Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAKU824
2006-06-05 12:19:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baku
Cable title:  

AZERBAIJAN: DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER EXPECTS

Tags:  PGOV PREL IR AJ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7873
RR RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKB #0824 1561219
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 051219Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0500
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1624
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
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).

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