[The following statement was issued by a group of students at Amir Kabir (Polytechnic) University in Tehran, protesting an admission of guilt by the Iranian government for downing Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 with a missile on 8 January 2020. The flight was shot down in what one Iranian official called an “unforgivable mistake” and another said was due to “human error in a time of crisis.” This occurred after the 3 January US assassination of IRGC major general Qassem Soleimani in Iraq and the 7 January Iranian attack of the al-Asad airbase in Iraq housing American and Iraqi soldiers.
The statement by the Amir Kabir (Polytechnic) students first appeared on the messaging app Telegram on 11 January 2020. The below translation was prepared by Naveed Mansoori, Golnar Nikpour, and Arash Davari. As we were translating it, another English translation by Farhang Jahanpour appeared on 12 January. We publish our translation and notes in a spirit of circulation and solidarity.]
#Statement by a collective of protesting students present at today’s gathering on the campus of Amir Kabir (Polytechnic) University[1] in Tehran to protest the calamitous downing of a passenger flight by a defense missile.
These days, Iran is drowning in sorrow and grief. We wash away blood with more blood, we pile suffering upon suffering, we wash the corpse of one martyr with the blood of another. It’s as if history has been compressed; one crisis follows another and threats respond to threats. We, the children of Iran, do not see ourselves as separate from the people of the country. Their pain is our pain. The grief that has settled in their hearts weighs heavily on our chests as well. The tragedy reached its peak on Wednesday morning, when only one day after the killing of tens of fellow citizens in Kerman,[2] Iran once again witnessed its children fade into the horizon. We had not yet been given an opportunity to mourn the deaths of the Aban martyrs[3] when we were given yet another reason to grieve.
Today, “evil” flanks us from every shore. While economic policies and political repression suffocate the people, the shadow of war looms over our heads. What has been lost in the current political climate, amidst ongoing threats from military powers, is the voice of the people. A people who, above all, long for freedom and equality. In Aban, they brought the sound of that voice to everyone’s attention in the best manner possible. The events of the past two months have been a clear and complete manifestation of the incompetence of the ruling order in Iran. An order whose sole response to every crisis is repression (sarkub). Today, it is incumbent upon us to target the totality of our oppression (sarkub) whether in the form of a repressive government or an imperialist power.
A politics that neither clings to the coattails of [imperial] arrogance [istikbar] from fear of oppression, nor legitimizes tyranny in the name of anti-imperialism and resistance.
In recent years, the presence of the United States in the Middle East has done nothing but sow chaos and disorder. We have long understood where we stand in relation to this aggressive power. Nonetheless, we also understand that U.S. adventurism in the region cannot be an excuse to justify domestic repression. If these days “national security” is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, the time has come for us to ask what they mean by security, for which groups, classes, and social strata? We are not afraid to cry out, “The security of impoverished, excluded, and deprived Iranians has been pillaged for years!” The economic policies of the past three decades, in conjunction with the rentier class, the wealthy, and the corrupt, have created an enormous number of have-nots and outcasts. The situation is made all the worse by the fact that a corrupt and totally dependent opposition has developed outside of our borders with the aid of the media and financial support of outside powers. Yes, today we are surrounded by evil on all sides.
People of Iran:
The only way out of our current crisis is a return to popular politics.
A politics that neither clings to the coattails of (imperial) arrogance [istikbar] from fear of oppression, nor legitimizes tyranny in the name of anti-imperialism and resistance. Indeed, the only way out of our current predicament is the simultaneous rejection of both domestic despotism and imperial arrogance. We need a politics that doesn’t merely claim security, freedom, and equality for a select group or class, but that understands these rights as inalienable and for all people. Today, the urgent need for social democracy has become clear to all. In such a democracy, the government will not be inattentive to the needs of the people, but will safeguard security, freedom, and equality for all.
We, the children of Iran, extend our condolences to all of the people of our country for the death of hundreds of our fellow citizens in Kerman and in the downing of the plane, and we swear we will not allow their blood to have been spilled in vain. History will never forget the spilled blood of the innocent. History will return with force to take revenge on the oppressor on behalf of the oppressed.
***
[1] The Polytechnic University accepted its first class of students in 1958. It became a hotbed of student activism, across the ideological spectrum, leading up to the 1979 revolution. Abbas Abdi, Junbish Dānishjū‘ī-yi Pulītiknīk-i Tihrān (Dānishgāh-i Amīr Kabīr), 1338-1357 [The Tehran Polytechnic Student Movement (Amir Kabir University), 1960-1979] (London: Nashr-i Nay, 2013), 10-11, 22.
[2] On January 6, 2019, over fifty people were killed in a stampede that took place during the funeral procession of Suleimani. The procession was in Suleimani’s hometown of Kerman.
[3] In December 2019, there were mass uprisings in dozens of counties in Iran in response to the Islamic Republic’s decision to ration fuel and hike its price by fifty percent. The Iranian Hijri calendar begins on the first day of spring. Aban is its eighth month.
***
Social media reactions…
#Iranian students basically say pox on both our houses —@realDonaldTrump and their own government. also don't want 'help' from diaspora opposition. Trust these kids to know what's best for themselves and their country. #Iranprotests https://t.co/X4jXmGbHOD
— Barbara Slavin (@barbaraslavin1) January 13, 2020
On-point when you say, "..what's best for themselves and THEIR country.
The regime change club among the Iranian diaspora, most of whom have not been back since '79 or vacation there once a year, arrogantly/stubbornly believe the country to belong to them. *pinch* It does not. https://t.co/bUNw88Ggdo
— The Iranian (@iraniandotcom) January 13, 2020
Nik,
Even though you have a good command of English language due to your total handicap in common sense department you continue to bury yourself in more pile of it with all your noise.
First it was your racist anti Ashkenazi rants, now it is your name calling of people with different views.
Anyone that disagrees with your extreme bizarre views is called Zionist, clown, oppoeverrtunist etc…. opportunist for what? most of us here pro-war or anti war are 60 years or older American Iranians, we very likely don’t ever go back to Iran to live let alone look for an opportunity there.
One more thing, for your bad luck, personally I find the extremist zealots the biggest problem regardless of their views, I am very well conviced that zealots like you are not any less dangerous to Iran than the zealot orange guy and his allies that you seemigly hate.
His views aren’t bizarre at all. What’s bizarre is that you are over 60 and still don’t have a clue about anything in this world. Who lacks the common sense here? You.
(1) It appears you have a poor grasp of the English language, so allow me to clarify. When someone says, “Ashkenazi Supremacist”, it doesn’t refer to all Ashkenazi heritage people. For a man of your age, you appear to be paranoid and engaged in grandstanding to libel me with false accusations and absurd reductions left and right. Kasi ke shast saalesh’e aghl dar’e…. USUALLY;
(2) Where you are domiciled should be your concern and not another sovereign jurisdiction. As you concede that you are now American, most would consider what you’re doing to defame a knowledgeable Iranian niche anti-war activist to not only be a fifth column agenda, but foreign espionage. Is that what you came to America to do, like Mark Dubowitz?;
(3) Nothing I’ve said has been short of accurate insight and political/historical fact. A man of your “brilliant and unparalleled wisdom” should know that anyone who claims there is no more left to learn is a fool. To avoid that, I would suggest researching a few of the things I said and providing substantive counter-arguments rather than ad-hominem; and,
(4) Since you will now jump into your usual meaningless non-sequitur interrogations as we’ve seen before, I’ll remind you that I am not your age, and someone who typed this entire thing in less than 15 minutes.
You demonstrate the qualities of your generation that is causing an age-based rebellion from generations younger globally against you. Hence, the “Ok, Boomer” phrase trend. Meaning, you just won’t retire and allow fresh minds to stop repeating your mistakes of the past half century.
Rather, you’d like to curse the Iranian youth to suffer the same weaknesses that have led you directly to your path of inequity.
Finally, age does not bring spontaneous wisdom or knowledge. That has to be earned through actual experience. You’re a cheerleader of your nostalgic youth, robbed from you by Henry Kissinger et. al. Well, Henry Kissinger is currently employing the policies that have you cheerleading a redux of old history. He wants to create a weak and passive Iran, to set back its scientific/national progress for another few decades, and so do many others.
You should get your nose out of the book of your own old bizarre theories about the world and realize that Iran is now #6 in nanotechnology in the world. That Israel is most scared about Iran entering its coveted market of medical isotopes and that the United States sees in Iran a versatile PetChem competitor, the top export of America. Also, that Russia sees Iran to its south with overwhelming gas and oil supplies as a versatile competitor as well. That Iran’s Shia influence threatens Saudi Arabia’s Islamic hegemony. And that Iran’s Pan Aryan influential sphere threatens all the Pan-Arabs and Pan-Turkics.
Of course, all of those countries mentioned have citizens and people abroad at least one degree smarter than you. All of them understand the geo-economics and geo-strategy necessary for their country while you are the “genius” working against your own.
Yek mosht olagh’e nar’e chosi jam kardan inja ke be ham’e matalak bezanan, va hich kodoomeshoon taseel karde nistan. Berin be Hudson Institute dobare dorough begin ke “millioon nafar daran Pahlavi ra nega mikonan” vaghti YouTube neveshte faghadr see sad nafar didan che goh’i mikhore. Pahlavi olagh bere yek kar payda bokone aghalan resume besaze bejaaye “Tyrannical Sanctioner from Abroad”.
Nobody accepts you clowns. Get that through your obsolete heads. Fix your sh**holes where you live, as your assassin, Trump, would bleat. You should stop bleating too. This site is not an Iranian government site. 🤡
LOL!!! Sweetheart, you seen very tense. At this rate, you’ll end up having a stroke over the Islamic Republic. Trust me, they don’t care about you as much as you do about them. Life is too short…and so will be the reign of the Islamic Republic. Enjoy life….take it easy….
May I suggest some relaxation methods? Here are some:
The company of a beautiful woman…or a man, whichever you prefer,
A warm, candlelit bath with a glass of red wine (that does it for me every time)….
Put the phone down and go for a nice nature walk. Don’t worry. You can check the WhatsApp messages from Tehran and Nabatiyeh when you return. They can wait….
Try a nice, hot cup of chamomile…
Hope this helps.
Love and kisses.
Nice fantasy you’re weaving there in projection about yourself and your own lack of a social life. Since you can’t argue with my message, you attack the messenger like an amateur and your sh**posting is wack.
There’s nothing funny about the Iranian struggle or the plane downing. I see you take great joy in sanctioning, travel banning, and max pressure terrorizing Iranians while you pretend anyone cares what you say.
Opportunist clown. 🤡
LOL….it’s so easy to get under your skin. So much fun…
But seriously, I’m trying to help you out. Like I said, the Islamic Republic will never love you as much as you love them. In fact, to them, you’re just a disposable useful idiot. Look at your fellow chrik fadaii Abbas Edalat. He used to scream atop his lungs in support of the IRI, you know, the type of screaming that makes the veins in your neck pop…so anyway, he then goes to Iran thinking that the IRI will roll.out the red carpet for him and maybe even give him a topoli mopoli sigheh. But then what happens? He gets locked up and put in the slammer….poor bastard….the great Western Satan then had to intervene and get his sorry rear end out of Evin…
I just don’t want you to be the next Abbas Edalat. You seem at the verge of a stroke anyway, I hate to see you locked up in Evin…
So, do yourself a favor and take my advice. Ciao!
You have a lot of hubris and think you even are a blip on my radar in typical egoistic fashion. 😂
Iranian government propaganda disguised as protesters’ statement. Old propaganda tactic used by dictatorships for a long time. Not even that creative. It’s a shame that this site is spreading Iranian regime’s propaganda.
What are the students saying:
“recent years, the presence of the United States in the Middle East has done nothing but sow chaos and disorder. We have long understood where we stand in relation to this aggressive power. Nonetheless, we also understand that U.S. adventurism in the region cannot be an excuse to justify domestic repression.”
And what is your solution for the Iranian students problems in Iran who are risking their everything to be heard?
Follow Trump’s inhuman policies towards Iranians?
Follow the clown prince? What a joke?
Follow Saudis? Get ready for the dissolution of Iranian territories?
Follow Israelis? Dividing Iran into several smaller states?
Niloufar,
There was a Niloufar Parsi who used to post here and she was very pro IRI to the extent that she arrogantly believed that IRI had enough deterrence in place that these guys will never be able to devastate Iran with sanctions (she basically parroted some ideas without much thinking). She switched to greens and then switched again if I am not mistaken …. she was either politically unstable or she reflected our crazy political times.
She occasionally said this site was infested with anti Iranians.
Are you the same NP but have gone through profound changes?
For those responding to what I said, I never said you were correct conversely nor that you have any seat at the table of deciding Iran’s future. Opportunist clowns. 🙄
LOL! They lost me when they started talking about “Istikbar”….
Fake statement put out by the regime.
The students protesting on the streets made their demands very clear with their own voices. We don’t need a “statement” published on a pro-regime site like iranian.com to tell us what the students want.
You are not Iranian anymore. And if you are, why don’t you work to preserve Iranian rights in your own domicile where they are being trampled on instead of leading a Zionist crusade? The University Statement said they don’t want your interference either.
Everything you do on this side does NOTHING to help them. Everything you do on this side hijacks their voices and makes them more suspicious than they should be!
You all have ulterior motives and Iranians — even University students — are keenly vigilant against you.
The future of Iran belongs to them. I’ll shut the gate with me outside of it too if it’s necessary to allow them the freedom to manifest the justice THEY (NOT YOU) are seeking.
Why do you suddenly think Iran belongs to you when you have no connection to it for half a century? You are vultures.
So, you’re a well known Iranian lawyer who apparently can’t speak a word of Farsi, and apparently has no clients since you’re here 24/7 on every thread leaving lengthy comments.
Yeah…we believe that….
LOL….
How many names did you register to this site just to troll me for like 10 views? 🤣🤡
“When there was no other way, moderation was my weapon.”
Nik,
Unfortunately there were many times that there was other way, and instead of moderation you resorted to extreme views (such as your Ashkenazi conspiracy theories and racism based on your subjective personal experience).
Having said that it is great that you have gone back and talked to yourself, I know many Iranians that are stronger warmonger zealots than Bolton and Pompeo and have not questioned their zealotry for years even when they readily admit that they will not participate in their war of choice.
Majority of these hypocrite Iranian war mongers are Moslems or Moslem born Iranians, some recently defected from IRI (many of the most rabid war mongers are these guys, Bolton likes war, these guys love war) , that is why I kept telling you that your blaming Ashkenazis (or Zionists for that matter) for all the problems makes no sense, your view of lumping all Ashkenazis into extreme right even makes less sense.
Nobody was addressing you and neither did anyone suddenly say you have a clue what you’re talking about.
You constantly put words in my mouth and act like anyone wants to even accept or acknowledge your presence. STFU already please.
Today: Iran president slams removal of candidates from elections
“TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president Wednesday slammed the disqualification of thousands of people, including 90 current lawmakers, from running in upcoming parliamentary elections.
Rouhani said it is not possible to run the country with just one faction in power.
“Do not tell the people that for every seat in parliament, there are 17, 170 or 1,700 candidates running in the election,” he said in a televised speech to the Cabinet. “Seventeen-hundred candidates from how many factions? Seventeen candidates from how many parties? From one party? This is not an election.”
He compared it to a store placing 1,000 copies of the same item on its shelves and telling customers they have a diverse selection to pick from.
“People need diversity,” Rouhani said.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-president-slams-removal-candidates-125125363.html
Update on protests in Iran:
Today for the fourth day in a row university students continued their protests.
As stated in their previous statement (see the comment below, with link to Persian text), they’re planing another street rally for tomorrow, and a march to the national television building on Thursday, with demands for resignation of the so called “Supreme Leader,” Ali Khamenie.
What was amazing and ground braking in today’s demonstration was how our university students were able to basically cover all pertinent political, social issues of Iran and our neighbor in their demands and chants.
Here are some of them:
▪️از ایران تا بغداد، فقر، ستم، استبداد،
▪️از تهران تا بغداد شعار ما انقلاب،
▪️بلوچستان تو آبه، رژیم دستش چماقه،
▪️چه دی باشه چه آبان پیام یکی است انقلاب،
▪️چه دی باشه چه آبان پیکار کف خیابان،
▪️از اهواز تا تهران سرکوب زحمتکشان،
▪️برادر سیلزده، حمایتت میکنیم!
▪️نه رفراندوم، نه اصلاح اعتصاب، انقلاب!
From Iran to Baghdad, poverty, repression, tyranny
From Tehran to Baghdad our slogan is Revolution
Baluchistan is awash, the regime is holding stick
Either in November or January, our message is the same: Revolution
From Ahvaz to Tehran, toilers are repressed
Victims of the flood, we support you.
No referendum, No reform, Strike, Revolution.
Islamic Republic of Hell did its best the send Basiji thugs (cousins of Cyber Basij thugs) into campuses to attack, hit and prevent the protests, but they could not stop the students.
P.S. There’s a major flood in Sistan Baluchistan province, it behooves all Iranians, all Iranian-Americans and all people of good conscience to help these poverty stricken victims of flood by any means they can.
With advance thanks and appreciations.
I support these students in their fight against internal corruption and external foes.
Of course, being a supporter also of a system that has hoisted this corruption and will not allow it be snuffed, subjects me to natural suspicion by *all* parties.
Tyranny and arrogance are insults to God, however. I refuse to be sycophantic and speak of these faults because I am a friend — not an enemy.
When there was no other way, moderation was my weapon. But if doing nothing allows the degradation of our people from all sides, then it’s better to face death courageously. This is a bravery that the internally corrupt and foreign oppressors, who are cowards, do not possess. They hide behind various human and political body shields. The truth will find them even so.
I offer to help those who do not expect me to help them because I believe in God.
As for Iran — Neither East Nor West. They fight to keep wolves away from there, I have fought for 20 years to keep the wolves away from the people here. They exist on all of our sides. Here, there, and everywhere.
It is a mistake to collapse the government on top of the heads of the youth at this geopolitical time. They must be strengthened instead to manifest their justice against the ones making deals with the foreign powers in the East OR in the West to create a hypocritical immune class that is riddled with too many contradictions to last.
Suddenly, if one looks carefully, all Iranians appear to be of one mind. Those guarding corruption OR trying to usurp Iran by exploiting internal reformists should take note, or they will perish.
Statement in Persian by graduates and students of five universities for marches in the next three days.
https://www.tribunezamaneh.com/archives/217856
“A System Failure”: Iran Admits to Downing Airplane, Sparking Renewed Anti-Government Protests
“Democracy Now”