Every struggle has core values

The Baluch struggle for independent state does not draw support only from traditional segments of the Baluch society as much as from managerial, technical and administrators middle classes have helped the movement to get off the ground.

Every struggle has core values and committed people who are committed to protect those core values in the Baluch case the core values are independent Baluchistan, democracy, rule of law, and Baluch human values comfortable to the universal human values and defined by the Baluch themselves.

Baluchistan is divided into three states and Baluch also divided within a state in different provinces that constitute the Baluch a minority in each province subsequently within each state, the character and strength of states are different in each case, an appeal to Baluch sentiment and method to confront coloniser in each state is vary.

The cultural and religion appeal is very strong in Iranian occupied Baluchistan. Because Iran is a theocratic Shiite empire has no regard for Sunni brunch of Islam. The Iranian regime has no tolerance for Christian and the others but when it comes to Sunni the Iranian hate Sunni the irony is that the Baluch are Sunni. And the Baluch nation cannot abandon religion, to ones dislike the religion is the sources of laws and symbols we are holding close to our heart unconsciously as Baluch values. One can argue that the Baluch are naturally secular and tolerate otherness to some point we should uphold to these values and celebrate the secularism and promote it.

The State or the state agencies are the main sources of employment in Iran. The Shiite in Iran control the Iran economy and employment and the Baluch is discriminated because he is Sunni, there is no Baluch inside the Iranian national security services, Banking system, foreign office services and top executive except few Shiite Baluch or some who have been converted to shiism therefore an ordinary Baluch see the Shiite as a major source of suppression because Shiite control every aspect of his life. The language and cultures barrier are secondary. There are also other forces like Persian expansionist, monarchist, communist are united to suppress the Baluch but one has to accept the fact the current Iran is a Shiite empire and Shiite religion is the strongest source of state legitimacy and fussing factor.

 The Baluch economically would have been more advanced than Persian region if the Baluch had control over their economic policies. The Iranian economic policies favour Persian, Shiite in Baluchistan and that a Baluch economic policy would have been of a great benefit to region.

The Baluch struggle is anti-colonialism; it is a struggle for the national liberation. The Baluch nationalist in the Iranian occupied Baluchistan can develop some form of identities to seek independent from Iran and advantage in region. Without a committed core of activists nationalist support is liable to pragmatic and volatile.

A support from not committed to independent Baluchistan which has other political alternatives and that takes influential views of politics, this can give the Baluch struggle realism and effectiveness. But at the same time it makes it difficult to predict if such movement survive for long time.

Mehrab, Sarjov is a political activist based in London.