Kian Tajbakhsh, is a graduate of University College of London. He obtained his Masters from UCL in 1984. Kian was recently sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the revolutionary court in Iran. So you would think that the University College of London would be at the forefront of an active campaign to release Kian, but what is happening at UCL on Thursday, 11th Feb, the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran?
UCL is holding an event http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=289701331890&ref=nf which will host of all people, Press TV's Yvonne Ridley and Professor Mohammad Marandi, the same professor who was a reformist while Khatami was the president and is now an ardent Ahmadinejad supporter - noon be nerkhe rooz khor as they refer to him in Persian, i.e. someone who always tries to endear himself to whoever is in power. The US educated professor Marandi also approves of the execution of teenagers in Iran and lies through his teeth on his television interviews.
At a time when so many of Iran's students have either been shot dead in recent protests, sentenced to long term prison sentences or have been banned from further education for expressing their opinions, it is absolutely and utterly sick of UCL student union to allow this to go ahead. A real below the belt blow to the pro-democracy movement in Iran. Imagine if after the Soweto uprising, a pro-apartheid group hosted a meeting at a British university inviting pro-Apartheid speaking people, would it have gone ahead? It seems its only Iranian blood which does not stir passions with UK's students.
10 comments:
Thanks for this Potkin jan, I have also covered it on my blog and it has been posted on Harry's Place. Shame on UCLSU.
Arash
The British are so worried about offending "Islam" that they will gladly stand by and watch child executions. They don't care about Iran or its people. Their right wing cares only about the oil. Their left wing is more worried about being Politically Correct than lives.
This is troubling indeed.
Marandi is the regime's obfuscater-in-chief, if you ask me. What he does is not to openly support the worst of the IRI's actions, but rather to turn the most factually and morally obvious situations into these muddled scenarios in order to distract and confuse Western audiences unfamiliar with the internal dynamics of Iranian politics.
"We don't know what happened... the investigation is still going on and we have to let it take its course... it sounds like some members of the reformist camp are drawing closer to the establishment, but we can't be sure..."
That's his basic strategy.
e-mail UCL's student Union Reps:
Grace
cs.officer@ucl.ac.uk
And Andrew
fd.offcier@ucl.ac.uk
to complain about this event being allowed to take place
The Events Manager for UCL student union is
mark.r.williams@ucl.ac.uk
I've emailed with my feelings about the upcoming event
Well I'm not a UK student Potkin, but I'm a born and breed 49 year old Englishman, and it certainly gets my goat up when I see Iranian blood being spilt in their courageous protest for justice, liberty, equality and a true democratic freedom. I'm all for Free speech, but shame on any UK body pandering so much to political correctness, that it gives any branch of tyranny a vote of apparent sympathy.
I am currently researching a phd at UCL and have been most distrubed by this, considering there is an extremely large iranian community in the university who opose the government and its cruel regime. I would like everyone to know that the Iranians at UCL have not been invited to this but the arabs and other Islamic students.
It is such a shame and I will definately make my voice heard. It was never an Iranian revolution that khomeini created, becasue he wasnt Iranian, why cant people see this. He was never one of us..
These people don't care about Democracy and Human Rights. They think that by inviting these people, they are somehow opening up some king of "open-minded".
UCL always allow radical Imams to giver sermons, but bar Jewish leaders to give speeches because it will offend muslims. Abdulmutallab, the christmas bomber was radicalized at UCL.
this might seems relevant:
http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/25357/iran%E2%80%99s-man-in-washington/
Potkin, greetings from your friends in USA. We used to join you outside the Iranian embassy when we could. We miss the UK green movement and are glad to see you are still going strong and will never stop. Wish there was more we could do from here. We will keep supporting and watching the UK green movement and wishing for peace, human rights, and democracy in Iran. (you can keep this post to yourself if you like!)
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