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The Talyshes justly wish to have a wider platform such as a local TV channel or other facilities to be able to get a wider representation and promote their culture in Azerbaijan, Zahir Amanov, the editor-in-chief of Lenkoran-based Janub Heberleri (“Southern News”) newspaper, told Moderator.az.

“No opportunities are created for that in Azerbaijan. I find it normal that a TV channel in Talysh language exist. Such TV channels have already been created in Russia and Iran. It would be good if Azerbaijan’s government addressed the wishes and needs of the Talyshes and other national minorities and helped turn them into reality,” Amanov said.

The Talyshes in Azerbaijan have not a single TV or radio channel in their native language, no political party to represent their interests, no education system in their native language, no studies of their language, culture and history and promotion of this in the society. Moreover, the names of Talysh settlements are altered and renamed in a Turkic way, and when the Talyshes use the indigenous Talysh names, it is called separatism in Azerbaijan. In addition, the Talysh history in the school textbooks in Azerbaijan “is erased as even just the name Talysh itself is erased.”