Aug 31, 2011
The Association for the Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP) strongly condemns the brutal repression of peaceful protesters in the Azerbaijani cities of Urmia and Tabriz on August 27, 2011. In the early evening, thousands of activists gathered in the central neighbourhoods of Urmia and Tabriz to protest the Islamic Republic’s mismanagement of the environmental calamity facing Lake Urmia, the third-largest salt lake in the world. The protesters, who were demonstrating peacefully for their cause, were met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and baton-wielding riot police. Hundreds of supporters were arrested in Urmia, Tabriz, and surrounding cities. ADAPP regretfully reports that scores have been injured and 3 killed in the clashes with riot police. It was reported that many detainees were arrested while receiving treatment at nearby hospitals for injuries sustained during the protests.
Lake Urmia is an ancient salt lake that sits between East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan provinces, a region of Iran dominated by ethnic Azerbaijani-Turks. In recent years, the government has actively built dams on more than 20 tributaries feeding into the lake, reducing the depth of the shallow lake by 7 meters. Experts claim that damming and an environmentally-damaging causeway linking the cities of Urmia and Tabriz, have reduced the flow of water into and within Lake Urmia, causing 60% of the lake to evaporate. A recent bill in Iran’s parliament to allocate funds to divert water from Araz River was struck down. Instead, to the dismay of the surrounding population, parliamentarians proposed relocating those living in the vicinity of Lake Urmia. There is great concern that inaction will lead to an environmental catastrophe in which the remaining salt would be picked up by winds and dispersed throughout the region, spreading disease, destroying crops and creating hazardous living conditions in a wide radius around the lake, plaguing not only Iranian Azerbaijan but the surrounding countries of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iraq, and Armenia. Fearing Lake Urmia would share the same fate as the Aral Sea, Azerbaijani environmental activists have pressed for action from the Islamic Republic.
The August 27 protests were an extension of earlier demonstrations, including those on April 2, 2011, at Lake Urmia and again on August 25 during a soccer match in Tabriz. A widely circulated viral video captures a powerful image of Azerbaijanis in the stadium chanting, "Lake Urmia is dying; the Majlis ordered its execution." As a result, over 70 people were arrested during the April protests, with an additional 30 detained on August 25. These arrests pale in comparison to the August 27 demonstrations, where thousands took to the streets to protest the government's indifference toward the drying of Lake Urmia. There are growing concerns that these protests may escalate further in the future.
The Association for Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran calls for the immediate release of the more than 100 protesters detained in the recent protests and a moment of silence for the three environmental activists who gave their lives to help save this ancient lake. The brutal crackdown of Iran’s security apparatus in quashing protests should be of great concern to Iranians and Iranian diaspora communities and the whole world.
Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP)
Fakhteh Luna Zamani
Executive Director
Vancouver, Canada