Yesterday, around one milion Azerbaijani Turks of the city of Urmia held a massive rally-protest to defend the identity and territorial integrity of South Azerbaijan.
The purpose of the action was to protest some kurds’ baseless territorial claims against Urmia and some parts of the West Azerbaijan Province.
The southerners chanted slogans such as “Let Azerbaijan exist, let those who do not want it be blind!”, “Urmu won’t be Kurdistan, there will be no share from this land!”, “Azerbaijan is our homeland, Urmia is our Graywolf”, ” URMIA IS TURKIC AND WILL ALWAYS BE TURKIC” and others. Security forces intervened with water cannons and dozens were detained during or after the rally.

During the pre-holiday ceremonies, especially on March 18, over 5 000 kurdish PKK, PYG, YPG and Pejak members and supporters with the permission of the occupying regime of Iran and its notorious intelligence agency-Ettelaat organized a political demonstration under disguise of “Nowruz celebration” and made territorial claims againts Azerbaijani lands, including Urmia. A large number of Kurdish immigrants who joined the ceremony in their national costumes and guests brought to Urmia from other cities chanted slogans such as “Urmia is Kurdistan” and raised the flags of “Greater Kurdistan”, while local government agencies did not allow Azerbaijani Turks to hold a Wednesday ceremony in Urmia, but they had officially allowed the kurds to hold a similar ceremony.

There is a Kurdish minority in Urmia and some other parts of the West Azerbaijan province most of whom are refugees who escaped Saddam Husain’s persecution and the Gulf wars. The local Turks welcomed them with open arms; however, now some kurds make baseless land claims againt their Turkic hosts.  

Click the link below for the footage!