The First Defeat for the
Expansion of the Revolution to the Republic of Azerbaijan Following
Disintegration of the Soviet Union Following the collapse of the Soviet Union,
the newly emerged Republic of Azerbaijan became the first target in security
doctrine of the Islamic Republic. Iran has been vigorously contesting with
major powers, especially with Turkey and western countries, to increase its
presence in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Given that the Shia Muslims form the
majority of Azerbaijan¹s population, the Islamic Republic made desperate
efforts to encourage formation of an Islamic regime, which could have been to
the best interest of Iran, but to no avail. The formation of a secular and
nationalist government in the Republic of Azerbaijan dashed Iran¹s hope for the
expansion of the Revolution it had envisioned since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
The political power in Iran is
traditionally and deeply rooted in a sort of coalition forged between, and
sometimes contested by, the Revolutionary Guard and the clergies. From the
early days of the revolution in 1979, the Revolutionary Guard has penetrated
all the country¹s social, cultural, economic and military institutions to the
extent that it can be now regarded both as the protector of the regime and
commander-in-chief of all the regime¹s branches of power.
By the start of Ahmadinejad¹s
presidency in 2005, members of the Revolutionary Guard backed by Ali Khamenei,
Iran¹s Supreme Leader, have been able to gradually occupy almost all the major
governmental posts and positions. Currently the President himself, thirteen of
his cabinet ministers and some of his deputies have served the Revolutionary
Guard.
According to Iran Briefing, a
website addressing the Revolutionary Guard¹s violation of human rights in Iran,
more than half of the Iranian lawmakers are in fact active members of the
Revolutionary Guard, and the rest are the clergies or seemingly independent
figures that indirectly collaborate with the Revolutionary Guard and security
forces, defending their programs and policies.
Revolutionary Guard¹s
Strategies for Causing Tension in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Revolutionary Guard has
spearheaded various plans and strategies, some of which are pointed out below,
in the Republic of Azerbaijan in an attempt to weaken the central government in
Baku.
- It has provoked and backed the
oppositions to the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, especially the
Islamists, in a bid to foment social unrest and prop up an Islamic regime
similar to that of Tehran. We have seen that in the issue of Islamic dress
code.
- It has orchestrated various
terrorist activities and has trained terrorist groups in Azerbaijan¹s
territory. The terrorists are used to target the US and Israeli interests. Many
of the Iranian agents have been recently arrested by Azerbaijani government.
-The Revolutionary Guard has been
very active in trafficking narcotics and arms and distributing them among the
Azerbaijani youths in order to socially destabilize the country. Many of the
drug dealers have been released by the Iranian authorities soon after they were
extradited to Iran. That ontradicts the very reality of the Iranian regime
which hands death sentences to drug traffickers, and the rulings are usually
being carried out immediately.
-The Revolutionary Guard is
committed to train seminary students and dictate the Iranian regime¹s
ideologies on them. This move is part of wider strategy to financially support
and brainwash the youths in the mosques and religious ceremonies in an attempt
to deceive the religious and traditional classes of the society and use them
for its own ends at the right time. The seminary students are used to permeate
superstitious thoughts in Azerbaijani society and fuel religious strife.
-It has launched libraries and
publishing houses in Baku, Azerbaijan¹s capital, in which religious
publications are sold at lower price in a bid to erupt the public anger against
the central government. Sahar TV channel, which broadcast programs in Azeri language,
is an instrument for dissemination of the Iranian regime¹s ideologies, and it
is indeed the mouthpiece of radical Islamists of Azerbaijan.
-Red Crescent centers, Martyr
Foundation, Imam Khomeini Relief Committee and Cultural centers are primarily
built up by the Revolutionary Guard in Azerbaijan in an attempt to attract
lower class Azerbaijanis as well as gathering intelligence from Azerbaijani
society.
-Azerbaijani citizens have been
subject to extreme inspection and control by the Revolutionary Guard, and any
sort of travel from Azerbaijan to Iran will be treated as espionage mission
threatening the Islamic Republic¹s security. Two Azerbaijani poets, for
instance, were recently arrested by Iranian authorities.
-The Revolutionary Guard has
stepped up its cyber activities against websites dealing with Azeri issues. The
website belonging to the TV channel run by Azerbaijani government known as AZ
TV, and Azal, the Azerbaijan airline, have been seriously sabotaged by the
Revolutionary Guard.
-The Revolutionary Guard is
dispatching massive amounts of military and financial aid to Armenia,
especially those situated in northern part. On the other side, the
Revolutionary Guard places numerous barriers before the Republic of Azerbaijan
in an attempt to prevent it from having military and economic ties with other
countries, especially with Israel, which is being regarded by the Islamic
Republic as its ideological enemy number one.
Revolutionary Guard¹s
Strategies for Sowing Discord between Azeri Community in Iran and the Republic
of Azerbaijan
When it comes to Azerbaijani
Turks living in Iran, the nature of programs and strategies undertaken by
Revolutionary Guard is a little different. From its early days, the
Revolutionary Guard has been playing a very destructive role against Azeri
culture, music, history and language. During the early decade of the
revolution, the Revolutionary Guard¹s members broke into the people¹s houses,
similar to what they were doing in other parts of the country, and confiscated
music cassettes and whatever related to Azeri culture and language including
history books. The holders of the books and music cassettes would be then
prosecuted either as counterrevolutionary or communists or anti-Islam. The
Azeri culture was generally looked at as outlandish one which was at odds with
Shite principles and values. Following the independence of the Republic of
Azerbaijan from Soviet Union dominance, Iranian Azeris¹ civil struggle against
cultural assimilation, alienation and the regime¹s oppression, which is being
exerted on all ethnic communities in Iran, took new turn, and people have
become more motivated to decide on and determine their own future. That has
also led the government to draw up new strategies and plans to curb the
ever-increasing national movement by Azerbaijanis.
The Revolutionary Guard and the
media run by it have been trying directly and indirectly to portray the
Azerbaijani national movement as a pan-Turkish, fascistic movement and its
activists as agents of Israel, the US, Azerbaijan and Turkey, who are
detrimental to national security. Such false accusations are largely made by
the Revolutionary Guard and security forces as a pretext for further
suppression of activists of the Azerbaijani national movement.
The Revolutionary Guard held an
operation in Ghal-e-Babak festival
during Fatemieh Massacre of oppositions to Fars Newspaper, which published
cartoons mocking Azerbaijanis, by
plain-clothe militias in 2006, suppression of dissenters who were protesting
against the government laxness over drying up of Oroumieh lake are just few
examples of the
Revolutionary Guard¹s attempt to
suppress the Azerbaijani national movement. Iran¹s economy is totally run by
the regime, and the Revolutionary Guard controls a major part of the economy
and economic resources. The common people, on the other hand, are totally
dependent on this regime-owned economy. Those joining either the Revolutionary
Guard or security forces are demagogically seeking certain privileges. By
pretending to be loyal to the regime and taking part in meetings held by the
Basij militia, they are able to get concessions and trophies from the
authority. In different parts of Azerbaijan province, the Revolutionary Guard
forcefully brings together thousands of people for whom massive political
propaganda are then made against the Azerbaijani national movement and the
Republic of Azerbaijan.
For instance, the Republic of
Azerbaijan is being portrayed as a poor and corrupt country which the Iranian
Turks would die of hunger, should the Azerbaijan province of Iran secede from
Iran and join the Republic of Azerbaijan. Government offices, cultural centers
run by the Revolutionary Guard, mosques and educational institutions are
holding annual meetings in which the threat posed by pan-Turkism is being
discussed, and the culture, history, language and geography of Azerbaijan is
being interpreted in a very unscientific
manner. The aim, however, is to detach
the people from their culture. For example, the Republic of Azerbaijan is
dubbed as ³Aran,² but those parts under the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic
are called Azerbaijan. Turkish language is deliberately called Azeri which is
different than Turkish. Persian culture and language is promoted and gratified
at the expense national heroes of Azerbaijan.
Every week, Friday prayer leaders
and representatives of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in cities such
as Ardebil, Oroumieh and Tabriz are targeting the Republic of Azerbaijan by
accusing it of being the lackey of Israel and the USA, and, at the same time,
they warn the people of the danger posed by pan-Turkism and ask the people and
the security forces to stand against such purported danger. Of course, there
are dignified people in the government offices and in the Revolutionary Guard
who honor their Turkish language and culture and are ready to train their gun
against the regime¹s agents, should the regime be tending to display
disgraceful behavior against the national heroes and figures of Azerbaijan.
The Revolutionary Guard and its
affiliated news agencies, like Fars news agency, are even making territorial
claims on the Republic of Azerbaijan, spreading the false belief that the
Republic of Azerbaijan seceded from Iran as a result of the Turkmenchai and
Golestan Treaties. A magazine called ³Northern Iran² is being published with
the support of the Revolutionary Guard in Ardebil and is being widely
distributed in Azerbaijan province of Iran.
The Revolutionary Guard brought
his agents onto the streets of Tabriz and other cities ordering them to hold
ideologically-tainted rallies against the Republic of Azerbaijan after the
bilateral relation between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan deteriorated
over a number of contested issues. Head of Tabriz Basij militia, a semi-military
unit operating under the command of the Revolutionary Guard, even threatened to
storm Azerbaijan¹s consulate in Tabriz in retaliation for Azerbaijan-Israel
relation and Eurovision competition which was held in the Republic of
Azerbaijan.
Revolutionary Guard¹s Cyber
Attacks on Websites Dealing with Azerbaijan National Movement
The Revolutionary Guard has
intensified its cyber activities against websites which deal with Azerbaijani
national movement. Many websites such as ³Tribon² and ³Sana News² have been
hacked by the Revolutionary Guard and have gone out of operation since early
2012.
The Revolutionary Guard is the
enemy number one of the internet and press, not only in Azerbaijan but across
the globe, and it tends to disrupt the activities of Azerbaijan national
movement in cyber space by hacking their emails and websites.
Conclusion
The Revolutionary Guard¹s
strategies in regard with the Republic of Azerbaijan have nothing to do with
its relation with the west, the US and Israel, but its hostile position has
somewhat ethnic roots. For example, the countries like Tajikistan and Armenia
are being supported by the Islamic Republic, although they have close ties with
the US and Israel. As far as common
religion is concerned, the Islamic Republic has either remained silent against
massacre of Muslims in Chechnya, China and Karabach, or it has even taken side
with the perpetrators. The Revolutionary Guard sees the progress made by the
Republic of Azerbaijan, which can be seen as an impetus for Iranian Turks to
ask to for their civil and cultural rights, as a threat to the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of the Islamic Republic. That is exactly why it is
desperately trying to suppress civil activists and instigate damage to the
Republic of Azerbaijan. The Revolutionary Guard¹s future plan is to install
missile shields in north-western Iran from which it can easily attack
Azerbaijan¹s oil fields and economic centers should the Islamic Republic be
attacked by either the west or Israel. The ever-increasing power of the
Revolutionary Guard is not only a threat to the Republic of Azerbaijan, but
also it is a threat to global peace and security. Nobody is to survive the
massacre which is likely to take place, should the Revolutionary Guard be able
to acquire an atomic bomb, and for that the international community must be
held accountable for its failure to curb the Revolutionary Guard.
iranbriefing
