World Press on Iran, Turkey and the Caucasus (February, 25-27, 2012)

The Associated Press reports that Israeli defense officials on Sunday confirmed $1.6 billion in deals to sell drones as well as anti-aircraft and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan, bringing sophisticated Israeli technology to the doorstep of arch-enemy Iran.

The Washington Post published an article on young Russian writers – members of the first generation of Russians to grow up after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. According to the author, this generation’s writing seems to be united less by subject matter or style or political slant than by a confidence, honesty and vibrancy that have made the literary establishment take notice. The author suggests that the fact the books written by these new authors may give Americans a more nuanced picture of Russia is, of course, an added plus. “We’d like you to understand that Russia is not Putin personified,” Slavnikova, one of the Debut Prize winners, said.

The Guardian published an article headlined “Oscar success of A Separation celebrated back home in Iran”. A Separation has become the first movie ever to take an Academy Award to Iran after winning the best foreign language Oscar, prompting national celebration at a critical time in the country's history. According to the author, ‘Millions of Iranians stayed up all night to watch the film's director, Asghar Farhadi, going up on the stage and delight his countrymen at a time when their lives are clouded with fear of war with Israel and crippling economic sanctions’. "At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy," said Farhadi, while accepting the Oscar. "At the time when talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics." He added: ""I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, the people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment." A Separation had managed to obtain government blessing, although permission for its production was briefly removed in 2010 when Farhadi voiced support for imprisoned film-maker Jafar Panahi at the Iranian Cinema Celebration festival. After its nationwide release, it attracted an unprecedented audience for an independent film inside the country and even won government-sponsored awards.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey is not considering an Afghan withdrawal, unlike the UK and NATO. NATO pulled all its staff out of Afghan government ministries on 25 February, after two of its advisors in the interior ministry were shot dead. Britain also said its embassy was temporarily withdrawing all civilian mentors and advisors from Afghan government institutions in Kabul. Upon questioning, the Turkish Foreign Ministry told the Daily News that Turkey was not considering withdrawing any of its staff from Afghanistan. Turkey, which has the second largest standing army in the alliance, currently has 1,600 soldiers serving in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Unlike other European members of ISAF, Turkey’s mission is limited to patrols and its troops do not take part in combat operations.

The same news agency reports that the Azerbaijani government has made significant progress in caring for the 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were forcibly evicted from Nagorno-Karabakh region by Armenian forces two decades ago, but the ideal solution to the problem is the return of IDPs to their original homes, the International Crisis Group’s latest report has stated. The report, “Tackling Azerbaijan’s IDP Burden,” praises government policies in dealing with IDP needs, but emphasized that much more needed to be done, with the problem itself putting pressure on the Azerbaijan leadership to prepare for the possibility of a new war. “The status quo is neither acceptable nor safe. The right to return for people displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh has yet to be upheld, or an alternative formula agreed, for example based on compensation and exchange. This increases pressure on Azerbaijan’s leadership to threaten military action to retake lost sovereign territory. IDPs consider return to be their priority and say they are ready ‘to take up weapons to retake our homes’ when ‘Baku gives the word,’” the report states.