 |
Khuzestan
The recent riots in Iran’s southwest province of Khuzestan reminded the regime once again of its low-key confrontation with its Arab minority. What triggered the riots, where three died and hundreds were arrested, was a letter allegedly written by an adviser at the president’s office, Muhammad ‘Ali Abtahi. The letter, which was allegedly written in 1999, and was circulated all over Khuzestan, described a plan to relocate Persian Iranians into the province and force Iranian Arabs out, thus changing the demographic situation in favor of the Persian population.
Confrontations between the Iranian police and the local, predominantly Arab, population of Khuzestan are infrequent. Like other minorities in Iran, such as the Azeris and the Kurds, the Iranian Arabs are mostly obedient and want to avoid trouble with the regime. Nevertheless, local undergrounds and maybe even foreign elements, are trying to stir things up in the region. Usually, though, the Iranian regime provides the trigger.
Such was the case in December 2002, when the regime-backed conservative judiciary in the province ordered the security forces to close down shops distributing videotapes, as well as dance clubs playing music, in Arabic, the dominant language among the local population. More than 300 people were arrested, and eyewitnesses noted that the demonstrations were getting more and more political, as the local population complained against discrimination and humiliation.
According to a 1994 assessment by Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Khuzestan is home to a population of 3,746,700 people, mainly of Arabic origin, which adds up to about three percent of Iran’s total population. It is located in the southwest of Iran, with Iraq to its west and the Persian Gulf to its south. Khuzestan is also Iran’s most oil-rich province, but its citizens hardly benefit from this wealth, which goes directly to the central regime.
History
The first cities in the Khuzestan region can be dated to as far back as 7100 B.C. (B.C.E.). This is one of the places archaeologists believe agriculture originated from. Nomadic tribes, who settled there, gradually changed their way of life into an agricultural society.
The southwest province is a source of pride for the Iranian nation as a whole, as well as for its local Arab population. It is considered in Iran as the “birthplace of the nation,” as this is the area where Aryan tribes first settled, assimilated with the native Elamite population, and hundreds of years later formed the Persian Empire. The Arab population of Khuzestan takes pride in hundreds of years of autonomy, which ended in 1924 when the Iranian shah cancelled it. The autonomous region, which was called Arabistan until 1924, was controlled by Sheikh Khaz’al.
Khaz’al did not intend to give up his control over the region quietly. His efforts were directed both towards neighboring tribes with which he tried to align, and the British forces, which had many interests in Iran.
 |
Sheikh Khaz’al and King Fei’sal, during their meeting in Ba’sra in 1922. (Al-Ahwaz website)
Khaz’al was unsuccessful in aligning himself with the tribes to his south. The British, on the other hand, “Had to decide on whether to side with Iran’s central regime, or with the peripheral minorities,” explains Dr. Soli Shahvar of the Center for Gulf Studies in Israel. Shahvar, who was himself born in Khuzestan, says that due to many regional considerations, including the Soviet threat from the north and the British interests in India and southern Iran, Britain decided to stand by the incumbent shah. The mutiny was thus thwarted, and with it most of the local population’s hopes for regaining their autonomy.
“Historically speaking, all separation attempts made by Iranian minorities failed,” says Shahvar. “The Arab minority in Iran always aspired to get equal treatment and recognition of its rights, but despite its bitterness, the vast majority of the Arab minority remained loyal to the regime.”
Several local separatist movements operated in Khuzestan, two of them being the Khuzestan Liberation Movement, and the National Liberation Movement of Ahwaz (NLMA, which still operates). Both of them clearly stated in the past that they did not want to become a part of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq (which borders them from the west), but rather to become an independent state. But, as mentioned before, the resistance movements never enjoyed much popularity, because most of the local population always remained loyal to the central government.
Shortly after the 1979 Islamist revolution in Iran, the Iran-Iraq war was launched. One of Saddam Hussein’s major aims was to take control of the bordering oil-rich region of Khuzestan. Conquering this region would also have given him more accessibility to the Persian Gulf. During the first two years of the war, Iraq managed to conquer part of Khuzestan, aided by the Khuzestan Liberation Movement. Saddam, of course, tried to appear as the great Arab liberator. Despite the fact that most of the local inhabitants did not help Saddam, and even served in the Iranian army, the regime became very suspicious of them during and after the war. Many of the province’s cities were severely damaged in the war, but even today, 17 years after the end of the war, the regime is in no rush to reconstruct their infrastructures.
The American connection
Iran claims that the recent riots in Khuzestan’s capital Ahwaz and in other cities were covertly ignited by the United States, in an attempt to destabilize the regime. The NLMA has announced it was not aided by, and is not connected to the Americans. But an open letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, written in English by the group on April 17, suggests that maybe there is something in the Iranian allegations. The letter opens:
“We, the National Liberation Movement of Ahwaz (NLMA), on behalf of our Arabic Ahwazi people and on behalf of the ongoing demonstration of Ahwazi citizens in Iran, we claim United State to protect our Ahwazi people from Iranian regime which is attempting to destroy the entire natives of Ahwaz without distinguish of children, seniors, and young people. We are asking United State to take a serious action towards this disaster that upon our people have been going under.”
 |
(Al-Ahwaz website)
Shahvar also contributes to the theory about the American connection: “The United States knows that Iran is much more stubborn and strong than Iraq… Therefore, it is possible that the U.S. is trying to overthrow the Iranian regime in non-military ways. One of the options is arousing an internal disorder, a crisis, which will in turn lead to the fall of the regime. There are a few people in the American administration – though not many – who wish to arouse ethnic groups in Iran for this purpose.”
Iran’s response
Immediately after the riots were over, the government appointed a fact-finding team to investigate the reasons behind them. But even before the team began its work, Chairman of the Reforms Front Muhammad Reza Khatami said he was sure the conservatives were the ones behind the events. “The conservatives themselves wrote the letter and distributed it among the people, because they became aware of the high popularity Dr. Mu’stafa Mu’in, the presidential candidate of the reformists, gains in this region.”
Khatami, the Iranian president’s brother, also tried to calm things down, saying, “We believe that the [next] government will include all ethnic groups, so that we can achieve a sense of unity and solidarity.”