AZERBAIJAN: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER EXPECTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000824 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/IR E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL IR AJ SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER EXPECTS AZERI-IRANIAN PROTESTS TO CONTINUE IN IRAN REF: (A) BAKU 804 (B) BAKU 782 (C) BAKU 762 (D) BAKU 758 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES JASON P. HYLAND PER 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Vagif Sadiqov told Charge June 5 that he believed the violent protests in northern Iran by Iran's ethnic Azeri population had only temporarily abated. Sadiqov commented that the breath and scope of the protests underscored deeper discontent among the ethnic Azeri Iranian population that the Iranian Government could not suppress indefinitely and which would undoubtedly resurface. Sadiqov also said that he was surprised by the failure of the Western press to cover the violent protests in Iran. He noted that dozens have been killed, hundreds wounded and jailed in what was a "very dramatic" situation but that the Western press appeared regrettably focused only on Iran's nuclear ambitions. ¶2. (C) In a separate meeting on June 2 with PolOff, MFA Iran Desk officer Ulvi Bakhshaliyev stated that, while the plight of the ethnic Azeri people is important to Azerbaijan, the government will not break from its purposely low-key approach, feeling it is an internal issue for the Iranian Government. Bakhshaliyev said that there have been no official discussions between Azerbaijan and Iran regarding the protests or the treatment of Azeri-Iranians in Iran. He also noted that the offensive cartoon in the "Iran" newspaper actually appeared in an weekly insert called "Iran Kodak" ("Iran Children") geared toward children. Bakhshaliyev also added that the protests in Iran should soon decrease in number, without providing any details to support his statement. ¶3. (C) Regarding the recent protests by different Azerbaijani groups in front of the Iranian Embassy in Baku, Bakhshaliyev characterized them as "illegal," noting that the organizers did not obtain permission from the Mayor of Baku. Moreover, the GOAJ opposes the burning of flags in front of local embassies in Baku. He added that the arrested protesters had been taken to a local police station, but will likely not be prosecuted or face criminal charges. HYLAND