EASTERN EUROPE AND IRAN: COMMON POINTS OF HISTORY
CEE nations and Iranians are natural allies in face of common enemeis
The historical experiences of Central and Eastern European nations and Iran shapes their people's desire to uphold freedom around the world. Our countries have experienced humiliations, occupation and tyranny through foreign ideologies. But the modern histories of our countries has also been the struggle to shape the world through the entity of the nation-state.
This was the case when Poland, prior to partition by three empires, enacted its landmark 1791 Constitution. It was an epochal, defining national moment and remained a testament to the aspirations of a nation. The Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 was no less significant for the nation of Iran.
The Constitutional Revolution and the Pahlavi Dynasty best represented the aspiration of the nation of Iran as a modern nation-state, in the same manner that the nations of Central and Eastern Europe were able to regain their national independence in the first half of the 20th Century.
Similarly, both Central and Eastern European nations and Iran would come under the occupation of foreign, anti-national ideologies: Communism was imposed on half of Europe, and Islamism was brought to Iran to undo the achievements of 20th Century Iran.
Our countries therefore would have large Diaspora communities around the world, and we are confronted with the same enemies that laid waste to our homelands. It is for this reason that our Diasporas are at the forefront of championing freedom against tyranny.
It is also why the Central and Eastern European nations and their Diasporas are among the most natural allies of the Iranian people in their struggle. It is why I urge these nations, the lands with whom I identify emotionally and ancestrally, to support the Iranian people fully. I have always believed this is a common struggle as we share common aspirations for national identity, independence and freedom.