IN IRAN THE STATE-SPONSORED PROPAGANDA PORTRAYED TURKS AS BARBARIANS.

In Southern Azerbaijan (Iranian Azerbaijan), the Turkish language (Azerbaijani language) was banned from schools and government offices. Since the Turkish language press shared the same fate, there were no Turkish newspaper or magazines published. Students were forced to speak in Persian at schools, in the face of using their mother language they were fined and whipped by their teachers or principles. The government-sponsored propaganda portrayed Turks as barbarians. Turks who wanted to climb up in state hierarchy had to deny their ethnic background. In order to assimilate the Turks into Persian culture Tehran was discouraging deliberately investments in Azerbaijan by making it hard to obtain permission to set up any fundamental industry there. Even in the case of obtaining permission, the cooperation of banking system could not be expected. As a result, thousands of people had t