The children of Adam are made ​​from a substance,

conceived as members of a womb of creation.

Once an injury happens only one of these links,

then his pain sounds immediately reflected in them all.

A person who comes to the plight of the people not brothers,

does not deserve that, he still leads the human name.

– Sa’adi (1210 – 1290)

If we speak out against the threat of violence from outside of Iran (the nuclear conflict) and warn against an air attack, we can not remain silent in the use of force in Iran, even against their own civil society. For the solidarity with civil society and peace in the region constitute the main objective of our effort. If we condemn the sanctions against the Iranian people from abroad, we condemn all the more domestic sanctions against peaceful demonstrators, journalists, trade unionists, professors, students, etc. This is beyond the government and its own domestic base against the foreign threat.

We want not only individually but also as a group of dedicated scientists of our strong protest against the brutal suppression of demonstrations and mass arrests against the manifest and peaceful dialogue with civil society urge. We urge the Iranian government to release all political prisoners in recent weeks, including all of the professors, and even with these qualify as moderators of the Civil Society Forum. Freedom of expression and right to protest – the cornerstone of Iran also signed the UN Charter of Human Rights – are now massively violated in Iran.

We recall that the built-up against Iran and the siege continued threat of force once again lead to a fatal way just how much by the scope for democratic development will be curtailed.

At the same time we oppose the unobjective and monopolizing representation of recent events in Iran in several German and international media. As a supporter of the Iranian civil society, we want to emphasize the genuine nature of the protests of the Iranian democracy movement. The protesters, who put together from all walks of life set, up for free elections and free speech.

On the other hand, produced some surprise, that even those who campaigned for crippling sanctions and preemptive war against Iran, by which civil society would have had to suffer, suddenly talking about solidarity with the Iranian people. You will only be convincing if you used even against the sanctions and threats of violence and for peaceful dialogue in the region.

Signees:

 

First Dr. Behrooz Abdolvand, Free University Berlin & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII (Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran)

Second Professor Gilbert Achcar, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

Third Dr. Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

4th Dipl.-Ing. Ahgary Ahmad, a founder member of the Association of Iranian scientists and engineers (Vini) in the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin

5th Prof. Dr. Mohammad Ala, Persian Gulf and Iran Heritage Task Force

6th Tariq Ali, author, London

7th Dr. Katajun Amirpur, Jesuit School of Philosophy in Munich

8th Dr. Matin Baraki, University of Marburg & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

9th Angelika Beer, MEP and former ex-president of the Iranian delegation of the European Parliament

10th Reiner Braun, lawyers against nuclear weapons (IALANA) & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

11th Prof. Dr. Dr. hc Hans-Peter Dürr, Alternative Nobel Laureate 1987 & Patron Munich International Peace Conference

12th Prof. Hamid Dabashi, Columbia University, New York

13th Professor Abbas Edalat, Imperial College London & Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)

14th Ali Fathollah-Nejad, University of Muenster & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

15th Prof. Dr. Sasan Fayazmanesh, California State University, Fresno

16th Prof. Dr. Ali Gorji, University of Muenster

17th Prof. Dr. Kai Hafez University of Erfurt

18th Homeira Heidary, head of the “Panorama Hindu Kush” festival, Cologne Film House

19th Foaad Khosmood, University of California, Santa Cruz & CASMII International Steering Committee

20th Prof. Dr. Mohsen Massarrat, University of Osnabrück & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

21st Naz Massoumi, Campaign Iran, London

22nd Prof. Dr. Georg Meggle, University of Leipzig

23rd Prof. Pirouz Mojtahed-Zadeh, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran & Urosevic Research Foundation, London

24th Daniel M. Pourkesali, U.S. Campaign Against Sanctions and CEO of Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII)

25th Prof. Dr. Ahad Rahmanzadeh, University of Bonn and Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

26th Sanaz Raji, University of Leeds & London School of Economics and Political Science

27th Päd Jürgen Rose, lieutenant colonel of the Bundeswehr, Munich

28th Prof. Dr. Werner Ruf, University of Kassel & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

29th Tobias Pflüger, ex-MEP (Left) & Chief Information Agency on Militarisation (IMI) eV, Tübingen

30th Dr. Nader Sadeghi, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DC

31st Prof. Dr. Muhammad Sahimi, University of Southern California, Los Angeles

32nd Dr. Sabine Schiffer, founder and director of the Institute for Media Responsibility (IDF), Erlangen

33rd Dr. Yvonne Schmidt, University of Graz & Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

34th Miriam Shabafrouz, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg

35th Ali Shakeri, a board member of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, University of California, Irvine

36th Siba Shakib, author and movie producer

37th Professor Albert Stahel, Zurich University and Scientific Advisory Board of CASMII

38th Dr. Rainer Werning, a political scientist and journalist, Frechen

39th Kaveh Yazdani, University of Osnabrück

40th Azadeh Zamirirad, University of Potsdam

 

SOURCE

The statement was signed by the German daily newspaper Junge Welt (08./09.08.2009, p 8) and New Germany (published 06.08.2009, p 2, in part) as well as online at ZNet Germany in (07/08/2009) Magazine the life of the house Swabian Alb (09.08.2009) and the Palestine-portal (13/08/2009).

The English translation was published in Monthly Review Webzine (05.08.2009), ZNet (07/08/2009), Informed Comment (08.08.2009), PULSE (09.08.2009), Payvand Iran News (09/08/2009), Revista Amauta ( 14.08.2009), Iranian.com (14/08/2009), Campaign Iran (15/08/2009) and was an excerpt in The Arabist (08.08.2009) documents as well as on the blog of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), niacINsight (09.08 .2009), linked.

Last updated list of signatories: 14 August 2009.

SOURCE

The statement apeared on Monthly Review Webzine (08.05.2009), ZNet (07.08.2009), Informed Comment (08/08/2009), PULSE (09/08/2009), Payvand Iran News (09/08 / 2009), as documented extract on The Arabist (08/08/2009) and linked at the blog of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), niacINsight (09/08/2009).

The German original statement was published by the German dailies young world (08-09/08/2009, p. 8) and New Germany (06/08/2009, p. 2, excerpts), and online at ZNet Germany (07 / 08/2009), The Palestine Portal (08.13.2009) and the online magazine of the home life Swabian Alb (09/08/2009).

Last update of the list of signatures: 14 August 2009.