Academic freedom transcends nationality
Sign the petition at http://www.iraansestudenten.nl/en/:
“Ministers Plasterk (Education), and Verhagen (Foreign Affairs) have asked the Dutch Universities to exercise “vigilance”, and “great reservation” in admitting Iranian students. As a result, the University of Twente announced that it would no longer admit Iranians (students and staff members), and the Eindhoven University of Technology tends to consult the General Intelligence and Security Service for an admission clearance, a permission which the Service, in principle, cannot issue.
There are cases known in which the Eindhoven University has denied admission of PhD students, merely because of their nationality. Fortunately, not all universities participate in this madness; The Delft University of Technology and the University of Groningen do not exclude Iranians on a structural basis. This decision stems from resolution 1737 of the UN Security Council, in which the member states are instructed to be cautious with respect to the provision of proliferation sensitive information to Iran. That is, information which could lead to the construction and distribution of nuclear weapons. Although nuclear technology is taught at Dutch universities, the elementary knowledge that an Iranian student can acquire during his or her study is of no value for the Iranian nuclear program. This knowledge, in fact, consists of publicly accessible information, which can be found in the average textbooks and on the internet. The fundamental issue here should be knowledge and information pertaining to the destructive aspects of nuclear technology. We find it well-advised to protect this sensitive information adequately in the Netherlands, instead of insinuating Iranians. After all, potential hazards that can originate from such type of information are not constrained to one nationality.
We find the decision by the Dutch government stigmatizing and discriminating for the Iranian people. In a constitutional state, one remains innocent until proven guilty; exclusion of an entire nation is in sharp contrast to this principle. Furthermore, we are concerned about the negative consequences of this decision for the approximately 28.000 Iranian Dutch citizens, many of whom study, conduct research, and work at the universities and other academic institutes. We call upon the Dutch government, particularly Minister Plasterk, to reconsider this decision, so that categorical exclusion of Iranian students and academics will no longer be applied, and that academic freedom will remain preserved.”
