Mehsa Mehdili stated that, just like in previous years when natural disasters occurred, the Iranian government once again showed indifference towards the human casualties and damage caused by the disaster in East Azerbaijan province.
She also pointed out that the Iranian media's coverage of the natural disaster and the attitude of government officials raised concerns, particularly when victims were blamed for the disaster.
According to Mehdili, the insufficient efforts to address the consequences of the natural disaster reflect the Iranian government’s indifferent attitude toward the economic and social development of the Azerbaijani regions.
“In many newspapers, the headlines placed by some of the most widely sold newspapers were truly inappropriate and dehumanizing, regardless of whether the victims were Azerbaijanis or others. It is the duty of the government and the state to organize efforts to eliminate the effects of the disaster. Similarly, civil organizations should also perform this duty. Let me give you examples of the headlines. Some newspapers wrote ‘Spectator victims’ or, one of Iran’s most widely circulated newspapers wrote, ‘The flood came and took the audience away.’”
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Məhsa Mehdili: İran hökuməti bu dəfə də Azərbaycan bölgələrində təbii fəlakətə laqeyd münasibət göstərdi