Coll 28/112A ‘Persia. Tabriz – Monthly despatches of internal situation in Azerbaijan & misc. reports.’ [‎43r] (86/1237)

than rcVoluti.mary f and much oi what they ur^e would in another country
not n«t;d to he ur^ed oy a political party, it would be part of the
routine of the competent local authority# hut moat of the proposale
have an Azerbaijani colour, anu much emphaaie Is laid on tht mother
tongue, local culture, etc. Under the headint;. of the ^Hacial ^uestion^,
it is said (Article 82); '’Xhe righta of every race living in the
Iranian Kingdom to manage its own internal affairs and to settle its
o n destiny must be (secured by means oi provincial and town councils."
^c.f# para 213 bulow).
r Thu party claims that it is quite serious in its preparations
to elect a provincial council# The recise function* which this body
would exercise have not been made entirely clear, but it le beiiv said
for instance that it > ruld elect a ftovernor-Geaeral for Azerbaijan withe
out consulting the Central 'dovernment. A candidate for the post has
already been suggested in one Giyami, axi ex-Tudeh leader# Ifhlle such
[a step vbuld teem to amoua- to secesaion, the Democrats repeat in the
I eatte breath that all they want is local autonomy within the Iranian
state# (Iran dakhllinda mahalli muichtariyat).
Ihe decision to postpone the electione for the next Majlis until
after the withdrawal of the allied troops has with opposition In the-
party press# A 2 :.ibuiJi;n declares that the decision is illegal, and
| that Azerbaijan at any rcte will not abide by it; after the election
’ of the provincial council the authorities tme constituted will proceed
with the Majlis elections# If the candidates so elected arc rejected
by Tehran, "Azerbaijan will know what to do". The Democratic Party
hat, of course, everything to gain by holding the elections before the
Hueaians leave, and the advantages may be mutual#
A :apart of the conf rence above mentioned said that the Party
had given all schools, government departments and other public
institutions one year in which to change their language from Persian
to Turk!• This ultimatum is not repeated in the published programme*
It is a ^eneroue allowance of time, but at the present rate of progress
among the reading and writing public, would nardly be enough#
211# dezalih . The ti . veiling missi m of the Democratic Party (see
last Diary, para 198) had to overcome some opposition from the tempor
ary Rezaieh committee, which seems to have taken the Tubeh change of
neart too seriously. The Kezaieh Democrats jibbed at local autonomy
and th^ use of Turk! as the oflicial language, and were apparently
only led to agree when the Sovfet Town Commandant had joined his
eloquence to F&rihun Ibrahlai 1 *# When delegates for the party
conference were being elected the Kuseians 1 nd Ibranimi inaisted bn
the incluai n of 5 Armenians against the will of the committee. The
unpopular delegation was eecorted to Tabriz by a truck-load of Russian
soldiers. Rezaieh representation at the conference was finally: two
members of the original committee, five Armenians and three newly
elected muslims.
2 l 2 # Rtfyudeh Auras # The Persian Doimaandant in Azerbaijan received
news on October 15th. that Mullah Mustafa Barzani had arrived in
Azerbaijan with a considerable following, and had been allowed by the
Russian uthoritles in western Azerbaijan to ecttle i . a villsge so .ie
fifteen kilometres south of Rezaieh. The Commandant gave the numbers
of the nullah 9 * followers as two thousand, of whom five hundred were
fully armed. They had one field gun# A Kurdiah informant later
stated that the mullah 9 b following consisted of about one thousand
families# According to him, they had camped in the Dashtbil area#
dtill later information indioatc* that they have moved down to the
Ragadeh neighbourhood* Sartip Dux'akhshani said he had issued orders to
the Gommandunt of the Persian Garrison in Eastern Azerbaijan that
Mullah Mustafa was to be treated at a fugitive md a criminal, he was
to be disarmed and was to obey the orders of tae local military
commander# Garhang Danglneh'a hoper of enforcing these orders In
Rezaieh are not very bright#
Kurdish informants, who cannot naturally oe relied on very far,
deny that any IraxUan herki went to the ai^ of Mullah Mustafa#
/The