On August 16, 2011, Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran rejected a motion to invest funding to increase the inflow of water into Lake Urmia to save it from a complete extinction. The motion was recommended by the deputies from the city of Urmia asking to take an immediate action to save the Lake.
Azerbaijani civil rights activists outraged by the failure of the Iranian authorities to agree on the motion. They believe that the recent decision by the Iranian Parliament is a complete negligence demonstrating double standards towards the people living in the region. Azerbaijanis in the cities of Urmia and Tabriz are preparing to hold demonstrations against the decision the next Saturday.
According to the Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP), on August 24, 2011 Iranian security agents arrested more than thirty Azerbaijani journalists, students, and poets – gathered in a private home in Tabriz for an Iftar celebration, the meal breaking the fast during Ramadan. The recent arrests in Tabriz, most likely, are related to the protests regarding Lake Urmia.
On August 25, 2011, some videos released on Youtube that show a large crowd at a soccer game in Tabriz Soccer Stadium chant slogans against Iranian Parliament such as “Lake Urmia is dying / [Iranian] Parliament is ordering its murder.”
According to leading environmentalists and Iranian officials, the lake has already lost half of its original water volume. If Lake Urmia dries up an ecological catastrophe is inevitable not only in Azerbaijani cities of Iran but also, in neighbouring countries of Iraq, Turkey and Azerbaijan. It could trigger a colossal migration of those living around the lake due to release of 8 BILLION tons of salt in the atmosphere.
