LET 16
AZAR BECOME A DAY OF FESTIVAL FOR STUDENTS!
In line
with the instructions of Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad and owing to the Harasat pressure at
universities that is intensified by the Protection and
Security Department, many South Azerbaijani students were
not registered during the registration period which started
following the university entrance exams held recently, and
what’s more, some of the South Azerbaijani and reformist
lecturers were discharged.
The above-mentioned
practices of the Iranian regime against South Azerbaijanis
and the mass having a reformist understanding were seen not
only at universities but also at high schools in early
November. Within this framework, the children of the South
Azerbaijani families, identified to have previously
participated in protest demonstrations, are not registered
to high schools and their equivalences.
With regard
to this application which is perceived within the society as
a “policy to suppress and exhaust the Azerbaijanis”, the
South Azerbaijani students who were not registered to
universities sent numerous letters of complaint to the
Iranian Ministry of National Education on November 02, 2006.
However, the declarations made by the Iranian authorities in
relation to these letters involved statements aimed at
gaining time, indicating that the mentioned situation was
temporary. Nevertheless, these declarations did not satisfy
the students and their families.
Due to the
dismissal of the lecturers with reformist views after the
appointment of the President, the increased pressure imposed
by the university administrations especially on the students
with reformist views and the resulting expel of many
students from schools, the focus on religious education
rather than scientific education at universities, and the
inefficient quality of the education provided at
universities; the complaints suggesting that the expected
success has not been achieved at the international level as
well as the demands for the solution of problems have
remained on the agenda.
Meanwhile,
we deem it quite beneficial to remember the events that took
place following the arrest of Yashar Qacar who is the
Islamic Secretary General of the Committee of the Amir Kabir
University, Abid Tavence who is a member of the Islamic
Central Board of the Committee of the same university, and
Human Kazemyan who is a student at the University of Tehran.
As a matter of fact, during the sitting protest held by the
students of the Ferdowsi University in Mashad in last May-June
in an attempt to support the students of the University of
Tehran and to protest the police intervention in the
campuses in Tehran and the creation of an atmosphere of
martial law at universities, placards were opened bearing
the statements “Universities are not the places to bring in
RPGs”, “There is nothing to lose on the way to freedom other
than our chains”, and “Students may die but do not give up
their honor”; however, these statements have unfortunately
not been taken as a “warning” by the leadership. Also the
statements, which were included in a leaflet distributed by
the same group, expressed that “students had no connection
with any movement; the demands raised were intertwined with
the needs of the society; in fact, the pressure on students
were increasing day by day and severe interventions were
made; the freedom of publication was restricted; and the
only aim of all these practices was to suppress the student
movement and to put the universities under state control;
but student activities would continue despite intensive
censorship and pressure”; however, these statements were not
enough to make the Ahmadinejad Leadership give up the wrong
way; on the contrary, such illegal practices continued.
Now, the
Leadership has a few days to make “calculations regarding
the past” until 16 Azar. In fact, the Iraqi people, who were
frightened by the pressure imposed on students and
universities for years and who until now abstained from
coming together with students, woke up. The people, who
recognized that their students had “opened the way to self-determination”,
will from now on protect the students. For this reason, it
is time for the Ahmadinejad Government to become aware of
the facts and listen to the reasonable demands of all the
students, particularly the Tahkim Vahdat Student’s Union,
instead of taking strict measures by classifying this group,
to which we will hand over our future, as “Regime Opponent”,
“Reformist”, “South Azerbaijani”, etc. This historical
period which our country is going through makes it necessary
to produce and apply clever policies.
We, as the
page of Our South Azerbaijan, hope that 16 Azaar will be the
day of reconciliation between the leadership and students,
and reiterate that this day must be lived as if it is a day
of festival…
