TEHRAN – BAKU: THE NEXT PERIOD OF “BROTHERHOOD”
Vestnik Kavkaza
Sept 10 2012
Russia
Author: Orkhan Sattarov, head of the European office of VK
In the protracted Iran-Azerbaijan political crisis, which escalated
to the highest point after the arrest of two Azerbaijani writers in
Iran, there have been some positive developments. In recent days,
there is some warming in relations between the two countries. The
visit of Vice President Seyyed Hassan Mousavi to Baku was successful
and was able to diffuse a situation; the indirect evidence of this
fact is the statements of Mousavi and his positive informational
background in the two countries, as well as the fact that the Iranian
politician was received by President Ilham Aliyev.
The probable reason for the success of the visit of Mousavi is that
it was dedicated to the liberation of Azerbaijani poets in Iran
and their subsequent return to their homeland. Earlier, the head of
state did not participate in the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
held in Tehran, and many analysts considered this fact to be serious
diplomatic signal to Iran.
“People who do not support strengthening relations between Azerbaijan
and Iran will not be able to prevent the enhancement of cooperation
between the two countries,” – vice-president of Iran Seyed Hassan
Mousavi said at â~@~Kâ~@~Ka meeting with the head of the Caucasian
Muslims Office (CMO), Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade on Thursday
in Baku. “Iran and Azerbaijan are two brothers, and no one will
interfere with the relations between them”, – Mousavi said. He stressed
that Iran has always supported Azerbaijan both during the nomination of
the republic in the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council
and in the Karabakh issue. “Iran has always maintained the principled
position of Azerbaijan in its dispute with the neighboring country
(Armenia – VK), and Iran defends this position in international
organizations”, – he said. “However, our enemies are concerned about
the good relations between us. The closer we become, the more they
worry, “- he said, stressing that Iran’s position is right, and
therefore Iran will gain success, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports.
Saying that “no one can interfere with the relations between Iran and
Azerbaijan,” the vice-president of Iran is, of course, disingenuous.
Suffice it to recall the nervous reaction of Tehran in connection
with the sensational publication in the American edition of ”Foreign
Policy”, which argued that Azerbaijan allegedly wants to to pass its
abandoned military airfields to Israel for the strike on Iran. It would
seem a general fake absolutely not confirmed by any facts, but the
relations between the two countries then became strained to the limit.
In turn, Pashazade expressed gratitude to Iran for the release of
two Azerbaijani poets, who were arrested in Tabriz, in May 2012,
Interfax-Azerbaijan reports. Pashazadeh said he appreciated the
results of the recent summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran,
which promoted peace in the region. Pashazadeh said he was impressed
by the speech of Khamenei, Iran’s spiritual leader, at the summit.
While Sheikh Pashazade, as the representative of the Azerbaijani
clergy, found it necessary to thank Iran for the release of Azerbaijani
poets, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry decided to call a spade a
spade and not to burst into gratitude: “The release of Azerbaijani
poets means justice,” – the press Secretary of the Foreign Ministry
Elman Abdullayev said in a press briefing. According to him, the
Azerbaijani side has repeatedly stated that the arrest of Azerbaijani
poets affects the development of relations between Baku and Tehran.
In fact, there was a fairly complicated situation with the arrested
poets. Just four days before the date of indictment, they were released
by the Iranian authorities and handed over to the Azerbaijani consulate
in Tabriz. Only after the return of poets in Baku it became known
what they were accused of in Iran.
“We are in no way to blame, but the Iranian authorities have accused
us of an illegal act and arrested,” – one of the writers released on
September 4, Shahriyar Hajizadeh, said in an interview to Turan. He
and Farid Hussein went to Iran on April 29 in order to participate in
a festival of poetry, where they were invited officially. The festival
continued for three days in the cities of Binap, Maraga and Tabriz.
“As part of the festival, we visited historic sites in these cities,”
– Hajizadeh said.
According to him, the indictment stated that the Azerbaijani writers
visited the facilities of strategic importance and photographed them,
intending to convey information to some terrorist organization. “We
just visited historic sites, and all the accusations are lies we
constantly denied during questioning,” – Hajizadeh said.
The conditions of confinement were normal; no physical pressure
during interrogation was rendered. “We were accused in the fact that
we wanted to illegally build cultural ties. It turned out that it
was necessary to obtain written permission to do this. Nevertheless,
the court’s sentence did not talk about it. The prosecution argued
that we were members of some organizations and arrived in Iran for
drug trafficking. In addition, they claimed that we arrived in Tabriz
in order to separate it from Iran. It’s as if we were members of the
World Congress of Azerbaijanis and their agents.
The indictment also said that we were sent by the university, that we
were in the houses of some people, wrote slogans there and planned to
hold meetings. We were accused of trying to disrupt the stability and
peace in Iran; this is subject to three months to one year in prison.
As a result, the court has deprived us of freedom for 365 days “-
Hajizadeh said.
According to him, when they were released, it was stated that the
supreme spiritual leader of the country pardoned them, Turan reports.
It is noteworthy that against the background of the liberation
of Azerbaijani poets in Iran there have been some rumors in some
Azerbaijani media about the imminent release of journalist Anar
Bayramli who worked in Baku for Iranian media and was sentenced to two
years on charges of drug trafficking. This information is still not
confirmed, but it is possible that Baku could go to such a deal with
Tehran in order to make its citizens free. Something else is also
clear: no successfully completed “bargaining” concerning arrested
poets and convicted journalists can be a determining factor in the
Iranian-Azerbaijani relations. Cases of this kind are, if anything,
technical obstacles that the parties can resolve in due course using
even a minimum of political will.
The true nature of the Iranian-Azerbaijani relations is defined by a
whole set of factors, including, in particular, religious and ethnic
components. However, the opposite geopolitical orientations of the
two countries are crucial. Azerbaijan is increasingly being integrated
into the Western power projects and Euro-Atlantic structures, and it
is objectively more difficult for it to find a common groun with its
southern neighbor, despite all attempts to distance itself from the
anti-Iran policy of the U.S. and Israel in the region. The signing of
the Nakhchivan declaration this year in which Azerbaijan has officially
pledged to prevent anti-Iranian activities in its own territory was
one such attempt to disown the desire of the West to involve Baku in
an anti-Iranian coalition.
On the other hand, as a result of isolation and Western sanctions
policy toward Iran, the position of ultra-conservative politicians is
being strengthened; this fact is confirmed by the recent parliamentary
elections in the country. As a result, Iran has also becomes more
aggressive and unpredictable with respect to secular Azerbaijan, whose
population consists mostly of Shiite Muslims, which Iran’s Shiite
clergy considers its potential successors. In such circumstances,
the chances for a real and lasting improvement in relations between
Baku and Tehran are very small. The liberation of Azerbaijani poets
would be a positive impetus to the development of Azerbaijani-Iranian
relations; however, regional and geo-political situation is not
conducive to this process.
From: A. Papazian
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/analysis/politics/31211.html