| Revision as of 08:21, 17 June 2007 editGrandmaster (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers25,517 edits + HRW quotes← Previous edit | Revision as of 09:40, 17 June 2007 edit undoAlexanderPar (talk | contribs)802 edits 1997 HRW report is irrelevant to this incident, please stop soapboxing and cluttering the page with various "Human Rights" reports that don't meet WP:RS, this is an encyclopedia not a soapboxNext edit → | ||
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| The controversy resulted in massive riots throughout Iran in May 2006, most ostensibly in the predominantly ] city of ]. The riots were violent in some cases, with protestors damaging public buildings and throwing stones, prompting the reaction from the Iranian police.<ref></ref> ] claims that "hundreds, if not thousands, were arrested and scores reportedly killed by the security forces"<ref></ref>, while the Iranian authorities say 330 people were arrested during the protests, and four demonstrators were killed.<ref></ref> | The controversy resulted in massive riots throughout Iran in May 2006, most ostensibly in the predominantly ] city of ]. The riots were violent in some cases, with protestors damaging public buildings and throwing stones, prompting the reaction from the Iranian police.<ref></ref> ] claims that "hundreds, if not thousands, were arrested and scores reportedly killed by the security forces"<ref></ref>, while the Iranian authorities say 330 people were arrested during the protests, and four demonstrators were killed.<ref></ref> | ||
| ] reported that “Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities are subject to discrimination and, in some cases, persecution. In May Iranian Azeris in the northwestern provinces of East and West Azerbaijan and Ardebil demonstrated against government restrictions on Azeri language and cultural and political activities. Security services forcibly disrupted public protests that engulfed the region. In some protests demonstrators attacked government offices. Four people died in clashes in the city of Naghadeh on May 25”.<ref></ref> | |||
| 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> | 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> | ||
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| Iran's predominantly Azeri northwestern region is an area that is acknowledged as being ripe for covert operations.<ref name="atimes"></ref> ], head of the Majlis Cultural Commission at the time, said that pan-Turks were involved in creating the tensions.<ref name="Iran-Daily"></ref> Other members of the Iranian government blamed it on the ], ], and the ], suspecting the ]. The United States has itself confirmed that it is conducting covert operations in Iran and its ally in the Caucasus, the ], which may have been invovled.<ref name="atimes"/> | Iran's predominantly Azeri northwestern region is an area that is acknowledged as being ripe for covert operations.<ref name="atimes"></ref> ], head of the Majlis Cultural Commission at the time, said that pan-Turks were involved in creating the tensions.<ref name="Iran-Daily"></ref> Other members of the Iranian government blamed it on the ], ], and the ], suspecting the ]. The United States has itself confirmed that it is conducting covert operations in Iran and its ally in the Caucasus, the ], which may have been invovled.<ref name="atimes"/> | ||
| According to Human Rights Watch, “the main grievances of the Azari community are cultural; it is hard to find evidence of discrimination against Azaris in the economic, professional or educational fields. Azaris complain that there is no Azari language instruction in schools for Azari children and no department of Azari literature in any Iranian university. In this latter regard they compare themselves to the much smaller Armenian minority and feel disadvantaged. With the growth of Azari nationalism, the central authorities have begun to take measures to counter it. Those who speak up for Azari rights are labeled by government officials and the state-controlled media as separatists or Turkish spies".<ref></ref> | |||
| Abbas Maleki, a senior research fellow at Harvard University, stated:<ref name="atimes"/> | Abbas Maleki, a senior research fellow at Harvard University, stated:<ref name="atimes"/> | ||
Revision as of 09:40, 17 June 2007
The Iran newspaper cockroach cartoon controversy arose over a cartoon, published in the Iranian state-run newspaper Iran and drawn by the cartoonist Mana Neyestani, an ethnic 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 in Persian to a cockroach, which was replying in the Azerbaijani language, saying "namana?" ("what?"). However, namana is also a slang word used in Persian. In other sections of the cartoon , the cockroach also speaks in Persian (the second picture).
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. Amnesty International claims that "hundreds, if not thousands, were arrested and scores reportedly killed by the security forces", while the Iranian authorities say 330 people were arrested during the protests, and four demonstrators were killed.
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".
Possible foreign interference
Iran's predominantly Azeri northwestern region is an area that is acknowledged as being ripe for covert operations. 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, suspecting the incitement of ethnic strife in Iran. The United States has itself confirmed that it is conducting covert operations in Iran and its ally in the Caucasus, the Republic of Azerbaijan, which may have been invovled.
Abbas Maleki, a senior research fellow at Harvard University, stated:
I think that when President Bush says all options are on the table, the destabilization of Iran's ethnic provinces is one of them...Don't forget, Mr Chehregani, one of the pan-Turkist leaders , was in Washington last year by invitation of the Defense Department.
Reuel Marc Gerecht has stated:
Accessible through Turkey and ex-Soviet Azerbaijan, eyed already by nationalists in Baku, more westward-looking than most Iran, and economically going nowhere, Iran's richest agricultural province was an ideal CIA theater.
According to Touraj Atabaki, well known expert on Iran's Azerbaijani minority, there might be some truth behind the Iranian government's allegations of a foreign plot, yet the responsibility for the unrest lies first and formost with the central government.
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 International. Iran, Annual Report, 2007
- Iran Says 330 Arrested Over Recent Cartoon Unrest
- 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
- ^ Asia Times Online
- Iran-daily
- Iran: Cartoon protests signal Azeri frustration