Allame Tabatabai Students: No to War, No to Sanctions, No to Authoritarianism

A group of students from Allame Tabatabai University protested against war and foreign sanctions in a gathering. The students also warned “domestic rulers” not to gamble with people’s daily lives and livelihoods.

The gathering of Allame Tabatabai University students took place on Sunday, the fifth of Khordad (May 26) in front of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the university. According to a report published in the Telegram channel of the Faculty of Social Sciences students, the gathering began with students singing a primary school song. They then circled the courtyard of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the statement of the gathering was read at the end.

On placards held by students were written: “No to war, no to sanctions, no to authoritarianism / Unjust blockade must be broken / Sanctions policy is inhumane / Poverty and misery are the result of sanctions policy / National security without freedom and justice is meaningless”

Some of the students’ chants were as follows: “We want neither war nor batons, only submission to the people / The student must be politically free / The student dies, accepts no humiliation / No to war, no to sanctions, no to authoritarianism”

In a statement read at the end of the gathering, it stated: “These days we hear disturbing news from every direction. While severe economic sanctions have disrupted people’s lives, one group beats the drum of war and another demands increased pressure from sanctions. This is while in recent years our ears have been deafened by the chest-beating of powers and our voice is not heard either.”

The statement then adds: “We want to raise our voice again in the midst of this false duality and falsehood: No to war, no to sanctions, no to authoritarianism”

The audience is not only foreign authoritarians

Allame students continue in their statement: “The audience of our cry ‘No to war and no to sanctions’ is not only foreign authoritarians! We also warn domestic rulers that you have no right to gamble with people’s daily lives and livelihoods! You have no right to sacrifice the public interests of the people at the feet of risky policies! When and through what mechanisms have you submitted these policies to the public opinion of the people?”

The statement continues: “Foreign interference has become a compounded excuse for silencing the voices of domestic critics and protesters. Today there are many who, under the guise of these external threats, turn a blind eye to authoritarianism at home and have become justifiers of the status quo.”

The students added: “We firmly emphasize that ‘No to war and no to sanctions’ is only legitimate when accompanied by ‘No to authoritarianism’. In fact, both parts of this slogan are impossible without consideration of the other part. We believe the legitimate solution is the continuation of domestic criticism and struggles while saying no to foreign interference, and we believe that any approach based on imposing greater suffering on people is wrong, regardless of intention.”

The authors of the statement then addressed the “opposition” outside the country and wrote: “The opposition that encourages war and sanctions should know that as long as it is indifferent to the suffering and hardship of people’s lives and turns a blind eye to their liberation from the path of poverty and misery, it creates no meaningful distance from the ruling body and, in our view, is part of the destruction of the current situation. It is necessary for them to understand that public dissatisfaction with the current situation will create no prestige or honor for the inhumane method they have chosen in politics.”

Which “security” are the rulers talking about?

The students then addressed Iran’s rulers, challenging their notion of “security” and asking: “When we say security, which security are we talking about?”

“How can we speak of security when we witness daily arrests, detentions, and imprisonment of critics and protesters against the current situation? Over the past decades, the conduct of the rulers for unanimity and elimination and suppression of diverse voices has resulted in the university becoming a barracks today where the slightest movement is suppressed! Worker protests and strikes are severely suppressed and labor activists and teachers are imprisoned. Almost a month has passed, yet several people from the May Day gatherings remain in detention, two of whom are journalists. For years, the demands of religious minorities have been answered with severe judicial sentences, dervishes are imprisoned, environmental activists have been in ‘temporary detention’ for over a year! Nearly nine years have passed in house arrest, coolies are shot for trying to make a living, Afghan migrants, an exploited and cheap labor force for work and construction over all these years are threatened with expulsion, and peaceful and civil protests against mandatory hijab face severe prison sentences.”

The statement continues: “Today 90 percent of the labor force in Iran is temporary. As a result of the ruling system’s policies, corruption and systematic discrimination have become institutionalized, and poverty and unemployment have increased severely. Today nearly 19 million people are urban fringe dwellers who are deprived of even the most basic welfare facilities.”

The students say this situation “is not solely caused by sanctions. Although sanctions are also effective and aggravate the situation, that is not the whole story. This situation is the result of policies that must be resisted. Sanctions and external pressure occur while people inside also face a savage attack on their daily lives and are losing all their educational, health, and welfare facilities one by one.”

At the end of the statement, the students wrote: “We find ourselves caught between bullies from both inside and outside, and we do not want to bow our heads to any of them. We hope this gathering will be an excuse for the voices of the voiceless to be heard! For the message to reach those who feel alienated in the current political dichotomies and want to point out a different way and concern. A path that begins with simultaneously saying no to war, sanctions, and authoritarianism.”

Source: DW