VZCZCXRO8249
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHKB #0349 1010652
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 100652Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5133
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 2759
RUEHYE/AMEMBASSY YEREVAN PRIORITY 1447
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 0120
RUEHDIR/IRAN RPO DUBAI PRIORITY

UNCLAS BAKU 000349 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/IR FOR COBERLY AND HADJILOU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ABUD AFIN AMGT ECON KDEM KPAO PREL AJ AM TU
IR 
SUBJECT: IRAN SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM SUBMISSIONS 
 
REF: STATE 033385 
 
¶1.  (U) This is a joint message from Embassies Baku and 
Yerevan. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Summary:  Embassies Baku and Yerevan recommend that 
the Department fund two Iran small grants applications from 
institutions in Azerbaijan and Armenia that are designed to 
support the development of civil society and human rights in 
Iran.  Both proposals have the backing of all Missions 
involved.  End Summary. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Baku-based "Association for the Protection of 
Women's Rights NGO" requests funding for a conference of 
Iranian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish human rights NGOs to 
discuss the status of women's rights efforts in the region. 
Working with Turkish co-sponsor Isik University, the 
Azerbaijani NGO intends to hold the conference at Isik 
University in Istanbul, Turkey.  Embassy Ankara and ConGen 
Istanbul have reviewed the proposal and support it, subject 
to the Department vetting the proposed Iranian participants 
for any affiliation with organizations known to be of concern 
to the United States and/or Turkey. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Yerevan-based Arya University requests funding to 
host an academic conference bringing together academics from 
Iran, the U.S., and Europe to discuss Iran's role in the 
region.  With Armenia's sizable Iranian student population as 
its primary audience, this conference intends to expose 
Iranian participants to Western-style culture and academic 
values.  Embassy Yerevan supports this proposal. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Embassy Baku has forwarded both applications to 
NEA/IR for consideration.  Please contact Baku-based regional 
Iran Watcher Dave Haugen at HaugenDP@state.gov for any 
additional questions concerning these proposals. 
 
¶6.  (U) Embassy Ankara cleared this message. 
DERSE