Politics of Khuzestan

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Map showing Khuzestan in Iran
Map showing Khuzestan in Iran

This article focuses on the politics of Khuzestan, an oil-rich and ethnically diverse province in southwestern Iran

Ethnic groups in Iran
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Ethnic groups in Iran

Contents

[edit] Background

Unlike most other Iranian provinces, Khuzestan is ethnically diverse, home to a number of distinct peoples and tribal groups. This has a bearing on Khuzestan's electoral politics, with ethnic minority rights playing a significant role in the province's political culture. The province's geographical location bordering Iraq and its oil resources also make it a politically sensitive region, particularly given its history of foreign intervention, notably the Iraqi invasion of 1980. At the same time, there are ethnic grievances among the province's indigenous population, mostly from Arabs, over the distribution of the revenue generated by oil resources with claims that the central government is failing to invest profits from the oil industry in employment generation, post-war reconstruction and welfare projects. Low human development indicators among local Khuzestanis are contrasted with the wealth generation of the local oil industry. Minority rights are frequently identified with strategic concerns, with ethnic unrest perceived by the Iranian government as being generated by foreign governments to undermine the country's oil industry and its internal stability. The politics of Khuzestan therefore have international significance and go beyond the realm of electoral politics.

[edit] Prominent Khuzestani politicians

Khuzestan has produced many prominent politicians. Iran's current Minister of Agriculture Mohammad Reza Eskandari [1], Mohsen Rezaee (secretary of Iran's powerful Expediency Discernment Council) and several parliamentary committee chairs are from Khuzestan.

Ali Shamkhani, an Arab from Ahvaz, held Iran's sensitive top military post of Minister of Defense for 8 years from 1997 to 2005.

Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, a Khuzestan representative in the Assembly of Experts, was the personal representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (the Supreme Leader of Iran) in London and headed the Islamic Centre of England until 2004.

[edit] Election results

Khuzestan has tended to elect reformists to power, particularly those campaigning on a pro-minorities platform. However, bomb attacks in the region have led to a polarisation of opinion, with some Khuzestan representatives such as Ahwaz City representative Nasser Soudani calling for hardline measures against Arab dissent, which the government believes is being encouraged by British spies.[2]

[edit] Presidential elections

Summary of the 17 June 2005 Iranian Presidential election results for Khuzestan province compared with the national election results [3]

Candidates Votes Khuzestan % Votes Nationally %
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani 319,883 20.50 6,211,937 21.13
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 224,427 14.40 5,711,696 19.43
Mehdi Karroubi 539,158 34.50 5,070,114 17.24
Mostafa Moeen 148,375 9.50 4,095,827 13.93
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf 148,207 9.50 4,083,951 13.89
Ali Larijani 58,554 3.70 1,713,810 5.83
Mohsen Mehralizadeh 20,253 1.30 1,288,640 4.38
Total (national turnout 62.66%, Khuzestan turnout 56%) 1,563,000 100 29,400,857 100

In the first round of the presidential election, Khuzestani voters favoured reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi, who is a strong critic of the Council of Guardians, who only achieved third place nationally. Karroubi's share of the vote in Khuzestan was twice the national average. Former president Rafsanjani came second in Khuzestan, although he achieved the highest number of votes nationally, followed by conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was the overall winner of the second round of the presidential election.

[edit] Elections to Parliament

[edit] Elections to the Assembly of Experts

Khuzestan has six directly elected representatives in the 86-member Assembly of Experts, which is normally elected every eight years and has the power the select and supervise the Supreme Leader. The next elections are due in December 2006, with members appointed for 10 year terms.

The Khuzestan representatives currently serving in the Assembly of Experts are:

  1. Seyed Ali Shafei
  2. Seyed Mohammad Ali Mousawi
  3. Mohammad Reza Abbasi Fard
  4. Ali Fallahian
  5. Abbas Ka'abi Nasab
  6. Mohsen Mohammadi Araki

[edit] Municipal elections

[edit] Local grievances

Endemic poverty in Khuzestan is contrasted with the wealth generated by the province, particularly from oil, petrochemicals and agriculture.[4] Many Arab groups claim that this is evidence of ethnic discrimination, with the Arabs - who form the largest ethnic group in the province - allegedly suffering higher rates of unemployment, illiteracy and disease than the national average.

Articles 15, 19 and 48 of the the Iranian Constitution establishes the basis for ethnic, linguistic and cultural minority rights in the fields of education, employment and the distribution of resources. However, human rights groups have claimed that Iranian minorities often face discrimination and estrictions on social, cultural, linguistic and religious freedoms (see Ethnic minorities in Iran). Minority issues are therefore a major feature of political debate in Khuzestan.

[edit] Human rights

Khuzestan has been a focus of criticism by human rights groups. Amnesty International routinely raises human rights concerns relating to Khuzestani Arabs, in particular the arrest and detention of political activists, torture and executions. While Khuzestan is not unique in terms of its human rights record, Amnesty notes that often these abuses are related to institutional discrimination. In its report entitled New government fails to address dire human rights situation published in February 2006, Amnesty states:

Even where the majority of the local population is Arab, schools are reportedly not allowed to teach through the medium of Arabic; illiteracy rates are reportedly high, especially among Ahwazi Arab women in rural areas ... land expropriation by the Iranian authorities is reportedly so widespread that it appears to amount to a policy aimed at dispossessing Arabs of their traditional lands. This is apparently part of a strategy aimed at the forcible relocation of Arabs to other areas while facilitating the transfer of non-Arabs into Khuzestan and is linked to economic policies such as zero interest loans which are not available to local Arabs.[5]

In 1997, Human Rights Watch reported that "Iranian Arabs, an ethnic minority centered in southwest Iran, have cited significant restrictions on their language and culture, and on their right to participate effectively in decisions affecting the area in which they live." [6]. According to another report in the same year, "Arabic is not taught in elementary schools, and the Arabic teaching in secondary schools focuses exclusively on religious texts. The governor of Khuzestan is not an Arab" while "Arabs make up 70 percent of the three million inhabitants of Khuzestan province in the southwest of Iran." [7] In 2005, there have been reports of unrest over grievances of local Arabs such as "inadequate attention to their culture and language by state media, facing discrimination in getting jobs, unfair distribution of Khuzestan's oil wealth." [8]

Joe Stork, the director of HRW's Middle East division, said: "The Iranian authorities have again displayed their readiness to silence those who denounce human rights violations. We have serious allegations the government used excessive lethal force, arbitrary arrests and torture in Khuzistan." [9]

The claims made by human rights groups have been strongly contested by the Iranian government, which claims that efforts to disproportionately accentuate the problems in Khuzestan are being led by foreign media or political groups, particularly those based in the UK. [10] The governor's office of Khuzestan claims the provincial GDP to rank 3rd in the nation [11], yet to what extent the local population benefits from these fruits remains unclear.

Contrary to the arguments put forward by human rights groups, Arabic is taught in public schools.[12] However, others contend that the regional Khuzestani Arabic dialect is suppressed, local Arabic newspapers have been closed down and Khuzestani Arab political parties have been banned.

It is also contended that the rights of indigenous Persian and Iranian groups of Khuzestan, such as the nomadic Bakhtiari and Lur tribes, are often over-looked due to the publicity surrounding Khuzestani Arabs.[citation needed]

[edit] Alleged forced displacement

A frequent complaint among Khuzestani Arabs is their forced displacement and the settlement of Azeris and Persians from outside Khuzestan on their land.[13] The problem was highlighted by UN Special Rapporteur for Adequate Housing, following a visit to Khuzestan in July 2005. He claimed that industrial and agricultural development projects had displaced Arabs from their land, who received compensation that amounted to a fraction of the market value. He also claimed that new housing developments, such as the one new town in Shirinshah, were being created for non-Arab workers brought in from Yazd, while local people continued to suffer joblessness and poor housing. [14]

Kothari also drew attention to the situation facing the Laks, who are an Iranian people indigenous to Khuzestan. He called them "... a very deprived group ... living in conditions of high density, again without access to adequate sanitation and water. And just nearby, you see other neighbourhoods with much better services."

Kothari's description of the position of the Laks suggests that economic marginalisation in Khuzestan is not only experienced by Khuzestani Arabs, but also ethnic Persian groups who are indigenous to the area.

Kothari's findings led to condemnation of forced displacement of Khuzestani Arabs in a European Parliament resolution, passed in October 2005. The resolution, sponsored by all the European Parliament's political groups,

condemns the treatment of minorities such as ... the inhabitants of the area around Ahwaz city, the provincial capital of the ethnic Arab dominated Khuzestan province, who are being displaced from their villages according to statements by Miloon Kothari, UN Rapporteur on Adequate Housing. [15]

The European Parliament unanimously passed a resolution in November 2006 which repeated its condemnation of forced displacement in Khuzestan, based on Kothari's findings.[16]

[edit] Arvand Free Zone

Some Ahwazi Arab groups have drawn attention to the creation of the 155 square km Arvand Free Zone project, around the cities of Khorramshahr, Abadan, and Minoo Island, which they claim will intensify the forced displacement of Khuzestani Arabs along the Arvand/Shatt al-Arab, which forms the southern border between Khuzestan and Iraq's Basra province. The website of the Arvand Free Zone Organisation lists some of its goals, including commercial and industrial development and the stabilization of national security [17]

According to a letter published by the Arvand Free Zone Organisation, land falling under its jurisdiction will be expropriated. [18] Ahwazi Arab groups have reacted strongly to the way in which the local population is being treated, claiming that this amounts to ethnic cleansing.[19] There are also claims that the zone is being created to train and deploy Shia militias in Iraq.[20]

The Hamsahyeha newspaper in Ahvaz (see Khuzestan newspapers), which covers Khuzestan, reported that residents of Minoo Island were complaining of bullying tactics by employees of the Arvand Free Zone Organisation. Mostafa Motowarzadeh, the parliamentary representative for Khorramshahr, also said that the Iranian authorities pressing forward land acquisitions ahead of the end of the official consultation period.[21]

[edit] Place names

Many of the towns and cities in Khuzestan had Arabic or local names in Arab rulers era, which have since been changed. Some Khuzestani Arabs contend that the change of place names is intended to wipe out the local Arab heritage and Persianize the province. The most controversial name changes include the renaming of Mohammarah to Khorramshahr and Khafajiah to Susangard. However, some of these names have their origins in pre-Islamic Khuzestan. Arvandrud for example is mentioned in the Shahnama, and Andimeshk is the name of medieval Dezful.(E.I., p26)

[edit] Religious minorities

Although the majority of the population of Khuzestan is Shia, there are other religious groups in the province. The 5-10,000 Mandeans, a unique religious group that is neither Muslim nor Christian, living in Khuzestan claim to have second-class status due to both Arabisation and Persianisation. Their places of worship have reportedly been closed down and their cemetories However, they lack any support group to lobby on their behalf and their plight is often over-looked by human rights organisations. Their small numbers also mean they are politically marginalised.[22]

[edit] Political stability

Also see Ahvaz Bombings

In April 2005, riots broke out in several Khuzestani cities, following the circulation of a letter marked "top secret" from President Khatami's office and written in 1999, which was broadcast on Al-Jazeera and Al-Ahwaz television stations. The letter outlined a plan to encourage Persians to settle in Khuzestan, thereby changing the ethnic composition of the province. Central government officials say that the letter is a blatant forgery. Nevertheless, Arab youths rioted and some four hundred were arrested in Ahvaz. [23]

Government officials say that the youth were misled by foreign agitators, with accusations made against Saudi Arabia, Canada and the United Kingdom. On 26 April 2005, the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Rapporteur Kazem Jalali accused British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw of interfering in Khuzestan and backing Arab opposition parties, which are illegal in Iran. This claim followed revelations that Straw had met with an Iranian Arab exile in March. Given that fomenting internal unrest is a millennia-old, tried-and-true technique for subverting enemy regimes, it is possible that this claim is true. It is also true that in many cases unrest has been blamed on outside agitators even though no foreigners were involved; most governments do not wish to believe that their policies could be contributing to internal unrest. There were also claims that the letter was published by a political faction to influence the outcome of the presidential elections.

Members of the Majlis, the Iranian Parliament, have raised concerns that ethnic tensions and the violent clashes in April 2005 are the result of economic inequalities and the lingering effects of the Iran-Iraq war. A petition signed by 180 Iranian MPs was sent to President Khatami condemning the behaviour of "executive officials," who they claim have failed in their duties to Iran's Arab population and have done little to address the root socio-economic causes that led to the uprising. Many MPs were unhappy at the government crack-down against Arab demonstrators in Khuzestan following the riots, indicating that the Iranian establishment was divided on policies towards the Arab minority and that the issue of ethnic minorities was assuming a higher priority ahead of the presidential elections.

Prominent Iranian Arab journalist Yusef Azizi Bani-Torof was also arrested on 25 April 2005 at his home in Tehran, in connection with the riots. He was released without charge in June 2005.[24]

[edit] Foreign influence

See also Anti-Iranianism and Arabs of Khuzestan

Some Iranian opposition parties operating abroad launched a campaign to stop the American Enterprise Institute hosting a conference entitled "The Unknown Iran: Another Case for Federalism?" in October 2005.[25] A petition to stop the event attracted more than 1,000 signatures from members of the Iranian diaspora.[26] Some added that the meeting indicated a new alliance between US neo-conservatives and Iranian separatists, ahead of a possible invasion of Iran by the US and its allies. Dr Ali Al-Taie, a member of the Democratic Solidarity Party of Ahwaz which upholds a federalist agenda for Iran, said at the debate: "When it comes to ethnic rights, Persian opposition groups are on the same side as the terrorist Islamic Republic. If this continues, we will see the Balkanization of Iran."[27] But he added that: "Despite the long history of persecution, the Arabs of Khuzestan/al-Ahwaz are Iranian. There will never be, nor should there be, disintegration or separatism in Iran. Rather, all Iranian people, regardless of their ethnic background, should live under a pluralistic, tolerant, and federal society."[28]

[edit] Political organisations

There are a number of Iranian Arab political parties operating in exile, but no known political party representing other ethnic groups in Khuzestan. The ideology of Arab parties varies, although most are secular in their political outlook. Ideology, tactics, tribal loyalties and personal ambition have prevented these parties from forming a united front. Some advocate armed resistance, while others believe in non-violent action. Most refer to Khuzestan as al-Ahwaz or Arabistan, although some define Arabistan as also including territory along the Gulf coast to the Straight of Hormuz. Whether these views are popular or even accepted amongst most Iranian Arabs is uncertain. Khuzestan's deputy governor Rahim Fazilatpur claimed that the Arab Martyrs of Khuzestan, the Al-Ahwaz Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Front (AADPF) and the Ahwaz Arab Renaissance Party (AARP) were given support by the British and US governments to carry out the bomb attacks of June 2005.[29]

The Ahwazi political parties are divided into two camps: those seeking a separate state and those seeking regional autonomy within a federal Iran. Critics of these parties claim that separatism has no support among Arabs, pointing to the decision by many Ahwazi Arabs to defend Iran during the Iran-Iraq War. They also contend that separatism has always been instigated by foreign governments - particularly the British - to weaken Iran in order to control the country's natural resources and extend their influence over the Middle East.[30] Many make no distinction between separatists and federalists, claiming that those seeking federalism have a separatist agenda and that the devolution of power to regional ethnic groups would lead to the break-up of Iran.

[edit] Islamic Wefagh Party

The Islamic Wefagh Party is the only known Arab group to have been tolerated by the Iranian government. Jasem Shadidzadeh Al-Tamimi is the party's secretary general. He was a member of the Sixth Majlis (2000-04), representing Ahwaz as a member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, but was barred from standing for election in 2004. Following the unrest in Khuzestan in April 2005, Al-Tamimi wrote to the then President Khotami calling on him to remove the "wall of mistrust between the proud Iranian ethnicities, so that the infected wounds of the Arab people of Ahwaz may heal." He added that "our wishful thinking about reforms in Arab affairs by the Reformists has been only a mirage," indicating that he no longer had faith in the Participation Front. [31] He listed a number of grievances, including:

  • violence against Arab demonstrators by security forces
  • land confiscation
  • the destruction of Arab residential compounds
  • the high level of drug abuse among Ahwazi Arabs, which he claims is rooted in poverty
  • racial discrimination and the official view of Arabs as a security threat
  • the government's failure to issue activity permits for the Islamic Wefagh Party and affiliated non-governmental organisations

He indicates that he opposes separatism and the ideology of "extreme Persian nationalism" he associates with the previous monarchist government. The Islamic Wefagh Party claims to have an "extensive" base of support in Khuzestan, although the government's failure to give it an activity permit means that it cannot test this in any election held in the province.

[edit] Al-Ahwaz Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Front

The Al-Ahwaz Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Front (AADPF) is based in London and is led by Mahmud Ahmad Al-Ahwazi, aka Abu Bashar. The group calls for human rights and democracy for Ahwazi Arabs and believes that Al-Ahwaz was occupied by Iran in 1925. The ADPF has a number of activists in Iranian custody. Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, the Minster of Defense and Logistic Affairs of the Armed Forces, accused Mahmud Ahmad Al-Ahwazi of involvement in the April 2005 unrest, while simultaneously claiming that his group had "zero popularity" amongst Arabs in Khuzestan [32]. The ADPF has also claimed it led what it calls an "intifada" in Khuzestan. Shamkhani also claimed that Mahmud Ahmad Al-Ahwazi was a former member of the SAVAK (the Shah's secret police) before the revolution who defected to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. It is not known how much, if any, of Shamkhani's claims are true.

[edit] Ahwaz Arab Renaissance Party

The AARP is another separatist group advocating armed resistance to the Iranian government. It was originally set up in the 1990s by the Syrian government, but has since moved its leadership to Canada. In April 2005, it claimed on a pro-Iraqi Ba'athist website that it had exploded a bomb on the Ahwaz-Tehran pipeline. [33] It also claimed responsibility for the June 2005 bombings in Ahwaz City. Two other groups also separately claimed responsibility for the attacks. It is led by Sabah al-Musawi, a Canadian resident.[34]

[edit] Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz

The Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-Ahwaz (DSPA), based in the US and the UK, has risen to prominence in recent years through its membership of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO), where it represents the 'Ahwazi' people. The DSPA's ideology is different from the separatists in that it explicitly rejects the use of violence and advocates what it calls "internal self-determination". It also limits its territorial focus on Khuzestan, making no stand on Arab-populated living outside the province.

The DSPA claims that Khuzestan's historical Arab identity means that the province should be given autonomy within a federal political system, but it says it respects Iran's territorial integrity. To achieve its ends, it has formed a coalition with like-minded parties representing Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis, Turkmen, Bakhtiaris and Lurs, some of which have been in armed conflict with the Iranian state. Formed in London in March 2005, the Congress of Iranian Nationalities for a Federal Iran (CINFI) brought together the DSPA, the Baluchistan United Front, Federal Democratic Movement of Azarbaijan, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Baluchistan People's Party, Organization for Defense of the Rights of Turkmen People and Komalah, a Kurdish opposition party.[35]

[edit] Ahwaz Liberation Organisation

The Ahwaz Liberation Organisation (ALO), based in Maastricht in the Netherlands, was formed out of the remnants of three Iraqi-backed groups - the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRFLA), People's Front for Liberation of Arabistan (PFLA) and the Arab Front for the Liberation of Al-Ahwaz (AFLA). It is a secular pan-Arabist group seeking independence from Iran. The DRFLA was the most notorious, having been sponsored by Saddam Hussein. It was founded after the newly-installed Islamic government fired on Arab demonstrators in Khorramshahr, killing many of them. The DRFLA was behind the May 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege in London, taking a number of hostages in an effort to draw attention to its demands for the self-determination of the Arab population of Khuzestan. The British Special Air Service (SAS) stormed the building and freed the hostages.

The ALO's constituent groups operated as a mercenary force on behalf of Saddam's regime during the Iran-Iraq War, carrying out assassinations and attacking oil facilities. Bomb attacks on oil and power facilities have continued since the end of the Iraq War, although the ALO has not formally claimed responsibility. The ALO's leader, the self-styled "President of Al-Ahwaz" Faleh Abdallah Al-Mansouri, was living in exile in the Netherlands since 1989, shortly after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, gaining Dutch nationality. He declared himself to be the "President" of Al-Ahwaz, which he claims extends beyond Khuzestan, including much of the coast of Iran. However, during a visit to Syria in May 2006, he was arrested in Syria in May 2006 along with Ahwazi Arabs who were registered as refugees by the UNHCR.[36] Although the Iranian government did not name the men who were taken into custody, officials said that the men arrested in Syria were Salafists who they accused of involvement in bomb attacks.[37] However, the ALO's website makes no indication that it is motivated by a religious cause, but rather has stayed within the ideology of secular Arab nationalism.

[edit] Media

[edit] Newspapers

The editor of Ahvaz's Persian language Hamsayeha newspaper, Mohammad Hezbawi (also known as Hezbaee Zadeh), was arrested in September 2005 but later released. [38] The newspaper was banned by the Justice Department in February 2006 under clauses four and five of Article 6 of Iran's Press law.[39]

[edit] Television

Television broadcasting in Arabic language in Khuzestan is state-owned (e.g.) as is the case in other parts of the country, but many inhabitants also watch foreign Arabic language satellite channels. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel was blamed by the Iranian government for its coverage of anti-government protests by Arabs in April 2005. It was also angered by Al-Jazeera's interview with a member of the separatist Al-Ahwaz Arab Peoples Democratic Popular Front (ADPF) who spoke of "80 years of Iranian occupation in Khuzestan". The International Federation of Journalists claimed the government was scapegoating the media for civil unrest in the province.[40]

In recent years, Ahwazi Arab groups have attempted to broadcast to Khuzestan. However, their attempts have been frustrated partly due to satellite dish confiscation in Khuzestan. Different political factions have run short weekly or daily television broadcasts to Iran,[41] but these have closed down.

[edit] References

    • Tarikh-e Pahnsad Saal-e Khuzestan (Five Hundred Year History of Khuzestan) by Ahmad Kasravi
    • Jang-e Iran va Britannia dar Muhammereh (The Iran-British War in Muhammereh) by Ahmad Kasravi
    • Tarikh-e Bist Saal-e Iran (Twenty Year History of Iran) by Hossein Maki (Tehran, 1945-47)
    • Hayat-e Yahya (The Life of Yahya) by Yahya Dolatabadi (Tehran, 1948-52)
    • Tarikh-e Ejtemai va Edari Doreieh Qajarieh (The Administrative and Social History of the Qajar Era) by Abdollah Mostofi (Tehran, 1945-49) ISBN 1-56859-041-5 (for the English translation)
    • Mosha'sha'iyan, by Muhammad Ali Ranjbar. ISBN 964-329-068-9

    [edit] See also

    [edit] External links

    [edit] Ahwazi Political Groups

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