Azeri activists in Istanbul protest Iran over offensive caricature

According to Cihan News Agency, some 50 Azerbaijani citizens living in Turkey gathered before the Iranian Consulate General in Istanbul, chanting slogans against Iran and protesting the caricature which depicted Azeri people in Iran as cockroaches.

The protestors called for unification of the south Azerbaijan state of Iran with the independent Azerbaijan Republic.

The group’s spokesman said that their demonstration was a protest for Azerbaijani Turks living in Iran against 80-year old Iranian oppression. "We stand by Turks in Azerbaijan. Iran should stop its oppression against Azeris in the country."

The spokesman said that Iranian authorities should free Azeri activists who are being subjected to torture.

The offensive caricature had created a furor among Azerbaijani people living in Iran and thousand of Azeris poured into the streets in Tabriz to protest the Iran daily. Iranian authorities had closed the daily and sacked the caricaturist to ease the tension among the Azeri people.

Nearly 25 million Azerbaijani origin Iranian citizens live in the Persian state.

/www.zaman.com/