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| The Iranian government promptly responded to the events by temporarily shutting down the ''Iran'' newspaper, arresting the cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Mehrdad Ghasemfar. It further accused "outside forces in playing nationalistic card". <ref>Daria Vaisman. "The other cartoon protests: Large demonstrations broke out across Iran in May 2006 to protest a cartoon insulting to Azeris", The Christian Science Monitor, May 22, 2007</ref> ], head of the Majlis Cultural Commission at the time, said that pan-Turks were involved in creating the tensions.<ref></ref> Other members of the Iranian government blamed it on the ], ], and the ] with a suspicion of inciting ethnic strife in Iran. | The Iranian government promptly responded to the events by temporarily shutting down the ''Iran'' newspaper, arresting the cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Mehrdad Ghasemfar. It further accused "outside forces in playing nationalistic card". <ref>Daria Vaisman. "The other cartoon protests: Large demonstrations broke out across Iran in May 2006 to protest a cartoon insulting to Azeris", The Christian Science Monitor, May 22, 2007</ref> ], head of the Majlis Cultural Commission at the time, said that pan-Turks were involved in creating the tensions.<ref></ref> Other members of the Iranian government blamed it on the ], ], and the ] with a suspicion of inciting ethnic strife in Iran. | ||
| ] brought widespread attention to claims of covert operations in Iran when he reported in an April 2006 New Yorker article that US troops in Iran were recruiting local ethnic populations, including the Azeris, to encourage local tensions that could undermine the regime. According to Seymour Hersh: | |||
| {{cquote|As of early winter, I was told by the government consultant with close ties to civilians in the Pentagon, the units were also working with minority groups in Iran, including the Azeris, in the north, the Baluchis, in the southeast, and the Kurds, in the northeast...™<ref>(Seymour M. Hersh, the Iran Plam, the New York , April 2006) .</ref>}} | |||
| According to ], well known expert on ], there might be some truth behind Iranian government's allegations of a foreign plot, yet the responsibility for the unrest lies first and formost with the central government. <ref> </ref> | According to ], well known expert on ], there might be some truth behind Iranian government's allegations of a foreign plot, yet the responsibility for the unrest lies first and formost with the central government. <ref> </ref> | ||
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The Azeri cartoon controversy in "Iran" newspaper arose over a cartoon, published in the state-run newspaper Iran and drawn by the cartoonist Mana Neyestani, an Azeri himself . The cartoon, published in the children's section of the newspaper on May 12, 2006, allegedly insulted the Azerbaijani people by depicting a child speaking to a cockroach, which was replying in the Azerbaijani language, saying "namana ("what?").
The controversy resulted in massive riots throughout Iran in May 2006, most ostensibly in the predominantly Azerbaijani-populated city of Tabriz. The riots were violent in some cases, with protestors damaging public buildings and throwing stones, prompting the reaction from the Iranian police. According to the Amnesty International:
In May , widespread demonstrations took place in mainly Azerbaijani north-western towns and cities in protest at the publication of a cartoon offensive to Azerbaijanis in the state-run Iran newspaper. Hundreds, if not thousands, were arrested and scores reportedly killed by the security forces, although official sources downplayed the scale of arrests and killings.
The Iranian government promptly responded to the events by temporarily shutting down the Iran newspaper, arresting the cartoonist and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Mehrdad Ghasemfar. It further accused "outside forces in playing nationalistic card". Emad Afrough, head of the Majlis Cultural Commission at the time, said that pan-Turks were involved in creating the tensions. Other members of the Iranian government blamed it on the United States, Israel, and the United Kingdom with a suspicion of inciting ethnic strife in Iran.
Seymour Hersh brought widespread attention to claims of covert operations in Iran when he reported in an April 2006 New Yorker article that US troops in Iran were recruiting local ethnic populations, including the Azeris, to encourage local tensions that could undermine the regime. According to Seymour Hersh:
As of early winter, I was told by the government consultant with close ties to civilians in the Pentagon, the units were also working with minority groups in Iran, including the Azeris, in the north, the Baluchis, in the southeast, and the Kurds, in the northeast...™
According to Touraj Atabaki, well known expert on Iran's Azerbaijani minority, there might be some truth behind Iranian government's allegations of a foreign plot, yet the responsibility for the unrest lies first and formost with the central government.
See also
References
- "Cockroach Cartoonist Jailed In Iran". The Comics Reporter. May 24, 2006.
- "Iranian paper banned over cartoon". BBC News. May 23, 2006.
- "IFJ Criticises "Political Interference" as Cartoons Rows Put Journalists in Jail in Iran and Jordan". International Federation of Journalists. June 3, 2006.
- "IRAN: Azeris unhappy at being butt of national jokes". IRIN. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). May 25, 2006.
- Iran Focus
- Amnesty Intrenational. Iran, Annual Report, 2007
- Daria Vaisman. "The other cartoon protests: Large demonstrations broke out across Iran in May 2006 to protest a cartoon insulting to Azeris", The Christian Science Monitor, May 22, 2007
- Iran-daily
- (Seymour M. Hersh, the Iran Plam, the New York , April 2006) fact?currentPage =3.
- Iran: Cartoon protests signal Azeri frustration