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 of Vestnik Kavkaza
