Azerbaijani civil society activists hold solidarity action with compatriots in Iran

Today, the group of activists of the "World Azerbaijanis Congress" (WAC) held a protest action near the Embassy of Iran to Baku to protest against the inertness of official Tehran in connection with the drying up of the large Lake Urmia situated in north-west of the country, which water-collecting area is densely populated by ethnic Azerbaijanis.

During the last 10 days, this is the third protest rally in Baku before the Embassy of Iran. Rallies with similar demands were held in Baku on September 2 and on August 31. They were also organized by the "World Azerbaijanis' Congress", the international public organization, which includes citizens of Azerbaijan and natives of Iranian Azerbaijan living in Azerbaijan and the countries of Europe and the United States.

Today, the group of activists led by Sabir Rustamkhanly, co-Chairman of the WAC, the leader of the Civil Solidarity Party of Azerbaijan and MP of the country, tried to approach the Embassy of Iran. However, numerous policemen prevented it, not letting the protesters to approach the building of the diplomatic mission.

Nevertheless, about 30 young men near the Embassy began chanting slogans criticizing the government of Iran. The participants of the rally also called for solidarity of Azerbaijanis with their compatriots in Iran. Furthermore, the slogans of a political nature, demanding merger of North Azerbaijan (Republic of Azerbaijan) with South Azerbaijan (Iranian Azerbaijan), were chanted again.

The police officers have also not allowed Sabir Rustamkhanly to pass the resolution of the rally to the Embassy. "It is important that our demands are heard in Tehran, and not in the Embassy of Iran to Baku," said Sabir Rustamkhanli, summarizing the rally's results.

At the moment, when the protest action was being held near the Embassy of Iran, the issue on Lake Urmia was discussed at a roundtable in Baku Media Centre with participation of the representatives of the civil society, the Parliament of Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijanis.

Elkhan Shakhinoglu, the head of the Research Centre "Atlas", has noted that "the inertness of the Iranian authorities hides the goal to assimilate the Azerbaijani population, since in case of ecological disaster the local residents will be forced to move to other regions of Iran".

According Elkhan Shakhinoglu, on the other hand, the ecological disaster would have negative impact on the environment of Azerbaijan, since Lake Urmia is situated in hundreds of kilometres from the southern borders of the country.

According to the expert, two of these factors necessitate the reaction of official Baku. "However, the authorities of Azerbaijan prefer to take a policy of non-interference "in the internal affairs" of Iran," Elkhan Shakhinoglu said.

Araz Obaly, a native of Iran, an Azerbaijani correspondent of the satellite TV Company "GyunazTv" (which broadcasts from Chicago), has noted that during last 10 years the Iranian authorities have built dams on the rivers flowing into the lake on the pretext of irrigation of agricultural lands; and that led to drying of Lake Urmia.

According to him, the draining of the lake leads to the formation of salt marshes; and this will inevitably cause damage to the environment in Turkey and Nakhichevan, since "the consequences will affect the soil and air."

Sulkhaddin Akper, the head of the Azerbaijani Centre for European Integration, believes that the beginning protests in Iran should be considered in the global context of developments in the region under the influence of the "Arab spring". According to him, the protests of Azerbaijanis in Iran coincide in time with the updating of the "Iranian issue" in the international agenda.

According to Sulkhaddin Akper, Iran plays a destructive role in the region by supporting the Syrian regime, the radical organization "Hezbollah" in Lebanon, and the Shiites of Iraq; however, the situation in the region fails to develop in favour of the Tehran regime; and, therefore, Azerbaijan should provide necessary support to its compatriots in that country.

According to MP Fazil Gazanfaroglu, the leader of the "Velikoe Sozidanie" (Great Creation) Party, no "anti-Azerbaijani undertone" should be found in ecological problems of Lake Urmia. According to him, the authorities of Iran use other forms of pressure on the Azerbaijanis, which are expressed in absence of schools teaching in the Azeri language and violation of other cultural rights.

Summarizing the results of the meeting, the participants of the roundtable agreed that the authorities of Azerbaijan, while maintaining non-interference in the internal affairs of Iran, at the same time should provide informational support to their compatriots and ensure the proper rights to those who would seek refuge in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The authorities of Azerbaijan fail to comment on the latest developments in Iran around Lake Urmia.

The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan refrained from comments, referring to a lack of information.

The Embassy of Iran also refrained from comments, despite the protest actions and wide media coverage of this issue.