Regime Crushes Enviornmental Protest

On the traditional Persian holiday celebrating nature, the regime crushes an environmental protest against the drying of a lake. It was carried out by ethnic Azeris in the Northwest of Iran Here is the English story from Mousavi's Facebook:

Yesterday, Friday April 2, 2010 (the nature’s day), security forces attacked Azari environment activists who had gathered at Lake Urmiya, and while bashing and beating them, arrested many of the families.

According to the reports, security personnel by creating inspection station in a 50 km radius leading to the lake-crossing bridge and prevented people from going to the lake. They also arrested the passengers are some buses and minibuses going toward the lake in cities of Ilkhchi and Salmas.

According to reports more than hundred Azari citizen were arrested including Yavar Jamali, Morteza Avazpour, Mohammad Tajdehi, Mansour Seyfi, Arsalan Zare’ee, Hamid Valayee, Ahmad Valayee, Hossein Nasiri, Askar Sadoghi, Mohammad Tabrizi, Ali Baghbani, Yaghub Ramezani, Mohammad Mohammadlo, Azizkhan Sadeghzadeh and Sadighi. The names of others arrested are not known.

The arrests and beatings of Azaris by the coup government was because of the invitation of Azaris social activists who invited people have their nature’s day celebration (the tradition of the thirteenth day of Farvardin month on which Iranian people spend the day in nature) to show their objections to the coup government’s policies in making the lake dry.

The security personnel threw tear gas at people and attacked and beat families who were trying to spend their day by the lake and prevented access to the lake-crossing bridge. The police also issued tickets for cars that were trying to get to the lake from other routes.

In this event which was to support the environment and the Urmiya Lake, about ten thousand people gathered. In a symbolic move people had brought water and poured in the lake to show their objections to the coup government’s policies in drying the lake. They were also carrying signs in Azari language.

Experts believe that with small investment the government can solve the problem and prevent the lake from drying but the security view of the coup government to all non-Fars ethnicities and its intentional efforts to destroy the environment of these areas have caused extensive protests among Azaris.