Why Ahvaz failed to gain independence from Iran

Islam Mohamed

The Arab Ahvaz region has been under the Persian rule for around 95 years, suffering from systematic persecution policies. However, the resistance movements in Ahvaz have not managed to get rid the Persian rule despite relentless efforts in this regard.

There are a number of national liberation organizations in Ahvaz seeking independence from Iran. These organizations have been conflicting with one another instead of unifying their efforts for independence.

Arab activists accuse these liberation movements of following the example of the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas movements, leading to internal conflicts with most of the efforts focused on reaching peace between them rather than negotiating for peace with Israel.

The infighting among Ahvaz liberation movements has been the main reason for the world community not to recognize their case for independence from Iran. There is no one single organization or entity to be the legitimate representative of Ahvaz people.

Moreover, Iran’s mullah regime has been repressing the Arab people of Ahvaz. Tehran has also penetrated those liberation organizations.

The mullah regime killed Ahmad Mawla, the leader of Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz, on November 8, 2017, in The Hague, The Netherlands.

The Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz has an armed wing inside Iran. That wing carried out an attack on a parade of the Revolutionary Guards Corps on September 22, 2018. Tens of Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack.

The London-based Solidarity for Ahvaz Party, which was founded in 2003, rejects independence and armed struggle, calling for a federal system that gives greater rights and freedoms to the people of Khuzestan province, which includes the Arab majority.

In Canada, there are a number of parties and organizations such as the Arab Renaissance Party for the Liberation of Ahvaz, the Popular Democratic Front for the Ahvaz People and the National Liberation Movement of Ahvaz.