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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 000608 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2017 
TAGS: ECPS KDEM PGOV PINR PREL PROP IR AJ
SUBJECT: IRANIAN ACADEMIC CALLS FOR EXPANDED BROADCASTING 
TO ETHNIC AZERIS 
 
BAKU 00000608  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Jason Hyland for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: In a 16 May meeting with Embassy Iran 
Watcher, Professor Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi (please 
protect), an ethnic Azeri academic teaching at Edinburgh 
University and head of the Baku-based Coordinating Committee 
of World Azerbaijanis, called for the U.S. to support 
broadcasting efforts targeting Iran's sizable ethnic Azeri 
minority.  Characterizing Voice of America's (VOA) Persian 
service as "one-sided" and "not satisfactory" (i.e. 
Persian-centric), Tabrizi asserted that it was actually 
"anti-American" in tone, dominated by "royalists" and 
"infiltrated by Armenians."  Stating that he was interested 
in supporting political change in Iran from the inside, 
Tabrizi called for the U.S. to help establish an 
Azeri-language satellite television station, possibly based 
in Europe.  With a focus on economic and cultural issues, 
Tabrizi said that such a station would support efforts 
currently underway in Iran to bring about change from within. 
 With regard to the current situation in "South Azerbaijan," 
Tabrizi said that "thousands" of Iranian troops had been 
deployed to the region in advance of the one-year anniversary 
of the 22 May 2006 ethnic Azeri protests.  Tabrizi also said 
that the Government of Azerbaijan (GOAJ) uses NGOs and 
opposition politicians to provide moral support to Iran's 
ethnic Azeri movement by "saying what the government can't." 
End Summary. 
 
Background on Tabrizi 
--------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) In a 16 May meeting with Embassy Iran Watcher, 
Professor Gholam-Reza Sabri-Tabrizi (please protect), an 
ethnic Azeri academic teaching at Edinburgh University and 
head of the Baku-based Coordinating Committee for World 
Azerbaijanis, called for the U.S. to support broadcasting 
efforts targeting Iran's sizable ethnic Azeri minority. 
Tabrizi, an academic and citizen of the United Kingdom, 
reportedly earned his bachelor's degree from the University 
of Tabriz in 1956 and later earned a doctorate from Edinburgh 
University in 1969.  A life-long supporter of greater Azeri 
cultural and linguistic rights, Tabrizi supported the Shah's 
ouster, returning to Iran in order to hold a post in the 
transition government.  After a falling out with hard-line 
Khomeini followers, Tabrizi again returned to the United 
Kingdom in order to resume teaching.  As head of the 
Baku-based Coordinating Committee for World Azerbaijanis, 
Tabrizi maintains contact with a wide range of Iranian 
diaspora groups. (Note - the Coordinating Committee for World 
Azerbaijanis is a NGO committed to elevating the issue of 
ethnic Azeri rights in Iran.  According to Tabrizi, it 
receives financial support from the GOAJ and is active in 
Azerbaijan, Europe and North America.  End note.) 
 
Call for Azeri-Language Broadcasting 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (C) Characterizing VOA's Persian service as "one-sided" 
and "not satisfactory" (i.e. Persian-centric), Tabrizi 
claimed that it was actually "anti-American" in tone, 
dominated by "royalists" and "infiltrated by Armenians." 
Tabrizi also claimed that ethnic Azeris in Iran were put off 
by VOA's "chauvinistic" tone, the U.S. "missing an 
opportunity" to speak with a wider section of Iranian 
society.  Saying that he was interested in supporting efforts 
to create political change in Iran from within (Tabrizi being 
of the opinion that there was enough power in Iran to unseat 
the regime), Tabrizi called for the U.S. to provide financial 
support for the creation of an Azeri-language satellite 
television station, possibly based in Europe.  In order to 
"cover all of Iran," Tabrizi recommended that the U.S. 
consider using Hotbird or a similar satellite.  With regard 
to questions such as who would be responsible for operating 
the station or an estimate of how much money would be 
required to establish the station, Tabrizi provided few 
insights. 
 
¶4.  (C) Concerning programming for a possible station, 
Tabrizi suggested that the U.S. focus primarily on economic 
and cultural issues.  Saying that the "unemployed working 
classes and small businessmen brought down the Shah and were 
capable of doing so again," Tabrizi said that discontent 
among these groups was growing because of the government's 
poor handling of the economy and increasing tensions with the 
West over the nuclear issue.  Tabrizi said that focusing on 
the issues that mattered most to these groups - unemployment, 
 
BAKU 00000608  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
poor health services, and a failing educational system - 
would find a receptive audience.  Also expressing an interest 
in reaching out to other ethnic minorities to include the 
Kurds, Baluch, and Arabs, Tabrizi suggested that programming 
highlight the "cultural genocide" suffered by Iran's ethnic 
minorities at the hands of the Tehran regime. 
 
¶5.  (C) Acknowledging that any potential U.S. support of a 
foreign-based broadcaster targeting ethnic minorities in Iran 
would most likely be interpreted by the Islamic Republic of 
Iran (IRI) as an effort to foment ethnic unrest, Tabrizi 
suggested that the U.S. could also consider expanding its 
broadcast efforts to include broadcasts in languages other 
than Farsi.  Despite his criticisms of VOA's Farsi-language 
service for being Persian-centric, Tabrizi conceded that most 
Iranians he talked to considered VOA and British Broadcasting 
Corporation (BBC) programming to be "credible." 
 
Developments Within Iran and Azeri Diaspora Groups 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6.  (C) Tabrizi said that his contacts in Iran had reported 
that "thousands" of Iranian troops had recently been deployed 
to northwestern Iran in advance of the one-year anniversary 
of the 22 May 2006 ethnic Azeri protests.  Saying that the 
build-up was most visible in the Azeri population centers of 
Tabriz, Ardebil, and Orumiyeh, Tabrizi also claimed that two 
young Azeris had been recently been shot dead in Tabriz "for 
listening to Turkish music." (Note - this claim cannot be 
verified.  End Note.)  These actions, so Tabrizi, were a 
reflection of the IRI's great fear of the "mother tongue 
issue" and desire not to be caught off guard again.  In 
Tabrizi's estimation, it was Ayatollah Janati of the Council 
of Guardians who was calling the shots on minority issues 
like this in Iran. 
 
¶7.  (C) Concerning recent rumors of infighting within the 
South Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement (SANAM), Tabrizi 
provided few insights.  According to these rumors, SANAM was 
in disarray due to an internal power struggle centered on the 
future direction of the organization, those interested in 
focusing solely on the ethnic Azeri issue in Iran (this 
faction led by SANAM's leader Mahmudali Chehraganli) pitted 
against those in favor of a more Pan-Turkic, anti-Armenian 
approach (led by SANAM's North America leader Huseyn Turkeli 
and Ahmad Obali, head of GunAz Television).  Somewhat 
surprised by these rumors, Tabrizi said that Obali does not 
believe that the Turkish government genuinely cares about 
ethnic Azeris or Azerbaijan, a conclusion he reached after 
Turkey bowed to Iranian pressure to discontinue broadcasting 
of GunAz Television on a Turkish satellite.  Tabrizi also 
seemed wary of the Turks, saying that it was clear to him 
that the Turks and Iranians had entered into an agreement in 
which Turkey had agreed not to support ethnic Azeris in Iran 
in return for an Iranian pledge not to support the Kurds. 
(Note - for more information on Azeri diaspora groups, see 
Baku 392.  End Note.) 
 
¶8.  (C) Speaking to the effectiveness of GunAz Television 
programming, Tabrizi said that his contacts in Iran reported 
that GunAz had played a crucial role in "organizing the aims" 
of the 22 May 2006 ethnic Azeri protests.  Exhibiting "more 
balanced" reporting than VOA or other services, Tabrizi 
attributed GunAz's success to a very simple message of 
encouraging Azeris to think, whether it be about cultural 
issues such as Azeri-language education or economic issues 
such as high unemployment among younger Azeris.  (Note - for 
more information on GunAz Television, see 06 Baku 1424.  End 
Note.) 
 
¶9.  (C) On the economic situation in Iran, Tabrizi said that 
unemployment in urban areas, especially among younger persons 
seeking to enter the workforce, was dramatically higher than 
official IRI estimates indicate.  Tabrizi said that economic 
discontent cut across ethnic lines, with all Iranians feeling 
the pain in his view.  Tabrizi also said that many of his 
contacts did not understand why atomic energy was being 
developed with unemployment at such high levels.  Tabrizi 
said that many businessmen, increasingly convinced that the 
U.S. will launch a military strike against Iran, complained 
to him that the IRI's confrontational approach on the nuclear 
issue was "bad for business."  As a result, Tabrizi said that 
many businessmen were attempting to move their capital abroad 
for safety.  In Azerbaijan, for example, Tabrizi said that 
many Iranians were investing in real estate, especially in 
Baku (he did know of many Iranians moving to Azerbaijan as a 
 
BAKU 00000608  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
result of increased tensions).  According to Tabrizi, many 
businessmen questioned the need for a nuclear energy program, 
believing that the funds allocated for such a program could 
be better used fighting high unemployment.  According to 
Tabrizi, none of his contacts associated Iran's increasingly 
dire economic situation with increased U.S. financial 
pressure or sanctions, nor was he aware of any backlash to 
such efforts. 
 
Tabrizi on U.S. Friends and Allies 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (C) Reportedly close to late President Heydar Aliyev and 
an informal advisor to current President Ilham Aliyev, 
Tabrizi said that the GOAJ supports NGOs like his own, 
diaspora groups, and opposition politicians in order to 
provide moral support to Iran's ethnic Azeri community.  By 
"saying what the government can't," Tabrizi says that the 
GOAJ uses these proxies in order to support Iran's ethnic 
Azeris without angering its neighbor.  With regard to the 
U.S. role in the region, Tabrizi said that in order for the 
U.S. to gain a durable foothold in the region, it needed to 
"focus on people, religion, and the economy."  Claiming that 
Britain was not a genuine ally of the U.S., Tabrizi said that 
he believed Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 
wielded considerable influence over political developments in 
both Iran and Iraq, primarily through it's control of Shia 
leaders. 
 
¶11.  (C) Despite stating that the U.S. should not rely on 
diaspora groups operating outside of Iran because they "live 
in a wonderland," Tabrizi represents one of these very groups 
and is well connected within Azeri diaspora circles.  Asked 
to describe the kind of leader or organization currently 
operating in Iran most likely to bring about change from 
within, Tabrizi said that a person not affiliated with any 
foreign diaspora organizations, not religious, and not a 
Tudeh member was essential.  In his estimation, a person such 
as Abbas Lisani, an ethnic Azeri activist not affiliated with 
any separatist or diaspora groups, would fit this mold. (Note 
- Lisani is currently imprisoned by the IRI and his situation 
has generated considerable international attention from the 
likes of Amnesty International and other organizations). 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12.  (C) Tabrizi's request to secure U.S. assistance in 
establishing an Azeri-language satellite station based in 
Europe comes on the heels of efforts by other diaspora groups 
to do just the same.  In a 12 March meeting with Embassy Iran 
Watcher, World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC) president Javad 
Derakhti made an almost identical request, his arguments less 
persuasive than Tabrizi's.  With regard to Tabrizi's comments 
about Britain, these views are echoed by many Iranians of his 
generation, ethnic Azeri and Persian alike. 
HYLAND