Students Gather at Amirkabir University to Protest Crackdown and ‘Military Rule’

A group of students from Amirkabir University held a rally against the suppression of protesters, deception, and the militarization of society. The demonstrators also called for the release of several imprisoned students, including Bahareh Hedayat.

“Don’t call me a sedition-monger, you are the oppressor,” “No threats, no crackdown, this is the voice of the people,” “November, December, and June—remember the Supreme Leader and oppression,” “Sepah, Sepah, you are our killer,” and….

These were some of the slogans chanted by a number of Amirkabir University students at their rally on Sunday, February 16, 2020, in the university campus.

Some of the slogans repeated those from recent protest events, while others recalled the violent actions of security and military forces and the bloody suppression of protesters during these incidents.

“1,500 dead in November”—one of the slogans—referred to the victims of widespread protest movements in November of this year. Government officials have so far refrained from announcing the death toll of these protest movements, but some sources estimate the number at up to 1,500 people.

During Sunday’s protest rally, slogans were also heard specifically referencing the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 near Tehran airport and the cover-up and contradictions by Islamic Republic officials regarding it.

The Ukrainian plane was targeted and shot down on the morning of January 8, and all 176 passengers were killed. After three days of cover-up and contradictions, Islamic Republic officials finally admitted on January 11 that two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense missiles had hit the Ukrainian aircraft, calling it a “human error.”

According to videos circulated on social media, one of the slogans by the protesting Amirkabir University students regarding this incident was: “You are the human error, you are the secret shooting.”

“You Made a Mistake”

“You made a mistake” was another slogan that recalled remarks by Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in July 1991, on the third anniversary of a similar incident in which an Iranian civilian airliner over the Persian Gulf was “accidentally” targeted by a missile attack from a U.S. Navy warship.

In that speech, a clip of which was reshared on social media after the Ukrainian plane was shot down, Khamenei addressed the Americans who had admitted their mistake in downing the Iranian plane, saying: “You made a mistake, you made an error. What does making an error mean?”

“No to Military Rule, Boycott the Elections”

A number of slogans from the demonstrators at Amirkabir University campus expressed protest against the suppression of protesters and dissidents by the Revolutionary Guards and Basij forces and concern about the increasing militarization of power: “No to monuments, no to institutions, hail to the university,” “Military rule, we don’t want it, we don’t want it.”

Among the slogans chanted by Sunday’s demonstrators at Amirkabir University were several also related to the latest political developments in Iran, the eleventh parliamentary elections scheduled for February 21, and support for those boycotting them: “People are struggling with poverty, while they think about votes,” “No ballot box, no votes, boycott the elections.”

Suppression of Student Activists and the Arrest of Bahareh Hedayat

Calls for the release of Bahareh Hedayat, an imprisoned student and political activist, were also heard at the Amirkabir University student rally. Ms. Hedayat, who has been arrested multiple times, was released in September 2016 after seven years in prison and was recently arrested again.

The Organization of Islamic Republic Alumni (Organization for Promoting Unity) of which Bahareh Hedayat is a prominent and long-standing member strongly condemned her arrest in a statement, describing it as part of a “dangerous process” of preventing activists and civil institutions from participating in political life.

The statement emphasized: “As long as the boundaries of legal and civil activity of parties, groups, and political activists are not removed, and disqualification, arrest, threats, and intimidation remain tools for eliminating individuals and groups, and a return to a calm society does not occur, no action, whether elections or mandatory street or media queuing, will be able to restore stability, security, and peace to the country in any regard.”

Criticizing the government of Hassan Rouhani and the Ministry of Science, which according to the organization has, contrary to its promises to protect civil rights, created conditions for illegal treatment of student and political activists, the organization demanded the unconditional release of Bahareh Hedayat.

Source: DW