Azerbaijan: Treatment of Tatars; state protection

The number of ethnic Tatars in Azerbaijan is estimated to be approximately 30,000 or 0.4 per cent of Azerbaijan's population (Ayna 16 Mar. 2001; Ekspress12 July 2001). Several reports mention Tatar social organizations (Azerbaijan 25 July 2002; Zerkalo 9 Aug. 2001), including "Crimea," the Society of Crimean Tatars, headed by Elmaz Ramazanova (Group on National Minorities 19 Feb. 1999), and the Yahslek Centre of Tatar Youth in Baku (Yashlek n.d.; NAYORA Nov. 2000).

Information concerning the treatment of ethnic Tatars in Azerbaijan was not found among the sources consulted for this Response. One incident that Tatar organizations were moved to appeal to the Azerbaijan government concerned a request from Crimean Tatars in Ukraine for the release of an ethnic Tatar arrested in Baku on suspicion he was cooperating with an Islamic organization (525 Qazet 17 Jan. 2002; Azerbaijan 17 Jan. 2002). The Research Directorate was unable to find reports of the government's response to the request by the Tatar organization or of the arrested individual's fate among the sources consulted.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

525 Qazet [Baku, in Azeri]. 17 January 2002. "Ukrainian Tatars Ask Azeris to Release Compatriot Arrested on Terrorism Charges." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 17 Jan. 2002/NEXIS)

Ayna [Baku, in Azeri]. 16 March 2001. I. Umudlu. "Azeri Paper Publishes Report on Country's Ethnic Composition." (BBC Worldwide Monitoring 22 Mar. 2001/NEXIS)

Azerbaijan: A Weekly Analytical - Information Bulletin. 25 July 2002. No. 30 (332). "The Leader of the Crimean Tatars Was Decorated with Elchibey's Order." (Azerbaijan Daily Digest 25 July 2002/Eurasianet.org) [Accessed 13 Jan. 2003]

_____. 17 January 2002. No. 3 (305). "Crimean Tatars Want Releasing Their Compatriot Arrested in Baku." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2003]

Ekspress [Baku, in Azeri]. 12 July 2001. Hasan Agacan. "Azeri Paper Gives Breakdown of Country's Population." (BBC Monitoring 12 July 2001/MINELRES) [Accessed 13 Jan. 2003]

Group on National Minorities. 19 February 1999. Nadir Kamaldinov. "Minority NGOs Meeting." (MINELRES List Serve) [Accessed 13 Jan. 2003]

National Assembly of Youth Organizations of the Azerbaijan Republic (NAYORA). November 2000. "National Assembly of Youth Organizations of the Azerbaijan Republic." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2003]

Yashlek Centre of Tatar Youth of Azerbaijan. n.d. "Centre of Tatars Youth of Azerbaijan." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2003]

Zerkalo [Baku, in Russian]. 9 August 2001. "Azerbaijan: Representatives of Ethnic Minorities Sign Karabakh Charter." (FBIS-SOV-2001-0809 9 Aug. 2001/WNC)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

Azerbaijan Monitor

Baku Pages

CIA World Factbook 2002

Country Reports 2001

Crimean Tatar Internet Resources

Crimean Tatar Organizations

Danish Refugee Council's Report on its Mission to Azerbaijan. (2002)

Mamedov, Aliaga. "Aspects of the Contemporary Ethnic Situation in Azerbaijan." In Caucasus and Central Asian Journal Vol. 1 (2000).

MINELRES

Minorities at Risk

Minorities in Azerbaijan Nos. 1-5

OSCE

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

The Red Book of Peoples of the Russian Empire

Search Europe

Tatar Gazette

Tatar-L Listserve

Turkistan-Newsletter Archive