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ОТКРЫТЫЙ ФОРУМ АВТОХТОННЫХ НАРОДОВ КАВКАЗСКО-КАСПИЙСКОГО РЕГИОНА
Суббота
27 апреля 2024 года
12:17:04 МСК

The Talysh: A Forgotten People

19.09.2020
The Talysh: A Forgotten People
There are an estimated 600,000 Talyshen, 400,000 of which live in Iran and 112,000 in Azerbaijan. They mainly live in mountain villages along the shores of the Caspian Sea. The mountain region where they live, the Talysh Mountains, bears the same name. In the photo is H.E. President Alikram Hummatov of the autonomous republic of Talysh-Mugan, who lives in exile in the Netherlands.

The Talysh are an ethnic group indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language. The National Talysh Movement (NTM) was formally created in 2007 by Talysh leaders exiled in the Netherlands. The members of the organization include those who were in support of the Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic such as H.E. Alikram Hummatov, the self-proclaimed president of Talysh-Mughan. The movement favors an autonomous region within Azerbaijan. It also demands the promotion of the democratic, cultural, and linguistic rights of all minorities within Azerbaijan.

In a recent interview I conducted with Boris Talishchinsky, Minister of Nature and Ecology of the Talysh-Muhan Autonomous Republic (video in German), he spoke about the suppression of his people and how he's not even safe in exile and can't return to Azerbaijan. The majority of the Talysh people are a rural people, living off the land, but due to the forced assimilation, their land has diminished.

The Talysh people have always lived in the southeast of the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan, in the north bordering the Republic of Iran, on the Talysh plateau in the Talysh mountains, along the Caspian Sea. Demographic changes in the Talysh-Mugan region are happening continuously through the current Azerbaijan government. In recent years, because of repression, there has been a mass migration, and because of the forced assimilation process of the Talysh, many have gone into exile or disappeared in prison.

Also, the life of the Talysh in exile is no longer safe. There are reports of kidnappings, and several people have been taken to Azerbaijan or arrested on arrival and sentenced to prison. Some examples are Fakhraddin Abbasov, and Elvin Isaev, but the most prominent one is Hilal Mamedov, who was illegally aressted. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Tolishi Sado (Voice of Talish), the only newspaper in the Talysh minority language. Hilal Mamedov was sentenced to five years in prison on September 27, 2013 on charges of drug sales, high treason related to espionage for Iran, and incitement to national, racial, social, and religious hatred and hostility. He has repeatedly denied the charges.

The Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republicwas a short-lived self-proclaimed separatist autonomous republic in Azerbaijan that lasted from June to August 1993.It is located in the southeastern part of Azerbaijan, envisaging seven administrative districts of Azerbaijan around the regional capital city Lankaran. The autonomous republic was proclaimed amid political turmoil in Azerbaijan. In June 1993, a military rebellion against President Abulfaz Elchibeybroke out under the leadership of Colonel Surat Huseynov. Colonel Alikram Hummatov, now the President of the Talysh, in exile in the Netherlands, is a close associate of Surat Huseynov. He seized power and proclaimed the new republic in Lankaran. President Hummatov was arrested and initially received a death sentence which was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. In 2004, Surat Huseynov was pardoned the same time as Alikram Hummatov. Surat Huseynov still lives in Azerbaijan under house arrest in the Baku region. President Alikram Hummatov was pardoned and released as well from custody under pressure from the Council of Europe. He was allowed to immigrate to the Netherlands, after making a public promise not to engage in politics. However, those who were involved in the proclamation of the republic say they always envisaged the autonomous republic as a constituent part of Azerbaijan.

Conclusion

The government Azerbaijan has a policy of assimilating the Talysh as soon as possible. No Talysh NGOs are registered in the country. Talysh public and cultural figures have been persecuted and harassed as “separatists” since the country gained independence. The name “Talysh” is banned in the country. There is no radio or television in the Talysh language and the Talysh are denied the right to education in their mother tongue. The Talysh community has no right to self-government. In some cases, MPs are appointed in the Talysh region but they have nothing to do with the Talysh people. It is still a long way for this minority to gain some sort of recognition. The various requests for support to the EU and in particularly the Netherlands are without result and have not been followed up!

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