NCRI – Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, lauded once again the Sahand University students in Tabriz, provincial capital of Eastern Azerbaijan, in their second week of strikes and protests. She called on students and youths across the country, especially those in Azerbaijan province, to join in solidarity with Sahand University students.
She called on human rights organizations and student unions to support the demands of striking students and to condemn crackdown on university students and the regime's anti-student policies.
Mrs. Rajavi added that protests and strikes in universities throughout the country which follow one after the other as well as the ongoing protests and strikes by women, teachers, workers and other parts of the society, especially under the absolute subjugation and the most brutal and systematic suppression, point to the people's just demand and their determination to bring about change and establish democracy and people's rule. In these circumstances, she reiterated that nothing justifies trade and relations with such an illegitimate and medieval regime.
In their seventh consecutive day of protests within the Sahand University complex, the students chanted: "We are enraged by you the agents of suppression, we are fighters, men and women, Fight us and we will fight," "We stand and sing, we will fight to death" and "Movement will go on even under barrage of bullets and conspiracies." A banner which hangs from atop the main school's entrance reads: "Welcome to students' slaughter house."
Thirty-four students including a number of female students are on hunger strike, 18 of whom have been transferred to hospital. The state of one female student is reported critical. Students refused a request for talks with the head of the university security saying that they would not talk with suppressive institutions.
By holding demonstrations, many students from universities and colleges have declared their solidarity with Sahand University students in recent days which include those in Sistan & Baluchistan, Zanjan and Mazandaran provinces.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
April 30, 2008
