Student associations call on Iran’s president to step down

Washington, 12 May (WashingtonTV)—Fifty-four Islamic student societies of universities throughout the country issued a statement yesterday, criticizing the performance of the principle-ist-dominated ninth government in the past four years for being “negative and impossible to defend”, and emphasizing that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must step down.

The student groups began their statement by saying: “Our historical memory tells us that never in the history of post-revolution Iran has the country stood on the dangerous brink of [various] crises as it does now; never have national interests faced being damaged thus; never have our national glory and pride or the magnanimity of Iranians been so injured in the world, as a result of the adventurism of our ruling politicians.”

Stressing that “now is the time to demonstrate unwavering resolve,” the students labeled the ninth [current] government’s record “negative and indefensible” and said that “the continued life of this government will result in a more worrisome outlook for the interests of the nation,” the Akhbar-e Rooz News and Analysis website reports.

With regard to the government’s policies toward universities, they found these institutions to have borne “the most formidable blows and the most pressures from the government.”

Among their grievances, they also listed: “calling students to appear before the disciplinary committees; issuing heavy rulings which deprive students of education; barring dissenting students from entering university; the lapse of academic freedoms via the dismissal of dissenting professors; preventing and suspending the activities of independent student organizations, and the arrest and torture of many students who are critical of the government.”

Regarding the government’s record on socio-political associations, these students said: “the government, whose motto was the creation of a 70 million-member cabinet, engaged in widespread, organized and relentless crackdown on civil society.”

The letter cited the following as examples of government violations of civil rights: “the near-total closure of publications; constant threats against the [remaining] few independent newspapers; direct and unprecedented interference in the management method of non-governmental publications; severe censorship of books, the arts and Internet filtering; crackdown on social movements, such as the women’s movement, and ethnic, labor and teachers movements; heavily confronting or attacking peaceful rallies and the arrest, torture and pursuit of civil society activists; highly antagonistic   confrontation with Turkish and Kurdish activists and even [Sufi] dervishes and creating fear in society with the excuse of confronting hooligans.”

Turning their attention to the economy, the students then criticized the government for its handling of the economy and held the government responsible for the rise in inflation, unemployment and poverty, in addition to the “collapse” of the monetary and banking system and the business environment as well as “spreading a culture of beggar-nurturing and alms-giving.”

In the foreign policy arena, the students criticized the government for “defacing the pacifist image of the Iranian people and squandering the country’s interests through Ahmadinejad’s thoughtless statements.”

The Islamic associations went on to warn in their letter that the continued presence of Ahmadinejad and military personnel in the executive branch will lead to “the silence of social movements and disorganized street riots as a result of rage and suffering.”

Ahmadinejad’s re-election would also leave the people unable to meet their basic needs and drive many members of the younger generation toward addiction to narcotics, the students said, adding: “In order to stop the current trend, we shout out loudly that Ahmadinejad must go.”

Source: Akhbar-e Rooz website

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(Original article written in Persian.)