POSSIBLE US STRIKE ON IRAN MAY TOP ALIYEV-BUSH TALKS
AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is expected to meet US counterpart
George Bush in Washington on April 28 for talks many say will
focus on the possible US campaign against Iran and the settlement
of a long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh. This will be Aliyev’s first official visit to the United
States since he became president in 2003.
The details of President Aliyev’s visit were discussed during
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov’s meeting with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice in the United States on Friday. Rice said that
during the visit, the two countries would continue the dialogue on
expanding strategic ties. Some Azeri experts say Washington is likely
to focus on efforts to draw Azerbaijan into an international coalition
against Iran over what the West describes as this country’s ambition
to develop a nuclear weapon.
The head of the President’s Office international relations
department, Novruz Mammadov, said that during meetings with the Bush
administration, the parties will discuss democratic development,
cooperation in the South Caucasus, energy and security issues and
combat against terrorism. Commenting on the statements by some
experts that the US-Iranian tensions will be tabled in Washington,
Mammadov said most political analysts tend to make certain allegations
without bothering to substantiate them. He said the repeal of Section
907 to the Freedom Support Act, which bans US government’s direct
assistance to Azerbaijani government, will be one of the priority
issues during President Aliyev’s meetings. Mammadov described the
document as being unfair. “This sanction should not be applied
against Azerbaijan. On the other hand, whether or not it will be
upheld is not a concern for us. We may not need assistance any more,”
Mammadov told Lider TV channel. The official said the legislative
process in the US is so complex that its government is apparently
unable to lift the section. “But the Azerbaijani president’s visit
may facilitate the process of repealing it,” he added. The head of
the President’s Office socio-political department, Ali Hasanov, has
brushed aside the allegations that the US-Iranian tension would be
discussed during the visit. “I don’t believe Iran will be the main
topic of the talks between the two countries. Our ties with Iran are
just as good as those with the United States. Iran is a neighboring
country and we share a common culture. Our citizens have close ties
with this country.” Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov dismissed
reports suggesting that Azerbaijan plans to be part of an international
coalition against Iran. “The reports are untrue.
Moreover, how can this happen in the absence of such a coalition?”
Azimov added that the country is not interested in joining such
a group even if it is formed in the future. The official did not
rule out that US-Iranian relations would be free of third-party
involvement. Online edition Day.az approached well-known politicians
and pundits to examine reasons for President Aliyev’s visit to the
U.S. and the feedback of the Azeri opposition which maintains that
the visit has not taken place so far due to alleged problems over
the Azeri leader’s legitimacy. Deputy chairman of an opposition
Democratic Party, Sardar Jalaloghlu, said the invitation to the head
of state to pay an official visit to the U.S. is explained by the
US-Iranian stand-off and the attempts by the Bush administration to
lure Azerbaijan into an international anti-Iranian coalition. “As for
the opposition’s reaction, the United States has already stated its
feedback on the 205 Azeri parliamentary election in a State Department
report. Besides, we understand that the problem with Iran is currently
much more important for the USA than democratization in Azerbaijan,”
said Jalaloghlu. MP Anar Mammadkhanov said the president’s visit to
the U.S. will undoubtedly be one of the most significant events in
the country’s socio-political life. “The visit has been expected for
a long time, especially considering the very high level of US-Azeri
ties,” he said. Mammadkhanov went on to say that a special emphasis
would be laid on the settlement of the Garabagh conflict during the
visit. “We recall that in late last year many analysts were predicting
that 2006 would be a watershed in the conflict resolution. I hope
that the outcome of the president’s visit to the U.S. will show how
realistic those projections were. As for the opposition’s reaction
to this, I have said on many occasions and can repeat now that there
is no opposition in Azerbaijan. I am not being sarcastic and am just
stating the facts. They are just a group of people that call themselves
opposition. What they will say about President Ilham Aliyev’s visit is
of no interest to the Azeri public or even their closest cohorts.” A
well-known political analyst Ilgar Mammadov said that after the
opposition’s failure in last year’s elections, the U.S. no longer
has any reason to postpone the Azeri leader’s visit. Moreover, the
US-Azeri relations are currently on a very high level, he said. “As
for the opposition’s feedback, its most intelligent representatives
will simply keep silent. But there will be others that will lambaste
the United States over this, which will be another ridiculous action
by the opposition and an attempt to pin the solution of their own
problems on others. Besides, it is not ruled out that during the visit,
the U.S. will suggest to President Aliyev that the authorities soften
their stance toward the opposition, which we will probably witness
upon his return from the United States,” Mammadov added.

PARLIAMENTARY DISCUSSIONS AROUND MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE PROGRAM TO BE DISCUSSED
National Assembly of RA, Armenia
April 13 2006
On April 12, RA NA President Artur Baghdasaryan received the delegation
headed by Congressman Jim Kolbe, U.S. Chairman of the Appropriations
Foreign Operations Subcommittee and Ambassador John Danilovich, Chief
Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. John Evans,
Ambassador of U.S. to Armenia attended the meeting.
During the meeting issues concerning the implementation of the
Millennium Challenge Compact Armenia program were discussed. The 235
million dollars Millennium Challenge Compact program, which is focused
on the economic development and reduction of rural poverty, designs to
rehabilitate up to 943 km of rural roads, irrigation infrastructure
schemes, provide technical and rural credit assistance. The NA
President Artur Baghdasaryan highlighted the Millennium Challenge
Compact Armenia program from three main viewpoints: the development of
the marzes of Armenia – reduction of the disproportionate development
of the capital and marzes, deepening of democracy and the input of the
public monitoring mechanisms by the civil society. As the NA President
assessed, the program will greatly assist to the development of the
marzes, reduction of rural poverty.
During the meeting the Millennium Challenge Compact Armenia program
was also highlighted within the framework of 2007 and 2008 pan-national
elections as assistance to the development of democracy.
Conveying his thanks to the U.S. Government for the continuous
assistance to Armenia, the NA President highlighted the importance
of external assistance for the democratic processes in the country,
noting that “the economic development and deepening of democracy in
Armenia should proceed side by side.”
Mr. Danilovich and Congressman Jim Kolbe, touching upon the democratic
reforms and economic development of Armenia, noted the necessity
of political will, providing political freedoms, priority of laws
and publicity of the program implementation, holding the coming
pan-national elections in accordance with international standards
for deepening those reforms. In meeting those terms the program
will fully work. The Ambassador Danilovich emphasized once again
the resolve of the U.S. higher ranking political leaders and the
Millennium Challenge Corporation to be led with the main standards,
by which is conditioned the assistance to Armenia within the program.
The Ambassador Danilovich and Congressman Danilovich highlighted
the high awareness of the deputies of the National Assembly and their
participation in the monitoring of the implementation on the Millennium
Challenge Compact Armenia program. An agreement was reached to organize
parliamentary hearings in the National Assembly with participation
of Government members, NGOs, the Millennium Challenge Corporation,
U.S. Embassy and other parties concerned, during which a detailed
program will be introduced, the problems of public monitoring and
efficiency of program implementation will be discussed.
RA NA President Artur Baghdasaryan asked to convey his greetings
to Mr. Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. Congress, and as there were
congressmen in the delegation, the NA President also touched upon the
problem of close relations and strengthening of the dialog between the
U.S. Congress and RA National Assembly, highlighting the involvement
of RA NA in the programs implementing upon the initiative of the
U.S. Congress Democracy Assistance Committee. Congressman Jim Kolbe,
U.S. Chairman of the Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee
promised to assist in that issue.
During the meeting other issues were also discussed.

KANALTURK TO AIR ARMENIAN FILM
Hurriyet, Turkey
April 13 2006
A private television station in Turkey, Kanalturk, will broadcast a
movie on the massacre of Armenians during World War I this week. The
subject is a controversial one with nationalists feelings running
high on the issue. Kanalturk has decided to show “Ararat” by Canadian
director Atom Egoyan, an ethnic Armenian, following a survey of
viewers which revealed that 72% of the participants wanted to see
the film.”We will show the movie with no cuts or censoring,”said a
spokesman on the issue.
The film’s showing, at prime time on Thursday, will be followed by
a roundtable discussion by Turkish and Armenian intellectuals and
historians on the killings during the last years of the Ottoman Empire,
the predecessor of Turkey.
Even though the Turkish government gave the go-ahead for the showing of
the film, which was released in 2002, an Istanbul company was forced in
2004 to drop plans to screen the movie because of potential protests
that would have required police presence in theatres. Turks have only
recently begun to discuss the Armenian massacres between 1915 and 1917,
one of the most controversial episodes in Turkish history.
Egoyan’s film deals with the estranged members of a contemporary
Armenian family, who are faced with both Turkey’s denial of genocide
and their own individual plight.

PACE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON NK TO HOLD A MEETING IN LARGE DURING SUMMER SESSION – MP SEYIDOV
Author: R.Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Ad Hoc
Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh will hold a meeting in large during
the summer session. MP Samad Seyidov, the head of the Azerbaijani
parliamentary delegation to the PACE, told a correspondent of Trend in
Strasbourg. He was commenting on the results of a meeting of the heads
of delegations of Azerbaijan and Armenia with Lord Russel Johnson,
the chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on 12 April.
It was also resolved to arrange a meeting of the representatives of
Armenia and Azerbaijan for discussion of the Karabakh conflict in
the course of the PACE session.

TURKEY SET FOR 9TH EU REFORM PACKAGE
New Anatolian, Turkey
April 13 2006
The Turkish government on Wednesday rejected criticism that it’s
lost enthusiasm for European Union membership, announcing a new
reform package which will further restrict the power of the military,
expand the rights of non-Muslim minorities and increase transparency
in public administrations.
The ninth EU reform package aims to increase the transparency of
political party funding, set up a parliamentary political ethics
committee, restructure the Human Rights Presidency to be a stronger
and independent unit, step up the fight against corruption, introduce
an ombudsman system to settle differences between individuals and the
state and amend the Settlement Law to end discriminatory laws against
migrant populations, including the Roma. The package includes the
ratification of the optional protocols to the International Covenant of
Civil and Political Rights and Protocol 12 of the European Convention
of Human Rights on the general prohibition of discrimination by public
authorities. The ratification of the revised European Social Charter
is also included in the package.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday
that Turkey is dedicated to pursuing reforms that are critical to its
goal of becoming a member of the EU. “Some say reforms have stopped,”
Gul told a televised news conference. “This isn’t true. We’re very
determined to go ahead with reforms,” he stressed.
Gul’s remarks, which included assurances that the government will
soon speed up the approval process of several necessary measures,
appeared to be an attempt at countering EU criticism that the pace of
reform in Turkey has slowed since the 25-member bloc opened membership
talks with Ankara in October.
The Turkish foreign minister said Parliament will soon pass bills that
will give civilian officials greater authority to inspect military
spending and others to increase accountability, transparency and
ethical rules for the administration of public institutions.
A bill aimed to “bring to a very minimum” instances in which civilians
can be tried by military courts will also be passed, Gul added.
“We’re very determined to take this reform process further,” said
Gul. “There’s no end to the improvements that will be made … Turkey’s
direction is greater democratization.”
In January, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said he was
“seriously concerned” about the pace of reforms in Turkey, and urged
Ankara to address the issue quickly to strengthen its membership bid.
Rehn said that he expected Ankara to tackle those points “without
delay so that toward the end of 2006 we’ll be able to give a more
positive assessment than we could give at the end of 2005” on Turkey’s
progress toward meeting EU membership criteria.
No change to Article 301 for the time being
Gul gave no indication that his government would change several key
measures that EU officials have called on Turkey to amend.
A particular area of concern is the revised Turkish Penal Code’s
(TCK) Article 301, under which some prominent intellectuals have
been put on trial for criticizing state institutions or “denigrating
the Turkish national identity.” The new reform package foresees no
further amendments to the penal code. Turkey’s best-known novelist,
Orhan Pamuk, was prosecuted under this law until the charges were
dropped earlier this year.
Gul said there will be fewer such prosecutions. He said that this
won’t come about through a change of legislation, but rather because
of an acknowledgement by judges and prosecutors that criticism of
state institutions doesn’t amount to insulting them.
“We need a change of mentality,” Gul said. “This process will take
time.”
EU officials have repeatedly called on Turkey to reopen the religious
seminary that used to train the Greek Orthodox minority’s religious
leaders and to restore property to minority Christian groups that
was seized by the state because of a decline in the size of their
congregations.
Gul said reforms will address problems faced by minority religious
groups, such as the Greeks and Armenians, and will provide their
associations with more rights. The related bill, however, doesn’t
foresee the return of, or compensation for, property owned by
non-Muslims that was confiscated by the state and sold to third
parties. Diplomats have said this matter can be addressed sometime
in the future under a different framework.
Gul didn’t mention of the reopening of Halki religious seminary,
but he promised that the government will keep up the reform process.
“Turkey’s direction is more democracy and improvement of individual
rights and freedoms,” Gul said, “These will further strengthen Turkey.”

PACE MONITORING GROUP’S VISIT SCHEDULED FOR MAY-JUNE – RAFAEL HUSEYNOV
Author: R. Abdullayev
TREND Information, Azerbaijan
April 13 2006
Visit of the PACE reporter, Edward O’Hara to the South Caucasus is
scheduled for May-beginning of June 2006, the Azerbaijani PACE group
member, Rafael Huseynov told Trend.
“Preservation of the South Caucasus cultural monuments is one of CE
priorities. This particular organization has many times rejected the
Armenian initiatives to destroy the so-called ‘hichkars’,” Huseynov
said ,adding that due to the work of the Azerbaijani delegates CE
has received
several documents about the condition of the Azerbaijani cultural
monuments on the Armenian territories.
The above mentioned monitoring will start in the Armenian territories,
then it will move to Georgia, and to the occupied Azerbaijani lands
and other parts of Azerbaijan.
The exact date of the visit is now being discussed with the PACE
reporter. “According to the decision of PACE commission on science,
education and culture the monitoring will first take place in the
occupied lands, “Huseynov concluded.

ARMENIAN LIBRARY SHOWS PHOTOS OF IRAN, FRANCE
Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
April 13 2006
The Armenian Library and Museum of America, 65 Main St., Watertown,
will present “Illumination in Two Movements” by Naveed Nour. Naveed,
an international photographer of Persian heritage, presents two beats,
France and Iran, in a simple harmony.
To preview a sampling of the exhibit, visit “Trois Jours” and “History
Recalls” galleries at
The exhibit runs from April 2 to May 4. Gallery Hours: Thursday 6-9
p.m., Friday and Sunday 1-5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Gallery discussions will be held Sunday, April 23, 2-3 p.m., and
Thursday April 27, 7-8 p.m.
For more information call 617-926-2562 or visit

OSCE PLANS NEW ARMENIAN-AZERI TALKS ON KARABAKH
Reuters, UK
April 13 2006
Apr 13, 2006 – YEREVAN (Reuters) – The Organization For Security and
Cooperation in Europe said on Thursday it hoped to arrange talks in
June or July between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The territory, scene of a conflict between the two sides in which
about 35,000 people were killed, has a major pipeline linking Caspian
Sea oil fields to world markets.
In February, talks between Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, whose countries stand at the crossroads
between Europe and Asia, ended without agreement.
“We want to again create the conditions for a meeting of the
presidents,” Bernard Fassier, a French mediator from the Organization
For Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), told reporters after
visiting Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“It would be good if it was possible to organize a meeting in June.
If not, then we hope it will be possible to organize a meeting in
July,” said Fassier.
French, U.S. and Russian mediators from the so-called Minsk Group of
the OSCE were involved in the February talks.
Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory roughly half the size of
the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, has for decades soured relations
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Sporadic clashes inside the territory between Azeri and ethnic Armenian
irregulars began in 1988 in the Soviet era, escalating by 1992 into
full-scale hostilities between Azeri and Armenian troops.
Hundreds of thousands fled and most have been unable to return to
the territory, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been controlled
by Armenian separatists since the fighting.

A CENTURY ON: AGBU CELEBRATES ITS CENTENARY
Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt
April 13 2006
The Armenian General Benevolent Union celebrates its centenary this
week. Inas Mazhar consults with the institution’s Egypt President.
Berdj Terzian, finding out about history, culture and lifestyle
Photo: Clockwise from top right: the daily Arev; three Egyptian
Armenian actresses have left their mark on the Egyptian cultural scene:
Nelly, Mimi Gamal and Lebleba; Nunu Yesyan; Egyptian singer Anoushka
of Armenian origin
The centennial celebrations of the AGBU kicked off yesterday at the
Armenian Embassy in Cairo. With over 300 Armenians from all over the
world invited, according to Berdj Terzian, president of the Armenian
General Benevolent Union (AGBU-Egypt), the occasion provides for
social, cultural and educational events. Before all else, perhaps,
it is an opportunity to reconfirm Egypt’s long history of support
for Armenians and the Armenian diaspora; Egypt was in fact the first
Arab country to embrace the Armenian state, instituting full-scale
diplomatic relations with Yerevan and even sponsoring training
programmes for young Armenian officials.
Highlights of the centennial programme include a seminar on Armenian
Education and Language Teaching, focussing on the role of language
in the survival of identity and discussing issues like the status of
Western Armenian, and the use of Armenian in education, conversation
and entertainment — an aim for which the relevant organisations are
mobilising by, among other means, instituting training programmes
for teachers. The celebrations also feature an exhibition of over
60 books on display, which are all Satenig Chaker fund-supported
AGBU publications.
Real fun won’t start until Sunday evening, however, with such Armenian
stars as the Vienna-based soprano Hasmik Papain and the Paris-based
pianist Vardan Mamikonian performing at the Gomhuriya Theatre. “The
famous Armenian singer Nune Yesayan and her band,” Terzian explained,
“have come all the way from Armenia to entertain the guests; and they
will perform too. All over the world, Nune Yessayan’s concerts are
always sold out weeks in advance…” Among the programme’s better known
venues is the Hmen Nubar Club in Heliopolis, a relaxing space with
plenty of greenery. “The club dates back to 1933,” Terzian revealed,
“when the AGBU, the better to serve young Armenians in the Egyptian
capital, had built the Nubar club in the neighbourhood of Shoubra.” Led
by Hayg Djizmedjian, a founding member of the Istanbul Hmen Club,
the venue united with the AGBU to become the Hmen Nubar in the late
1940s, the AGBU bought the land from Boghos Nubar’s heirs in 1956,
after which it became the principal AGBU base. It remains among the
Armenian community’s favourite institutions. Besides the illustrious
Hmen Nubar, centennial celebrations will also take place in Alexandria,
the home of many Armenians at the start of the 18th century, thanks in
large part to the work of such community leaders as Boghos Bey Yusufian
(1768-1844), Nubar Pasha (1825-1899), the aforementioned Boghos’s
father, and Kevork Topalian (1850-1923). As Terzian puts it, “For over
a century the church-school combination has provided the necessary
manpower to sustain cultural and social clubs and their affiliated
political organisations. The infrastructure of the Armenian community
in Alexandria, even though it was relatively small, remains intact.”
htm

IRANIAN AZERBAIJANIS MOVE NORTH
By Kemal Ali in Baku (CRS No. 335, 13-Apr-06)
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
April 13 2006
Growing numbers are moving from Iran to Azerbaijan, especially since
the upsurge in tension between Washington and Tehran.
I would never have thought they were from Iran. Said Suleimani, 42,
and his family members looked like regular residents of Baku. Women
in the Azerbaijani capital do occasionally wear black headscarves,
and there was nothing unusual about the denim gear worn by Said and
his two sons. Only their accent betrayed that they were southerners,
possibly from Iran.
I met them in Baku’s Zavokzalny district beyond the railway station,
which used to be an Armenian neighbourhood before the war over Nagorny
Karabakh, and which then became a haven for Azerbaijani refugees.
Now there are reports that the area has become a haven for a new
kind of migrant. Semyon Kastrulin, a journalist who lives in this
neighbourhood, says Zavokzalny is now home to large numbers of ethnic
Azerbaijanis from Iran.
Said and his bashful and silent wife agreed to talk to me. They come
from around Tabriz, the capital of Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province.
They said they had come to Baku for about three weeks, to do some
sightseeing and shop for cheap goods.
According to Said, their visit had nothing to do with fears of an
American attack on Iran, in the dispute over its development of
nuclear technology. He said they had long been planning to come. But
he conceded that they might stay a bit longer, waiting for things to
quieten down back home.
I met another Iranian, Nazim Muhammadi, 60, in Cafe Tebriz close
to the Iranian embassy. Apparently, this is now the local Iranian
community’s favourite place to hang out and discuss the latest
political and sports news.
Muhammadi and his two sons came to Baku at the end of March. They are
staying with his wife’s relatives, who emigrated from Iran during the
Soviet era, fleeing political persecution in the wake of the Red Army’s
withdrawal from northern Iran at the end of the Second World War.
“We are from Tehran, where we own a beautiful two-story house with a
courtyard,” said Muhammadi. “We have a family car repair business. My
brother and his family are staying there now, looking after the house
and the business.”
Nazim is playing with the idea of starting a car repair centre in
Baku, but he is not sure he can compete with the locals. “We are not
going to stay here forever; we’ll see how it goes. If we’re lucky,
we’ll probably go to Europe. If not, we’ll go back home,” he said.
The Iranian Azerbaijani migrants are hard to spot in Baku – still
less count – partly because they blend in with the locals, but also
because they keep a low profile and come and go from Iran.
IWPR contacted Majid Faizullai, press spokesman for the Iranian embassy
in Baku, for a comment on newspaper reports that Azerbaijan was being
“overrun” by refugees from Iran. The Express newspaper, for example,
had reported that the flow of migrants to Baku had intensified to
such an extent that housing and land prices had gone up.
Faizullai appeared annoyed and said he could only repeat what his
ambassador, Afshar Sulaimani, had already said – that the embassy
had no information about this matter.
Word-of-mouth reports however suggest a sharp rise in migration from
Iran. Political analyst Rovshan Novruzoglu told IWPR he knows of more
than 150 Iranian families who have fled to Azerbaijan in fear of an
American attack on Iran.
But Iranian immigrants are nothing new for Baku. Ethnic Azerbaijanis
came across from Iran in the Soviet period, fleeing persecution by
the Shah’s regime before it was overthrown in 1979.
Novruzoglu also claimed that Iranian security agents were in the
country disguised as migrants, creating a threat to Azerbaijan’s
national security.
Why have Iranian nationals chosen Azerbaijan as a safe haven? Iran’s
ethnic Azerbaijanis speak the same language spoken north of the border
and often have relatives in Azerbaijan. However, Persian-speaking
Iranians also come to Azerbaijan.
It is easy and inexpensive for Iranian nationals to obtain an
Azerbaijani visa. A three-month renewable visa costs them 40 US
dollars. Under a 2005 bilateral agreement – yet to be ratified by
the Azerbaijani parliament – both Iranian and Azerbaijani nationals
living within 40 kilometres of the frontier will be entitled to cross
without a visa.
Another Iranian, Ahmed, who had arrived in Baku a few weeks before,
said he believed the Azerbaijani authorities were Baku were stalling
on the visa-free border agreement for fear of being overrun by Islamic
fundamentalists from Iran.
Azerbaijan’s National Committee on Refugees and Forced Migrants
reported that in 2005 the number of Iranians applying for refugee
status was ten times the 2004 figure, rising from 14 to 147. In 2005,
the applications of 40 Iranian families were approved, according to
the committee’s press spokesman Sanan Huseinov.
Vugar Abdusalimov, press spokesman for the Azerbaijani office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told IWPR the numbers
had not really changed despite the talk of an increased refugee flow
prompted by the threat of conflict.
Baku residents are wary of their more affluent cousins from Iran,
believing that they bump up property prices in a city already bursting
with other migrants and refugees from the Karabakh conflict.
According to Baku’s Birzha newspaper, the average price of a
three-room apartment in a good Baku neighbourhood has gone up from
22,000 or 23,000 US dollars to 35,000-40,000 dollars in just 12
months. Property prices are also reported to be on the rise in
Nakhichevan, the Azerbaijani exclave that borders Iran.
Westernised Baku is a strong contrast to the Islamic Republic of
Iran. Kastrulin said he noticed that Iranian men enjoy the freedom to
drink alcohol in restaurants – something they are denied at home,
while the women are frequently seen on the street without the
obligatory headscarf.
If the tension between Iran and the United States continues to rise,
it seems inevitable that many more Iranian nationals will want to
make Baku their new home.
Kemal Ali is the editor-in-chief of Birzha Plus newspaper in Baku.