2017-Iran’s Azerbaijan Question
Yüklə 0,58 Mb. Pdf görüntüsü
|
- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- Lake Urmia and the Nationalization of the Environmental Movement
Souleimanov & Kraus
44 Iranian president. The Azerbaijani provinces turned out to be among his main electoral bastions, and to a considerable extent, he can attribute his success to those provinces. Our interviews with Iranian Azerbaijanis during the campaign and the election itself indicate that Rouhani won the favor of Iran’s ethnic minorities (not only the Azerbaijanis, but also the Kurds, Arabs, Balochs etc.) because Rouhani, during the campaign, did not present himself in the role of a pro-Persian centralist, and in fact mentioned the honoring of the rights of minorities within Iran’s territory. He expressed an inclination towards greater decentralization of the country and the shifting of some power to the individual regions. Quite logically, he was then viewed as the opposite of conservative, power-oriented candidates like Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf or Mohsen Rezaee. Iranians generally perceive that Rouhani’s win was a concession to the regime, which, given the extent of Rouhani’s support, feared mass unrest if a different candidate had won. On the other hand, Rouhani is not considered a problematic or uncomfortable president for the regime. Moreover, in 2013 the Iranian regime was much better prepared for any security complications and demonstrations than it had been in 2009. The state apparatus, which had not been fully prepared at the time, had been working strenuously to liquidate or infiltrate opposition movements and especially to increase its control over universities, which had been the main flashpoints of protests in 2009. Opposition to the ruling regime can partially unite Iran’s Azerbaijanis with other opposition currents. This was the case during the presidential election in 2013, when Rouhani won valuable points in Iran’s periphery. The interests of many non- Persian nationalities have thus merged with those of the Persian modernists who united in opposition to the conservative power-oriented candidates, but certain barriers still exist, because a considerable portion of the Persian opposition to the regime’s theocratic government is based on Persian nationalism, which is equally antagonistic towards Turkic nationalism as the present regime is. Lake Urmia and the Nationalization of the Environmental Movement The demonstrations against the poor condition of Lake Urmia are another important set of antigovernment protests that have gradually been assuming strongly ethnic overtones. The lake itself, lying on the border between the Iranian Iran’s Azerbaijani Question in Evolution 45
provinces of West and East Azerbaijan, is a natural wonder, and has been classified by UNESCO as a biosphere reserve. 89
of agriculture in its vicinity. Because of the growing consumption of water from the rivers that feed the lake and the construction of more than thirty dams on those streams, the size of the lake has gradually shrunk, and fears exist that it could dry up completely. Iranian officials have not taken any serious measures to keep the lake from drying up, although the matter is receiving growing levels of attention. The lake is not only a valuable biotope, but also one of the symbols of South Azerbaijan. 90 The level of the lake drops by around 24-39 inches per year. Moreover, the drying up of this extremely salty lake is causing not only an environmental catastrophe for local plant and animal species, but also a threat to the surrounding area. The strong winds in this region carry salt to places many miles from the dried up surface, destroying the local flora and fauna, and also causing health problems for humans. 91 It is estimated that more than 60 percent of the lake has dried up, and many people from the surrounding area have abandoned the region as a result of health complications and problems with raising crops, and have moved to cities. Because of frequent salt storms and other problems, nearly fifty villages in the area are said to have been completely abandoned. 92 That, however, may only be the beginning, because problems with the lake and with water affect the whole region, which has a population of 6.5 million people, leading to potential large-scale devastation and out-migration. 93
89 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), “Biosphere Reserve Information: Lake Oromeeh,” January 18, 2001, http://www.unesco.org/mabdb/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=IRA+07&mode=all. 90 Michael Hogan, “Lake Urmia,” in Encyclopedia of Earth, ed. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington D. C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment, 2011), http://www.eoearth.org/article/Lake_Urmia?topic=49560. 91 Saeed K. Dehghan, “Iranian Greens Fear Disaster as Lake Orumieh Shrinks: Football Chants and Street Protests Raise Profile of Fight to Save Unesco-listed Site,” The Guardian, September 5, 2011, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/05/iran-greens-lake-orumieh-shrinks. 92 “Preserving the world second largest hypersaline lake under future irrigation and climate change,” Radio Farda, January 13, 2013, http://www.radiofarda.com/content/f10-pm-says-50-vilage-deserted-over-lake- urmia-shrinkage/24822635.html. 93 Francesco Femia, Caitlin Werrell, “Socio-environmental Impacts of Iran’s Disappearing Lake Urmia,“ The Center for Climate & Security, 2012, http://climateandsecurity.org/2012/05/18/socio-environmental-impacts- of-irans-disappearing-lake-urmia/. Yüklə 0,58 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
|