South Azerbaijanis in Iran and demonstrations for Independence and Democracy (1/3)

On May 12, 2006, "Iran", a state-run newspaper published a cartoon insulting Azerbaijanis. It depicted an Azeri-speaking cockroach and suggested people deny it food until it learned to speak Persian.

Azerbaijani university students held demonstrations protesting the cartoon and demanded a formal government apology. In the first days of the demonstrations, no official response from the government condemning the cartoon materialized. The demonstrations spread to other cities in the predominantly Azerbaijani region of Iran. On May 22, Tabriz was home to the greatest anti-state demonstration since the founding of the Islamic Revolution. The protestors went out to the streets and called on Tehran to respect ethnic rights, and demanded that Azerbaijani Turkish be an official state language in Iran. The Azerbaijanis peaceful demonstrations were met with force. The security forces fired on people, reportedly killing at least 20 and arrested hundreds of protestors. Similar demonstrations shook most of the Azerbaijani cities. Naghadeh (Sulduz), Urmia, and Meshghinsherhr (Khiyav) hosted bloody demonstrations with at least 10 people killed.

In response to the vast demonstrations, the government quickly removed the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and the caricaturist, but no official apology was released. The Iranian media did not adequately report the events that occurred during the demonstrations despite their unprecedented size and duration and the events went largely unnoticed in foreign media outlets as well. Azerbaijanis found themselves completely alone in the struggle for their rights in Iran. The opposition in Iran, the so called reformist camp, also did not support the rightful protests of the Azerbaijanis. The demonstrations were not only a backlash against the cartoon, but represented a wider uprising against the tens of years of discrimination and oppression in Iran toward the Azerbaijanis.

http://southaz.blogspot.com/

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Iran Demonstration
• Human rights in Iran
• South Azerbaijan
• Iranian democracy
• Iran
• anti-racist
• anti racist
• Demonstrations
• Tazahorat
• insan haqlari
• Turk
• Cənubi Azərbaycan
• Guney Azerbaycan
• Cenubi Azerbaycan
• Azerbaycan
• Azerbaijan
• Ardabil
• Tabriz
• Tebriz
• Orumiyeh
• Urumiye
• Zanjan
• Hamadan
• ADAPP
• Tehran
• irqçi
• آذربایجان
• حقوق بشر
• تورک
• ترک
• ضد نژاد پرستی
• تبریز
• اردبیل
• ارومیه
• زنجان
• همدان Turks
• freedom
• Racial discrimination

[JanissaryMTF]

Azeri turk qardashlarimiz biz hep sizle birlikteyiz

helal olsun sizlere

türkler birdir ve sizin arkanizdayiz !!!

cCc Bozkurt

Allainiza kurban

[maggy257]

bir birlesek gavim qardas

[MrAfreeworld]

@universitet89 Wrong, Iranian azaris = Iranic people who speak azari (Been turkified in language) Azerbaijani Azeris = Turko-mongol descendants.

[universitet89]

@MedoPersianSatrap youa re really funny. AZERBAIJAN was never a colony and part of iran. half of iran is AZERBAIJAN's territory and azerbaijanis there are turks!!!

[beytu95]

freedom for 35million azerbaycan turks in iran......

[IranianSoldier83]

@AzerbayCaan long live real proud persians FUCK THE REST LIKE YOU AND YOUR AZERBAICAN ! !

[tabrizturk98]

@JanissaryMTF

duz dedin

[webbizz88]

human rights , turks language and turks culture and peace for the iranian turks.

persians say every time , we are brothers , this is lie , fake.

in iran regime is a fars fashizm politik. the turks have not selve rights with persians.

persian has panic from turks , reality is in prozent iran 50 % turks , 30 % persian and 20 % kurds , arabish , armenish , jews , afghani , pakistani.

so is the biggest nationality in iran the turks. and this will persians asimilate and kill turk language culture

[TheAzeri1977]

@MedoPersianSatrap , yes all 60 milions of us are . You guys need to  stop believing your stupid chavenist !!

turks were living in this country thousands year bfore aryons slowly moving in !!!!

[AzerbayCaan]

@MedoPersianSatrap we hate iran and we are not iranian.. whole azerbaijan believes and knows that we are turkis.. and believe me we are proud of it!. go and educate your self .. because you are the one wich knows not the difference between azaris and azerbaijani people.. sad! GOOOOOO AZERBAYCAN <3

[MedoPersianSatrap]

@AzerbayCaan

i think she is like you panturanist and not educated..