Ahwazi Democratic Popular Front – Summary
✳️ Establishment and Motivation
The Ahwazi Democratic Popular Front was founded on 20 January 1990 in occupied Ahwaz, announcing the launch of an organized struggle grounded in national, humanitarian, and international legal principles. Its establishment came in response to the Ahwazi people’s need for a broad national front capable of unifying their ranks and representing their political will.
From its first day, the Front declared its core objectives:
• The right to self-determination for the Arab Ahwazi people and the restoration of their national sovereignty.
• Equality among all citizens and the rejection of any discrimination among Ahwazis.
• Adoption of democracy and respect for the rights of individuals and political groups.
The Front defines itself as a vanguard national and humanitarian organization operating in accordance with international laws and norms to regain the rights of the Arab Ahwazi people. It seeks to move from limited organizational efforts to a broad popular movement that includes all segments of society in the struggle for liberation and state-building.
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🎯 Fundamental Goals and Principles
- Self-Determination and National Liberation
• Empowering the Ahwazi people to freely determine their political future and establish their independent state.
• Restoring control over their natural resources and land, and choosing a system of governance through democratic institutions and a rights-protecting constitution. - Political, Social, and Economic Justice
• Ensuring equal opportunities for all members of society.
• Ending social, economic, and class-based discrimination.
• Rejecting all forms of exploitation or internal colonialism. - Democracy and Respect for Pluralism
• Adopting democracy as a comprehensive national framework.
• Respecting freedom of thought, belief, and affiliation, and guaranteeing inclusive participation in the struggle without discrimination. - Popular Education and Identity Building
• Promoting political, national, and social awareness.
• Preserving the Arabic language, Ahwazi heritage, revolutionary literature, and national culture.
• Deepening the Arab–Ahwazi identity and strengthening national belonging. - Equality and Empowerment of Women
• Supporting the active participation of women in political and social struggle.
• Ensuring full rights and equal opportunities for women in all fields. - Human Rights and Peace
• Full commitment to international human rights instruments.
• Rejection of the death penalty and the taking of life for any reason.
• Defending human dignity and the right to live freely and safely.
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🌍 National and Humanitarian Identity
• The Front views the Ahwazi struggle as part of the broader liberation struggle of the Arab nation.
• It considers Arab support for the Ahwazi cause a national and humanitarian duty.
• It links human freedom with national freedom, affirming that liberation also means confronting social and class oppression and combating injustice both within society and beyond it.
• It rejects policies of Persianization, repression, identity erasure, and enforced backwardness, and defends the right of the people to live in dignity and freedom.
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🛠️ Activities and Fields of Work
• The Front has placed popular education at the center of its activities, including the dissemination of Ahwazi history, Arab identity, language, resistance literature, and cultural heritage.
• It works to build civil society institutions and community organizations to strengthen public participation and support the national struggle.
• It opens the door for cooperation with all Ahwazi forces and organizations, regardless of their political orientation, as long as they share the goal of liberation.
• At the regional and international levels:
• It builds solidarity relations with non-Persian peoples and national groups under occupation.
• It strengthens its presence in international institutions to defend the Ahwazi cause.
• It calls for global support for the Ahwazi people’s right to freedom and self-determination.
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⚖️ Commitment to International Law
The Front affirms its commitment to all international legal instruments, foremost among them:
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• The principles of International Humanitarian Law
It considers adherence to these principles an essential part of its national and humanitarian project to build a just state that safeguards human dignity and rights.
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