AZERBAIJAN CAUTIOUS AS IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON ETHNIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000758 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/24/2016 TAGS: PREL PHUM PGOV KDEM IR AJ SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN CAUTIOUS AS IRAN CRACKS DOWN ON ETHNIC AZERI DEMONSTRATIONS REF: BAKU 475 Classified By: CDA Jason P. Hyland for Reasons 1.4 b and d. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Azerbaijani society has taken a strong interest in reports that Iranian security forces opened fire May 22 on a demonstration of about 100,000 mostly Azeri-Iranian students in the city of Tabriz, killing at least ten. A flurry of Azerbaijani press reports has fanned public interest. Members of the Azerbaijani parliament expressed cautious concern about the "internal affairs" of Iran while other Baku political commentators noted that the protests are an indication of the frustration of Azeri-Iranians and broader public discontent under the clerical regime. A Baku human rights activist who has spoken with students in Tabriz confirmed the deaths and told us many other protests are planned in the coming days despite Iranian efforts to quell them. For now, the GOAJ is maintaining silence on the issue, undoubtedly wary of provoking a powerful and already unfriendly neighbor. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- IRANIAN DEMONSTRATIONS GRAB AZERBAIJAN'S ATTENTION -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On May 12, a children's supplement to an Iranian newspaper affiliated with Iran's state news agency IRNA, published a cartoon which likened Iran's large, ethnically-Azeri population to cockroaches (in the cartoon, a Persian-speaking boy repeated the word for cockroach in different languages, prompting a cockroach to respond in Azerbaijani). The cartoon sparked outrage in cities across northern Iran and drew heavy press coverage in Azerbaijan. (Note: Iran is home to approximately 16-30 million ethnic Azeris, while Azerbaijan proper has a population of only eight million.) The Government of Iran has since closed the newspaper that published the cartoons and detained its editor. However, Baku political commentators told PolFSN May 24 that the newspaper was not likely to be actually closed but that this was the Iranian Government's effort to halt the escalating protests by ethnic Azeri students. ¶3. (U) Azerbaijani press reports provided detailed descriptions of a large demonstration which took place May 22 in Tabriz, the "capital" of Iran's Azeri community. Reports suggest as many as 100,000 people joined the student-led protest in Tabriz chanting "Long Live Azerbaijan" and "Away with Fascism," while analysts in Azerbaijan have speculated that the wave of demonstrations was assisted by ethnic Azeri separatists. Press reports highlighted the actions of Iranian security forces which opened fire on the demonstrators, killing at least ten and wounding fifty after several hours of unsuccessful efforts to break up the demonstrations. Azerbaijani news stories also claim that Iranian security forces raided student dormitories in Tabriz and other cities, arresting between 100 and 150 students, and also that the Iranian Government has suspended any and all public assemblies in Tabriz. (Note: It is interesting to note that Lider Television, which is extremely pro-government, has given prominent coverage to the disturbances.) -------------- REACTION IN BAKU: CAUTIOUS CONCERN -------------- ¶4. (U) Baku opposition newspapers have consistently reported that Iranian authorities killed 20 or more persons in Tabriz, a number disputed by more balanced newspapers which place the number dead at between ten and twelve. During a May 23 session of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Civil Solidarity Party leader Sabir Rustamkhanly addressed the protests cautiously, noting that while Azerbaijan should not interfere in Iran's internal affairs, the GOAJ cannot remain indifferent to the fate of Azeris in Iran (Note: The Civil Solidarity Party, chaired by former President Ayaz Mutalibov, has never been known for fiery nationalism). Siyavush Novruzov, the deputy executive secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP) cautioned members of parliament to be "careful with their words." The GOAJ has not issued a public statement on the cartoons or the subsequent wave of demonstrations; Azerbaijani MFA Spokesman Tahir Tagizade told Charge May 24 that he does not expect the GOAJ to comment. However, on May 23, roughly 40 ethnic Azeri-Iranian students held a protest in front of the Iranian Embassy in Baku and burned Iranian BAKU 00000758 002 OF 002 flags. Azerbaijani fringe groups advocating the unification of all Azeris into a single state reportedly played a role in this demonstration. ¶5. (C) Nasib Nasibli, a former Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran and noted scholar, told us that the cartoon and the large demonstrations are indicative of the frustration felt by the Azeri community in Iran under the Islamic regime. Nasibli noted that while many ethnic Azeris hold positions of prominence in Iranian government and society (Supreme Jurist Ayatollah Khamenei is reportedly an ethnic Azeri, as is President Ahmadinejad's wife),Azeri ethnicity is viewed poorly by elements of society in Iran, evidenced by the cartoon's underlying message. Mubariz Ahmadoglu, a Baku political commentator known to have contacts in northern Iran, said that he expected the protests to grow, not abate, in the coming days. Nasibli speculated that this is the type of protest Tehran fears could grow into a catalyst for another revolution. ¶6. (C) Azerbaijani political scientist Rasim Musabayev told Emboff that if the reported deaths in Tabriz prove accurate, the funerals ceremonies have the potential to escalate into flashpoints of public outrage in Iran. Another Azerbaijani political analyst, Ilgar Mammedov, affirmed that the escalating protests represented a serious challenge to the clerical regime and are an indication of broader public dissatisfaction with the Iranian regime that goes beyond the question at hand. Moreover, commentators noted that the Azeri-Iranian community, although often viewed as second-class citizens in Iran, were of vital importance to Iran's domestic economy because the Azeri-Iranian community controls the Tehran bazaar. -------------- HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: MORE PROTESTS PLANNED -------------- ¶7. (C) Prominent Baku-based human rights activist Novella Jafaroglu told us she spoke with Azeri-Iranian youth NGO leaders in Tabriz on May 23. They told her that Iranian security forces had in fact killed between ten and twelve people during their attempt to disrupt the May 22 protest. Three of those killed, Jafaroglu noted, were believed to be Persian-Iranians who joined the protests to express solidarity with the Azeri-Iranian community. Jafaroglu reported that her contact in Tabriz estimated between 250 and 300 persons were hospitalized in the violence. In addition, Jafaroglu told us that banks, gas stations and cars were set afire although the Tabriz students she spoke with denied responsibility. ¶8. (C) Telephone lines to and from Tabriz have reportedly been inoperable since May 23. This has hindered Jafaroglu's communications. However, Jafaroglu reports that further protests are planned for May 24 in Urmia, Ardabil, Maraga, Zenjan, and Mian. News reports also state that the next protest is scheduled for May 28 and that one million Azeris from cities across Iran and from universities will travel to Tehran to demonstrate against the cartoons. May 28 is also the national day of Azerbaijan proper, saluting the establishment of the first Azerbaijani republic (and the first republic in the Islamic world) on that date in 1918. It is unclear if this is coincidence or not. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) The GOAJ traditionally takes a very cautious approach to the Azeri ethnic issue in its relations with Iran, and we do not expect this case to be any different. As these reports indicate, and as the Iranian government's hysterical reaction to comments about Azeri solidarity made at a conference of Azerbaijani diaspora (reftel) suggest, this issue remains extremely sensitive on the Iranian side; while many Azerbaijanis may be upset at the mistreatment of the Azeri community in Iran, their primary expectation is to keep relations with their volatile neighbor to the south on an even keel. HYLAND