International conference on Iran starts in Sweden

ANKARA

A two-day conference on Iran organized by the Ankara-based Tabriz Research Institute began in Stockholm Saturday.

Iran's ethnicity, sectarian structure, political participation and pluralism were being discussed at the conference entitled "Political Pluralism and the Future of Participation of the Nationalities in Iran".

Iranian journalists, researchers and media members were addressing the conference.

The Tabriz Research Institute began in April under the chairmanship of Riza Heyet. The institute researches the language and culture as well as political, social and financial structure of nations and communities in contact with Turks, especially Iran and Azerbaijan.

At the end of the day, the organizers released a summary of the conference’s first day and alleged that many foreign powers were getting involved in the Iranian region because of sectarian and ethnic conflicts.

“The problems of the people and minorities in Iran are undoubtedly the biggest problem in the country’s last century of history. We see that many of these problems have been caused by ethnic and sectarian discrimination,” the statement said.

“We would like to organize a symposium to address these problems,” it added.

Earlier at the conference, Turkmen activist Abdurrahman Deveci said Turkmen were under pressure in Iran.

"In this day and age, Turkmens are under extreme pressure because of the fact they are Turks and believe in the Sunni sect," Deveci said.

Meanwhile, Iranian journalist-writer Ahmet Rafet said federalism could be a solution to the ongoing problems in Iran.

“If federalism is a solution to the problem, it is necessary to determine the form of federalism that would fit the ethnic structure of Iran,” Rafet said.

Ali Riza Kulunclu, another journalist, said inequality and prejudices were a very common problem for non-Persians in the country.