LETTERS
House speaker should have written 'Persian' Gulf
The Washington Times
September 01, 1999, Wednesday,
In an exchange of letters between House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert and
the Ambassador of Bahrain ("Bahrain by the Pound," Embassy Row,
Aug. 17), the Persian Gulf's time-honored historical name has been distorted
to "Arabian Gulf."
Such a distortion adversely affects the hearts and minds of hundreds
of thousands of Americans of Iranian descent, not to mention the Iranian
people as a whole. This would also trouble scholars, historians and researchers.
In the interest of promoting better understanding, I wish to make a few
remarks:
* The Persian Gulf nomenclature has been in use since time immemorial
by all nations of the world, including Arab countries.
* All Arab textbooks and historical records have referred to the Persian
Gulf by its proper name throughout history. The distorted name found currency
among Arab countries only in recent times in the wake of the quest for
Arab unity. Thus it was a political act born, not out of geographic necessity,
but for its psychological impact.
* All non-Arab states to this day refer to the body of water whose entire
length embraces the southern shores of Iran, as the Persian Gulf. It is
true, however, that some officials in a few countries, on occasion, have
resorted to the distorted name in the interest of appeasing their Arab
clients.
* The United Nations has stood firm in the face of all political pressures
(which have receded by now) and refers in its official records to the Persian
Gulf by its proper name, as does the U.S. government. When the speaker
of the House uses a wrong nomenclature, the impact becomes significant.
The speaker of the House might consider having someone well-versed in international
affairs among his staff.
MOHSEN S. ESFANDIARY
Washington
Mohsen Esfandiary was Iranian ambassador to Thailand from 1972 to
1977.
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