Azerbaijani analyst: Is the drying-out of Lake Urmia part of an assimilation policy?

Lake Urmia, the largest lake in Iran and the third largest salt lake, is on the brink of drying out. The water level has been falling since 1995. Salt concentration has reached a record of 350 grams per liter, while the norm is 180 grams. Experts are pessimistic about the forecasts, the lake may dry out in 3-4 years.

22 MPs have requested the government to take measures to save the lake. The authorities are reluctant so far, and the bill on restoration of Urmia was voted down.

Protests in Tebriz and Urmia started on August 27, leading to a police crackdown. About 15,000 people joined the protests, about 300 were arrested. 10,000 were protesting in Tebriz, and unofficial reports says one of them was killed. The first protests were organized on April 2, 2011, and 70 activists were detained.

Director of the State Department for Lakes Ali Nazardust said that the lake lost about a third of water as a result of dam construction and poor management. Azerbaijani citizens believe that the government wants the lake to dry so that their population moves to other areas.

A spokesman of Urmia Municipality Javad Jakhangirzade says there will be about 10 billion tons of salt left and 14 million people would need to migrate, should the lake dry out. Officials of Farsan and Bondzhnurd say Azerbaijani in the area would have to move.

A member of the national committee for security and national policy denied presence of uranium under the lake. The US published reports on presence of the nuclear fuel earlier.

Experts warn that the drying-out of Urmia may be a catastrophe similar to the drying-out of the Aral Sea. Rivers Syrdarya and Amudarya had a reduced water level due to irrigation works. A member of the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Claude Rot urged a release of the arrested activists and a permission to allow foreign ecologists to study the lake and inform the public.

The Universal Congress of Azerbaijani held protests at the Iranian embassy in Baku on September 7. Baku is debating on whether it should support its southern Azerbaijani. On the other hand, Azerbaijan does not want tensions with its neighbours. Even if Azerbaijan does not interfere, independent media may provide information support in Iran, where some Azerbaijani TV channels are broadcast.


Orkhan Sattarov, Head of the European Bureau
/Vestnik Kavkaza/