facebook which I think should be boycotted because it tries to mislead people by using the word federalism when their platform is nothing more than ethnic division of Iran and their goal is *not* a non-ethnic administrative decentralization like American federalism.

Even Komala and PDKI today are divided into several pieces although they still go by their old names and are just like the Communist Party of Gus Hall in the United States when time and again in any presidential election, again Mr. Gus Hall is a candidate from the that Communist Party USA, for American presidency, a candidacy which is nothing more than a ridiculous game in the eyes of living political forces in the U.S., whether they are conservative or are at the opposite end of the political spectrum. Of course if Iran was a democracy and if these same groups showed up as humorous political realities in the open and were not using the atmosphere of secrecy in Iranian political life, to create the impression of an important force, there would be no need even to write about them as nobody in the US politics even talks about Gus Hall and his Communist Party. But in Iran too, in the 21st Century these sects that only resemble a ridiculous caricature of a historical Stalinist parties with backward programs have long lost any attractions in the regions they claim to have following, as the civil rights movement and modern political thinking is growing in those areas too but these groups try to use the hush hush of secrecy to draw a different picture of political reality of those regions.

Also those in other parts of Iran who do not know about these realities when they visit regions like Kurdistan are like someone who has left the urban areas for the countryside and in the first sight, the facade of strong non-religious organizations when seeing the office and facilities of these groups in the neighboring countries of Iran (in Iraq) impresses them as if these groups are more advanced than the political groups in other parts of Iran and imagine as if they are visiting a modern political party whereas for these sects, these days, only ethnicism has replaced their past Stalinist flag making them the twin of Khomeini's religionist politics, where they are both remnants of Iran's Medieval times, and surely they have nothing to do with Modernism.

Many activists who fled the Islamic Republic from Tehran and see the offices of some of these groups in neighboring country Iraq think that these sects are a powerful force in those regions. These sects by creating lobby groups in the U.S. and Europe and by receiving money from several countries in recent years and by forming relationships with neighboring countries are working just like the Ferghe Democrat of Azerbaijan and of Kurdistan lead by Pishevari and Ghazai Mohammad in the 1940's, when they created similar relations with the northern Azerbaijan Soviet Republic at the time of Stalin and were both destroyed in the aftermath of Stalin's pact with Iran's government in mid 1940's. Although the current remnants of those groups carrying the same name are nothing more thank a caricature of those groups of the 40's withno grassroots following in those regions but they work hard are to fool the honest political and civil rights activists of Iran and also endeavor to misrepresent themselves to some of the advisers of foreign governments who are not familiar with the realities of Iran's Kurdistan and this way they try to fool them to get money and weapons for themselves. Their political platform of these sects are like a Stalinist nightmare which weighs heavily on the body of Iranian political movement as they try to mislead Iran's prodemocracy movement towards ethnic hatred and civil war by advocating the breakup of Iran in an ethnic destruction. They are pushing platforms that, along with dark nightmares of Soviet influence, even among older activists of Iran, have long been discarded, and are looked at as part of a history which brought us nothing more than destruction, and finally an Islamic Republic which today is not much different from Stalin's Soviet Union. Today when our people say we want a secular republic it means we want a government which not only is not Islamic-oriented, but it is not ideology-oriented, and is not ethnicity-oriented. In other word we do not wabt to discard negation of secularism by a religious state, to accept negation of secularism by an ethnic state, which is another version of a nonsecular state, because it approves of ethnic apartheid, just as Soviet Union was another version of a nonsecular state by being ideology-oriented.

But if Khomeini's Islamists brought us the souvenir of a backward religious state in the 21st Century, these ethnicists want to bring back an ethnic state for our people, at the time of demise of Stalinism and Communism, and are dreaming of Iraq's Kurdistan (a wholly different situation in remnants of Ottoman Empire which I have extensively discussed in my book about Kurdistan that is used to mislead Iranian Kurds as a pretext for the so-called Theory of Greater Kurdistan). They are waiting for Iran's situation to change a little bit towards freedom, and instead of helping the prodemocracy movement of Iran, by misusing the efforts of Iran's prodemocracy activists to disintegrate Iran. They are so shameless that they talk as representative of Kurdish people about the post-June 12th demonstrations of Tehran and other parts of Iran and send message as if Kurdistan is a separate country and as if they are the representative of that country instead of participating in the current movement along with other prodemocracy activists as the people of Kemanshah did in the memorial ceremony of Kianoush Asa, in a movement which emphasizes secularism that negates both Islamism and Ethnicism.

Iran is a country which is neither coming out of a war nor is it just a collection of regions wishing to form a modern state to decide whether they want to choose a canton-style confederation model like Switzerland or follow the model of federalism of the former colonies of the America forming the United States. The reason that I have personally even suggested provincial federalism for Iran which resembles US federal system was not based on any ethnic division and was not because of any illusion as to think of country-making (so-called nation-building) but it was solely because the existing Iran has had a modern state, although not a democratic one, for over 100 years, and our provinces that are the result of the 100-year development may be able to use provincial federalism to help the **checks and balances** to further grow democracy in Iran, not to grow ethnic hatred. Basically provincial federalism means that all three branches of government are elected offices in every province and are not appointed offices from the center (3).

Otherwise to resolve issues of the ethnic rights, whether one adopts the provincial federal model or a central state, is related to citizen rights in Iran and has nothing to do with federalism, and thus ethnic state is not a solution to those issues. If we end up sliding in the slope of tribal government, I also like many other Iranian political activists, will drop federalism altogether from my suggested platform, because I do not want federalism to be used as an excuse to break up Iran and turn Iran into another Yugoslavia, which is only the wish of colonialists and reactionaries, and is not the desire of Iran's freedom loving people, and we in the Iran's political movement feel no proximity with such colonial backward schemes and condemn any such endeavors to break up Iran's territorial integrity.

Fundamentally our argument against ethnic federalism is not because of impracticality. The point is that an ethnic state in one province or two or a region or in the whole country is reactionary. Paying attention to the ethnic demands in the areas of language and culture has nothing to do with having an ethnic state (4). The same way that paying attention to the religious demands has nothing to do with accepting a religious government, and in fact, it is the reverse, and ethnic or religious states are themselves the cause of ethnic and religious discrimination.

Any personal insults, threats, etc. is not a response to my discussions. Modern government was formed in Iran for more than a century ago after the Constitutional Revolution and we are not at the beginning of state-making to define our borders, and such issues to become our preoccupation, as some of these sect leaders want to push us that way, is against the interests of Iranian people and no foreign government should help such efforts which are condemned by Iran's pro-democracy movement and is viewed not much different from the wron support of Khomeini by some Western countries in 1979 at the expense of Iran's secular opposition groups. Even if we predict a situation like Yugoslavia in Iran, what we have learned from the experience of Iran's 1979 Revolution is that we made a mistake when we assumed the supporters of a religious government to be progressive, and this time we will not view those who are dreaming of ethnic state for Iran, as progressive, and will clearly draw our line separating ourselves from them, from now.

What is from the distant past of Iran in the Iranian plateau namely countries such as former Soviet Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan if decide to join Iran, in a bigger region, such a union will neither be an ethnic federation nor a provincial federation but it will be a new thing like European Union and has nothing to do with these discussions, or with the ridiculous games of separatists, to justify the disintegration of Iran, when the result will not be the strengthening of democracy, and if not constant civil war, in the best case will be an ethnic state like the state of Ardalans in Kurdistan in Medieval Iran which more resembles the state of Farmanfarmaeian rule in Fars province at the end of Qajar Dynasty, where they both, just like the power of clergy, belong to the old world, and reviving them in any part of Iran, is regressive, and a return to the past, and not progress, the same way Khomeini brought back the rule of clergy 30 years ago, which was a return in history, and was not modernism and progress.

A particular mistake that some Kurdish political friends in Iran makeو is that the Iraqi Kurdistan regional government has become a source of going astray for them, and now they say Shi'ite and Sunni Kurds of Iran should unite or they call for linguistic unity among the Kurds to unite Kurdistan, Western Azerbaijan, Ilam and Kermanshah provinces of Iran into one region, planning for a Kurdistan regional government in Iran, similar to Iraq. If Iraqi Kurdistan has now Kurdish new television programs, Soviet Azerbaijan had all these decades ago. The issue of Kurds and Azeri of Iran is not these things, why are these sect leaders trying to mislead people of Kurdistan with these words to separate them from the large pro-democracy movement of people of Iran. If the sect leaders again cause the blood of Iranian people to spill because of these nonsense of ethnic state, there is no difference between them and Khomeini who brought destruction for our people for 30 years, with a retrogressive platform of a non-secular state.

Ethnic makeup of different parts of Iran has been formed the way it is because of the wars with the Ottomans and Russia and in Iran's previous and later history (5). Iran not only now but in the past 100 years has not been in a country-making (nation-making) situation and even during the 1979 Revolution, the movement did not have such a goal in its outlook, which some remnants of Komala and PDKI and together in Congress of Nationalities for Federal Iran (iranfederal.org) are trying to push by the help of foreign powers, by combining some provinces they want to separate from Iran. Stop these breakup schemes for Iran. Those activists among them, who had some respect in the Iranian movement, were political activists in Aryamehr University in Tehran at the time of the Shah and were not some people trying to create ethnic state in Iran, and were considered as Iranian political activists, because they were prodemocracy activists for Iran, and not because of being after breaking up Iran for ethnicism. Not even anybody knew these friends were Kurdish in those days, let alone to be pro-ethnic separation, when working with them. Moreovere, today Iran's new political movement is not after a revolution and is for peaceful change and the armed operations of the likes of Jundullah and armed groups in Kurdistan only hurt the growth of this movement unless they want to achive their goals by starting a war with Iran which I will discuss below.

Those who are after military attack on Iran, and hope Iran to be attacked to make small countries out of Iran, will only get the wrath of Iranian people, and will be marked for betrayal, even by Kurds and Azeris of Iran, just like those who because of cooperation with Saddam Hussein, got the mark of treason by Iranian people, and have been isolated from the Iranian movement. The Congress of Nationalities for Federal Iran (iranfederal.org) and remnants of Komala and PDKI better take their shop somewhere else and instead of getting money from foreign countries, join the civil rights movement of Iran. Times of Comintern and the foreign states making decisions for Iran has long passed and this is why Iranian movement after so many years remembers Dr. Mossadegh with such reverence. Don't do something to get the label of treason and betrayal of Iran forever. If the mistake of Pishevari and Ghazi Mohammad in the era of dominance of Stalinism in the international progressive movement, was understandable, the actions of remnants of Komala, PDKI, and Congress of Nationalities for Federal Iran (iranfederal.org) are not only unjustifiable but will be the mark of shame on the forehead of their leaders.

Forces and individuals belonging to the prodemocracy movement of Iran that are not agents of foreign powers should separate their way from these groups and should clearly state that they are after democratization of Iran. Using the models of provincial federalism in existing country of Iran is not for breaking up Iran, but is to grow democracy in Iran, and that is all. Even if this model of provincial federalism becomes something for separatists to misuse, I personally am ready to remove federalism from my suggested political platform altogether, instead of allowing it to give rise to a civil war in Iran. The leaders of these ethnicists have heard all these several times but again they translate federalism to ethnic federalism. I do not want to have any part in such federalism and if that is what they are looking for, one should vote negative to any proposal for federalism in any founding parliament in any future state for Iran. I personally and specifically until these groups have not been dissolved, or until the majority of supporters of federalism have not distanced themselves from ethnic federalism, will not support the position of federal republic for Iran. Repeating again, the issue for Iran, is not country-making (nation-making), to allow the merging of the four provinces of Kurdistan to create a new Kurdistan, so that it can become part of the Greater Kurdistan schemes of PKK later (6). No we will resist any such schemes that are the start of Iran's breakup.

Such ethnicist views were followed by some people for Azerbaijan, and a generation was destroyed. This is a wrong road, let's not try it again. The problem is not whether it is practical or not, the problem is that it is a wrong way for any force in Iran's democratic movement, which wastes the movement's energy on ethnic hatred, rather than on the growth of democracy. PJAK party is a living example of this error in Turkey, and Iran does not even have the problems of Turkey, when the Iran's branch of PKK, the PJAK, or Komala or PDKI, or Congress of Nationalities for Federal Iran (iranfederal.org) are prescribing such paths of going astray for our people. Theseactions have nothing to do with the freedom movement of Iran and will only destroy the new secular and democratic movement of Iran.

Hoping for a Democratic and Secular Futurist Republic in Iran,

Sam Ghandchi, Publisher/Editor
IRANSCOPE
http://www.iranscope.com
August 14, 2009



Footnotes:

1. http://tinyurl.com/p3f3ab
2. http://tinyurl.com/q37ywu
3. http://tinyurl.com/p8bv9f
4. http://tinyurl.com/ppr75a
5. http://tinyurl.com/rceagk
6. http://tinyurl.com/qzqaor



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