BBC Monitoring Services, Day.az
18, January 2008

18 January: The decision to open a consulate-general of Armenia in Tabriz has elicited protests from ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran.

In this connection, representatives of the intelligentsia have sent a letter to the country's president, the governor of Tabriz region and the Foreign Ministry.

A group of Azerbaijani intellectuals met Akbar A'lami, the MP elected from Tabriz, the editor-in-chief of Iran's Azerbaijani-language Yarpaq newspaper, Said Muganli, told APA.

The MP was given a protest letter from local Azerbaijanis. In addition, an open campaign to gather signatures has been launched in the country, Muganli said.

"A campaign to gather signatures to protest at the opening of a consulate-general of Armenia in Tabriz has been under way for five days. The Iranian authorities have yet to speak out on this issue.

"We believe that the Iranian authorities have to take into account the opinion of millions of Azerbaijanis and not to give permission to opening a consulate-general of Armenia in Tabriz where few Armenians live. This is a wrong move which could result in serious protests from the ethnic Azerbaijani population," the editor said.