It’s no surprise that Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are not perfect. Even though friendship and partnership is declared officially, permanent provocative statements in Iran towards the government in Baku and the reaction to them by Azerbaijan are evidence of a different thing. The confrontational situation in the media field of two countries demonstrates the problems in bilateral relations as well. One of the brightest examples is the Iranian Azerbaijani-speaking channel Sekher, the information policy of which has many times troubled Baku.
Azerbaijani and Iranian officials blame “certain circles” for the situation in the media. However, nobody names these circles. In late 2011 there was an attempt to radically change the situation in the media sphere. The head of the socio-political department of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan, Ali Gasanov, who is one of the most important figures in Baku, was welcomed by the Iranian side to Tehran. The Azerbaijani official met representatives of leading Iranian media structures and official figures, discussing “unhealthy tendencies” in the media of both countries. It was decided to make intergovernmental relations friendly, mutually beneficial and equal. However, as VK stated previously, contradictions between the countries are systemic, while the negative information background is only its consequence. You can’t fight a consequence of a problem effectively without eliminating the reason for the problem. So the media still publishes tough statements by both sides. The arguments are well-known. Azerbaijan is annoyed by intensive cooperation between Iran and Armenia, while Iran worries about close cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel. Internal political aspects also negatively influence relations. In Azerbaijan they often remember the 20 million Azerbaijanis in Iran, who have no opportunity to study in their native language. Some representatives of Iranian religious activists are concerned with “suppression of religious rights” in Azerbaijan.
Previously, mutual accusations between Azerbaijan and Iran took place at an unofficial level, but after the recent exchange of protest notes the situation has changed. This is connected with several events and factors of local and international character.
Rafik Tagi case
The murder of the Azerbaijani journalist and writer, Rafik Tagi, is still being discussed, and not only in Azerbaijan. In Europe, human rights organizations mostly discuss it, which demand a detailed investigation, but in Azerbaijan other aspects are in focus. This murder caused a wave of disturbance among Azerbaijani citizens, because an “Iranian thread” is seen in this crime. In 2006 the Iranian Ayatollah Muhammed Fazil Lenkorani imposed a fatwa for the murder of Tagi for his provocative article “Europe and Us,” which was considered to be“sacrilegious.” In Azerbaijan the publicist was accused of stirring up ethnic and religious strife and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2006. However, less than a year later he was pardoned by the President of Azerbaijan. Muhammed Fazil Lenkorani died in 2007 and didn’t cancel the fatwa. And his son Ayatollah Sheik Muhammed Javad Lenkorani welcomed the murder of Rafig Tagi. The Ayatollah congratulated the Azerbaijani people for the murder and expressed his satisfaction that “Allah’s hand appeared among Muslims and sent the evil-doer to hell.”
However, the fatwa by Lenkorani and the statement of his son are not evidence of Iran's involvement in Tagi’s murder, especially as the murderer hasn’t been found yet. An investigation is taking place, and it would be reasonable to wait for its results. However, the murder of Rafig Tagi and the joyous reaction to it by the Iranian elite became a point of new escalation of tension in relations between the two countries. The Baku authorities didn’t accuse Iran of organizing the murder, but anything can happen.
Ali Gasanov says that during his visit to Iran the murder of the Azerbaijani journalist wasn’t discussed. The Azerbaijani government doesn’t want to exaggerate the negative atmosphere without clear evidence. The focus was concentrated on “certain circles,” which try to ruin bilateral relations. It seems “the certain circles” are representatives of Iranian religious activists.
The Azerbaijani opposition media criticized the government for its careful position, accusing the authorities of being in fear before Iran. In reality, Azerbaijan carried out a series of scandalous trials of people, who are accused of cooperation with the Iranian special services. However, the mass media didn’t praise the government for “courage” in these cases. It is obvious that the terms “courage” and “cowardice” shouldn’t be applied to the complex relations between Azerbaijan and Iran. It comes down to a pragmatic approach to the problem, which enables avoiding direct confrontation with the southern neighbor.
It should be noted that the political parties of Azerbaijan, including Yeni Azerbaijan, were not active in the context of Tagi’s murder. At the same time, the Council of Editors, the Council of the Press and the Council of Writers of Azerbaijan criticized the murder heavily. The European Parliament and international human rights organizations had the same position. The embassy of Iran denied the involvement of the IRI in the organization of the murder. But the fact that embassy made a statement means that Iran couldn’t ignore the reaction of society to the murder of Rafik Tagi.
Orkhan Sattarov. Exclusively to VK
