ID :
139693
Sat, 08/28/2010 - 14:28
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https://www.oananews.org//node/139693
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Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan: Diplomacy of brotherhood
The trilateral summit of the presidents of three Persian-speaking countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan wrapped up on August 5 in Tehran and recorded another unforgettable event in the memory of the three nations.
With innumerable cultural, religious, social, lingual affinities, the three countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have demonstrated their potential to build one of the strongest diplomatic partnerships in the region and benefit other nations through a unique, fruitful and constructive cooperation.
The people of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, whose countries were parts of the Greater Persia in ancient times, consider Iran as their cultural homeland and believe that the Iranian nation is the inheritor of their paternal legacy, the Persian civilization.
I had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with the Tajik ambassador to Tehran for a local weekly magazine Hatef published in Rasht last month in which I discovered for the first time that the roots of cordiality and affinity between Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan are so deep and robust that one can hardly imagine. The Tajik ambassador, Ramadan Mirza, talked of Iran so enthusiastically and passionately that I felt for a while that he is more Iranian than I am. He called Iran a brother nation several times, paid homage to the antiquity and preciousness of the Persian language as the common heritage of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and told me of his early childhood's aspiration of visiting Iran. He told me that when, under the Soviet dominance, he was a high school student, he read about the historical sites of Iran such as the mausoleum of Persian poet Saadi, the tomb of Cyrus the Great or the ancient site of Persepolis in his textbooks, and wished to visit these sites one day. He said that when he was selected as ambassador, his 50-year-long dream came true and he finally succeeded to visit the sites which seemed to him unreachable and inaccessible long ago. Mr. Mirza told me that it is his honor to serve as his country's ambassador in Tehran where he can freely visit the four corners of Iran whenever he likes.
It was in this interview that Mr. Mirza revealed for the first time that Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon formally asked his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Nowrouz festival of 2011 be held in Persepolis which is actually the native soil of Nowrouz.
Nowrouz is a set of ancient festivities held at the beginning of vernal equinox to mark the commencement of new solar year.
He also said despite the longstanding dominance of Russia over Tajikistan, the Tajik people have never forgotten their maternal Persian language. It's noteworthy that since Tajikistan was separated from the Greater Persia during the Russo-Persian wars of 1860s, the Soviet rulers launched a de-Persianization project in Tajikistan where almost everyone speaks Persian and writes in the Persian alphabet. However, under pressure from Russia national media outlets, schools, public offices and universities of Tajikistan were banned from using the Persian alphabet and enforced the Cyrillic alphabet instead. This was an artificial and uninteresting incorporation of the Russian culture into Tajikistan which had been an inseparable constituent of Iran's large puzzle of cultural heritage since the establishment of the Achaemenid dynasty 2500 years ago.
Potential to form a powerful bloc
Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have the capability to form a powerful political coalition. They share the same language, religion and cultural background and this is something which is a rarity in the contemporary world. They have common objectives and since they've suffered from the subjugation of superpowers in the course of history, they seek independence and freedom. The closeness of the three countries is evident in their broad collaborations in various fields including academic exchanges, agricultural cooperation, military ties, and cultural collaboration. The three countries are slated to launch a trilateral Persian-language TV channel which will be broadcasting from Dushanbe. A long railway will be connecting the three countries in the future. All of the three are the members of Organization of Islamic Conference and Non-Aligned Movement. Tajikistan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Iran and Afghanistan are observer members.
The joint declaration of the fourth summit of the heads of states of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Tajikistan was compiled in 14 articles and signed by the three presidents who have planned to hold the fifth joint meeting in Afghanistan in 2011.
In the 5th article, the three countries emphasized the importance of trilateral financial relations and highlighted the expansion of economic transactions through support for the private sector.
In the 7th article, the three parties supported the development of cultural, scientific and educational cooperation.
In the 9th article, they announced their complete readiness to combat extremism, terrorism, organized crimes and drug trafficking which pose serious threats to the security and stability of the three countries.
In the 11th article, the three countries stressed the importance of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and underlined the inalienable right of the NPT signatories to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Overall, it seems that the expansion of relations between the three Persian-speaking countries who are bound together through ancient cultural ties will serve the interests of the Central Asian and Middle Eastern nations and contribute to a sustainable security and development in the region.
(By Kourosh Ziabari)
With innumerable cultural, religious, social, lingual affinities, the three countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have demonstrated their potential to build one of the strongest diplomatic partnerships in the region and benefit other nations through a unique, fruitful and constructive cooperation.
The people of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, whose countries were parts of the Greater Persia in ancient times, consider Iran as their cultural homeland and believe that the Iranian nation is the inheritor of their paternal legacy, the Persian civilization.
I had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with the Tajik ambassador to Tehran for a local weekly magazine Hatef published in Rasht last month in which I discovered for the first time that the roots of cordiality and affinity between Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan are so deep and robust that one can hardly imagine. The Tajik ambassador, Ramadan Mirza, talked of Iran so enthusiastically and passionately that I felt for a while that he is more Iranian than I am. He called Iran a brother nation several times, paid homage to the antiquity and preciousness of the Persian language as the common heritage of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and told me of his early childhood's aspiration of visiting Iran. He told me that when, under the Soviet dominance, he was a high school student, he read about the historical sites of Iran such as the mausoleum of Persian poet Saadi, the tomb of Cyrus the Great or the ancient site of Persepolis in his textbooks, and wished to visit these sites one day. He said that when he was selected as ambassador, his 50-year-long dream came true and he finally succeeded to visit the sites which seemed to him unreachable and inaccessible long ago. Mr. Mirza told me that it is his honor to serve as his country's ambassador in Tehran where he can freely visit the four corners of Iran whenever he likes.
It was in this interview that Mr. Mirza revealed for the first time that Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon formally asked his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the Nowrouz festival of 2011 be held in Persepolis which is actually the native soil of Nowrouz.
Nowrouz is a set of ancient festivities held at the beginning of vernal equinox to mark the commencement of new solar year.
He also said despite the longstanding dominance of Russia over Tajikistan, the Tajik people have never forgotten their maternal Persian language. It's noteworthy that since Tajikistan was separated from the Greater Persia during the Russo-Persian wars of 1860s, the Soviet rulers launched a de-Persianization project in Tajikistan where almost everyone speaks Persian and writes in the Persian alphabet. However, under pressure from Russia national media outlets, schools, public offices and universities of Tajikistan were banned from using the Persian alphabet and enforced the Cyrillic alphabet instead. This was an artificial and uninteresting incorporation of the Russian culture into Tajikistan which had been an inseparable constituent of Iran's large puzzle of cultural heritage since the establishment of the Achaemenid dynasty 2500 years ago.
Potential to form a powerful bloc
Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have the capability to form a powerful political coalition. They share the same language, religion and cultural background and this is something which is a rarity in the contemporary world. They have common objectives and since they've suffered from the subjugation of superpowers in the course of history, they seek independence and freedom. The closeness of the three countries is evident in their broad collaborations in various fields including academic exchanges, agricultural cooperation, military ties, and cultural collaboration. The three countries are slated to launch a trilateral Persian-language TV channel which will be broadcasting from Dushanbe. A long railway will be connecting the three countries in the future. All of the three are the members of Organization of Islamic Conference and Non-Aligned Movement. Tajikistan is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Iran and Afghanistan are observer members.
The joint declaration of the fourth summit of the heads of states of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Tajikistan was compiled in 14 articles and signed by the three presidents who have planned to hold the fifth joint meeting in Afghanistan in 2011.
In the 5th article, the three countries emphasized the importance of trilateral financial relations and highlighted the expansion of economic transactions through support for the private sector.
In the 7th article, the three parties supported the development of cultural, scientific and educational cooperation.
In the 9th article, they announced their complete readiness to combat extremism, terrorism, organized crimes and drug trafficking which pose serious threats to the security and stability of the three countries.
In the 11th article, the three countries stressed the importance of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and underlined the inalienable right of the NPT signatories to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Overall, it seems that the expansion of relations between the three Persian-speaking countries who are bound together through ancient cultural ties will serve the interests of the Central Asian and Middle Eastern nations and contribute to a sustainable security and development in the region.
(By Kourosh Ziabari)
