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British â€œThe Guardianâ€ newspaper publishes large article on struggle of Iranian Azerbaijanis

07 September 2011 10:39 (UTC +04:00)

The newspaper reminds that Urmia lake, which is one of the world’s largest salt lakes and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, is disappearing due to drought and government mismanagement, and has become a major cause of concern for environmental activists and ordinary people in the Islamic republic.

â€œThousands of Iranians from Tabriz and Urmia, two cities in Iran’s Azerbaijan region, have come out on streets over the past few weeks in protest at the government’s failure to protect the lake, which has already lost half of its surface in recent years. Lake Urmia is situated at the heart of the region, home to the country’s Azeri ethnic minority, whose activists claim they have been marginalized in recent yearsâ€.

On Saturday security forces on motorcycles in Tabriz and Urmia clashed with thousands of protesters who gathered in scattered groups raising alarms over the lake’s disappearance. Experts have said the salt lake, crucial to agriculture and tourism, could dry out completely in the next few years. The association for defense of Azerbaijani political prisoners in Iran reported that eyewitnesses said at least one person was killed.

The association reported protesters were chanting "Lake Urmia is dying! Iran is issuing its execution", "Long live Azerbaijan". Activists are planning to stage another protest on Friday during a football match in Tehran’s Azadi stadium, which holds up to 100,000 people.