C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 000608

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2017
TAGS: ECPS KDEM PGOV PINR PREL PROP IR AJ
SUBJECT: IRANIAN ACADEMIC CALLS FOR EXPANDED BROADCASTING
TO ETHNIC AZERIS

BAKU 00000608 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: CDA Jason Hyland for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: In a 16 May meeting with Embassy Iran
Watcher, Professor Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi (please
protect), an ethnic Azeri academic teaching at Edinburgh
University and head of the Baku-based Coordinating Committee
of World Azerbaijanis, called for the U.S. to support
broadcasting efforts targeting Iran's sizable ethnic Azeri
minority. Characterizing Voice of America's (VOA) Persian
service as "one-sided" and "not satisfactory" (i.e.
Persian-centric), Tabrizi asserted that it was actually
"anti-American" in tone, dominated by "royalists" and
"infiltrated by Armenians." Stating that he was interested
in supporting political change in Iran from the inside,
Tabrizi called for the U.S. to help establish an
Azeri-language satellite television station, possibly based
in Europe. With a focus on economic and cultural issues,
Tabrizi said that such a station would support efforts
currently underway in Iran to bring about change from within.
With regard to the current situation in "South Azerbaijan,"
Tabrizi said that "thousands" of Iranian troops had been
deployed to the region in advance of the one-year anniversary
of the 22 May 2006 ethnic Azeri protests. Tabrizi also said
that the Government of Azerbaijan (GOAJ) uses NGOs and
opposition politicians to provide moral support to Iran's
ethnic Azeri movement by "saying what the government can't."
End Summary.

Background on Tabrizi
--------------


2. (C) In a 16 May meeting with Embassy Iran Watcher,
Professor Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi (please protect), an
ethnic Azeri academic teaching at Edinburgh University and
head of the Baku-based Coordinating Committee for World
Azerbaijanis, called for the U.S. to support broadcasting

efforts targeting Iran's sizable ethnic Azeri minority.
Tabrizi, an academic and citizen of the United Kingdom,
reportedly earned his bachelor's degree from the University
of Tabriz in 1956 and later earned a doctorate from Edinburgh
University in 1969. A life-long supporter of greater Azeri
cultural and linguistic rights, Tabrizi supported the Shah's
ouster, returning to Iran in order to hold a post in the
transition government. After a falling out with hard-line
Khomeini followers, Tabrizi again returned to the United
Kingdom in order to resume teaching. As head of the
Baku-based Coordinating Committee for World Azerbaijanis,
Tabrizi maintains contact with a wide range of Iranian
diaspora groups. (Note - the Coordinating Committee for World
Azerbaijanis is a NGO committed to elevating the issue of
ethnic Azeri rights in Iran. According to Tabrizi, it
receives financial support from the GOAJ and is active in
Azerbaijan, Europe and North America. End note.)

Call for Azeri-Language Broadcasting
--------------


3. (C) Characterizing VOA's Persian service as "one-sided"
and "not satisfactory" (i.e. Persian-centric), Tabrizi
claimed that it was actually "anti-American" in tone,
dominated by "royalists" and "infiltrated by Armenians."
Tabrizi also claimed that ethnic Azeris in Iran were put off
by VOA's "chauvinistic" tone, the U.S. "missing an
opportunity" to speak with a wider section of Iranian
society. Saying that he was interested in supporting efforts
to create political change in Iran from within (Tabrizi being
of the opinion that there was enough power in Iran to unseat
the regime), Tabrizi called for the U.S. to provide financial
support for the creation of an Azeri-language satellite
television station, possibly based in Europe. In order to
"cover all of Iran," Tabrizi recommended that the U.S.
consider using Hotbird or a similar satellite. With regard
to questions such as who would be responsible for operating
the station or an estimate of how much money would be
required to establish the station, Tabrizi provided few
insights.


4. (C) Concerning programming for a possible station,
Tabrizi suggested that the U.S. focus primarily on economic
and cultural issues. Saying that the "unemployed working
classes and small businessmen brought down the Shah and were
capable of doing so again," Tabrizi said that discontent
among these groups was growing because of the government's
poor handling of the economy and increasing tensions with the
West over the nuclear issue. Tabrizi said that focusing on
the issues that mattered most to these groups - unemployment,

BAKU 00000608 002.2 OF 003


poor health services, and a failing educational system -
would find a receptive audience. Also expressing an interest
in reaching out to other ethnic minorities to include the
Kurds, Baluch, and Arabs, Tabrizi suggested that programming
highlight the "cultural genocide" suffered by Iran's ethnic
minorities at the hands of the Tehran regime.


5. (C) Acknowledging that any potential U.S. support of a
foreign-based broadcaster targeting ethnic minorities in Iran
would most likely be interpreted by the Islamic Republic of
Iran (IRI) as an effort to foment ethnic unrest, Tabrizi
suggested that the U.S. could also consider expanding its
broadcast efforts to include broadcasts in languages other
than Farsi. Despite his criticisms of VOA's Farsi-language
service for being Persian-centric, Tabrizi conceded that most
Iranians he talked to considered VOA and British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) programming to be "credible."

Developments Within Iran and Azeri Diaspora Groups
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Tabrizi said that his contacts in Iran had reported
that "thousands" of Iranian troops had recently been deployed
to northwestern Iran in advance of the one-year anniversary
of the 22 May 2006 ethnic Azeri protests. Saying that the
build-up was most visible in the Azeri population centers of
Tabriz, Ardebil, and Orumiyeh, Tabrizi also claimed that two
young Azeris had been recently been shot dead in Tabriz "for
listening to Turkish music." (Note - this claim cannot be
verified. End Note.) These actions, so Tabrizi, were a
reflection of the IRI's great fear of the "mother tongue
issue" and desire not to be caught off guard again. In
Tabrizi's estimation, it was Ayatollah Janati of the Council
of Guardians who was calling the shots on minority issues
like this in Iran.


7. (C) Concerning recent rumors of infighting within the
South Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement (SANAM), Tabrizi
provided few insights. According to these rumors, SANAM was
in disarray due to an internal power struggle centered on the
future direction of the organization, those interested in
focusing solely on the ethnic Azeri issue in Iran (this
faction led by SANAM's leader Mahmudali Chehraganli) pitted
against those in favor of a more Pan-Turkic, anti-Armenian
approach (led by SANAM's North America leader Huseyn Turkeli
and Ahmad Obali, head of GunAz Television). Somewhat
surprised by these rumors, Tabrizi said that Obali does not
believe that the Turkish government genuinely cares about
ethnic Azeris or Azerbaijan, a conclusion he reached after
Turkey bowed to Iranian pressure to discontinue broadcasting
of GunAz Television on a Turkish satellite. Tabrizi also
seemed wary of the Turks, saying that it was clear to him
that the Turks and Iranians had entered into an agreement in
which Turkey had agreed not to support ethnic Azeris in Iran
in return for an Iranian pledge not to support the Kurds.
(Note - for more information on Azeri diaspora groups, see
Baku 392. End Note.)


8. (C) Speaking to the effectiveness of GunAz Television
programming, Tabrizi said that his contacts in Iran reported
that GunAz had played a crucial role in "organizing the aims"
of the 22 May 2006 ethnic Azeri protests. Exhibiting "more
balanced" reporting than VOA or other services, Tabrizi
attributed GunAz's success to a very simple message of
encouraging Azeris to think, whether it be about cultural
issues such as Azeri-language education or economic issues
such as high unemployment among younger Azeris. (Note - for
more information on GunAz Television, see 06 Baku 1424. End
Note.)


9. (C) On the economic situation in Iran, Tabrizi said that
unemployment in urban areas, especially among younger persons
seeking to enter the workforce, was dramatically higher than
official IRI estimates indicate. Tabrizi said that economic
discontent cut across ethnic lines, with all Iranians feeling
the pain in his view. Tabrizi also said that many of his
contacts did not understand why atomic energy was being
developed with unemployment at such high levels. Tabrizi
said that many businessmen, increasingly convinced that the
U.S. will launch a military strike against Iran, complained
to him that the IRI's confrontational approach on the nuclear
issue was "bad for business." As a result, Tabrizi said that
many businessmen were attempting to move their capital abroad
for safety. In Azerbaijan, for example, Tabrizi said that
many Iranians were investing in real estate, especially in
Baku (he did know of many Iranians moving to Azerbaijan as a

BAKU 00000608 003.2 OF 003


result of increased tensions). According to Tabrizi, many
businessmen questioned the need for a nuclear energy program,
believing that the funds allocated for such a program could
be better used fighting high unemployment. According to
Tabrizi, none of his contacts associated Iran's increasingly
dire economic situation with increased U.S. financial
pressure or sanctions, nor was he aware of any backlash to
such efforts.

Tabrizi on U.S. Friends and Allies
--------------


10. (C) Reportedly close to late President Heydar Aliyev and
an informal advisor to current President Ilham Aliyev,
Tabrizi said that the GOAJ supports NGOs like his own,
diaspora groups, and opposition politicians in order to
provide moral support to Iran's ethnic Azeri community. By
"saying what the government can't," Tabrizi says that the
GOAJ uses these proxies in order to support Iran's ethnic
Azeris without angering its neighbor. With regard to the
U.S. role in the region, Tabrizi said that in order for the
U.S. to gain a durable foothold in the region, it needed to
"focus on people, religion, and the economy." Claiming that
Britain was not a genuine ally of the U.S., Tabrizi said that
he believed Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
wielded considerable influence over political developments in
both Iran and Iraq, primarily through it's control of Shia
leaders.


11. (C) Despite stating that the U.S. should not rely on
diaspora groups operating outside of Iran because they "live
in a wonderland," Tabrizi represents one of these very groups
and is well connected within Azeri diaspora circles. Asked
to describe the kind of leader or organization currently
operating in Iran most likely to bring about change from
within, Tabrizi said that a person not affiliated with any
foreign diaspora organizations, not religious, and not a
Tudeh member was essential. In his estimation, a person such
as Abbas Lisani, an ethnic Azeri activist not affiliated with
any separatist or diaspora groups, would fit this mold. (Note
- Lisani is currently imprisoned by the IRI and his situation
has generated considerable international attention from the
likes of Amnesty International and other organizations).

Comment
--------------


12. (C) Tabrizi's request to secure U.S. assistance in
establishing an Azeri-language satellite station based in
Europe comes on the heels of efforts by other diaspora groups
to do just the same. In a 12 March meeting with Embassy Iran
Watcher, World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC) president Javad
Derakhti made an almost identical request, his arguments less
persuasive than Tabrizi's. With regard to Tabrizi's comments
about Britain, these views are echoed by many Iranians of his
generation, ethnic Azeri and Persian alike.
HYLAND