In a joint letter to the President of the European Council, 50 nobel Laureates expressed their support for the ongoing nationwide uprising in Iran, which began six months ago and seeks to establish a democratic and free republic. The Iranian people have remained steadfast in their quest for freedom and democracy despite brutal repression by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with at least 750 people killed, including 70 children, and more than 30,000 arrested. The Laureates called for concrete steps to be taken by human rights advocates to support the Iranian people’s just resistance, including the blacklisting of IRGC by the European Union and support for the United Nations fact-finding mission in Iran. The statement also highlights the endorsement of Iranian opposition president-elect Mrs. Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point platform for a secular and non-nuclear democratic republic by representatives of the UK House of Commons and House of Lords, as well as a resolution by the US House of Representatives recognizing the Iranian people’s right to establish such a republic.
Below is the full text of this statement.
Mr. President,
For six months now, the Iranian people have been leading a nationwide uprising for a democratically elected republic. Despite facing a brutal crackdown by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and heavy human casualties – with 750 killed, including at least 70 children, and more than 30,000 arrests – the brave young men and women of Iran have persevered in their quest for democracy, inspiring awe and admiration from people around the world.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is the main tool of war, repression, terrorism, and warmongering, which is why the people of Iran want it to be blacklisted by the civilized world, especially the European Union. On January 19, 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the designation of IRGC as a terrorist organization.
The Iranian people’s unwavering determination to achieve their long-denied freedoms, despite the heavy costs, makes it imperative for human rights advocates to take concrete steps to support the Iranian people and their just resistance.
Forty-four years ago, millions of Iranian people rejected the despotic rule of the Shah and its brutal secret police (SAVAK) due to its crimes and torturing people by participating in mass demonstrations. Today, During the ongoing nationwide protests, they chant, “No to Monarchy, No to Theocracy! Yes to Democracy, Equality”.
Maryam Rajavi’s 10-point platform for a secular and non-nuclear democratic republic, already supported by the signatories of this statement, was endorsed by 250 representatives of the UK House of Commons and the House of Lords in February 2023.
The absolute majority of members of the US House of Representatives (225 members) also sponsored a resolution (H.Res. 100) in March 2023, which recognizes the right of the Iranian people to establish a secular and non-nuclear democratic republic and the 10-point platform, which calls for universal suffrage, free elections, a market economy, independent judiciary, gender, religious, and ethnic equality, a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, and a non-nuclear Iran.
The blacklisting of IRGC by the European Union and the support of the United Nations fact-finding mission in Iran are essential. Let us stand with the brave people of Iran in their pursuit of freedom and democracy and a real change in their life.
Sincerely,
Signatories:
- President José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste, 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Timor-Leste
- President Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia (2010 to 2018), 2016 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Colombia
- Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Costa Rica
- Oleksandra Matviichuk, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ukraine
- Professor Sir Richard J. Roberts, 1993 Nobel prize winner in Medicine, UK-USA
- Professor John C. Mather, 2006 Nobel prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor Svetlana Alexievich, 2015 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Belarus
- Professor Harvey J Alter, 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, USA
- Professor Robert Aumann, 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, America-Israel
- Professor Barry Barish, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor Georg Bednorz, 1987 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Germany
- Professor Elias Corey, 1990 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Thomas Cech, 1989 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Jacques Dubochet, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Switzerland
- Professor Gerhard Ertl, 2007 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Germany
- Professor Joachim Frank, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Jerome Friedman, 1990 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor Sheldon Glashow, 1979 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor John Lewis Hall, 2005 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor Oliver Hart, 2016 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, USA
- Professor Alan Heeger, 2000 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Richard Henderson, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, UK
- Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, UK-Japan
- Professor Elfriede Jelinek, 2004 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Austria
- Professor Brian Kobilka, 2012 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Roger Kornberg, 2006 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Finn Kydland, 2004 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, Norway
- Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, 1987 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, France
- Professor Eric Maskin, 2007 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, USA
- Professor John Maxwell Coetzee, 2003 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, South Africa
- Professor Michel Mayor, 2019 Nobel prize winner in Physics, Switzerland
- Professor Patrick Modiano, 2014 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, France
- Professor Paul Modric, 2015 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor May-Britt Moser, 2014 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, Norway
- Professor Edvard Moser, 2014 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, Norway
- Professor Herta Muller, 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Germany
- Professor Orhan Pamuk, 2006 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Turkey
- Professor Paul Milgrom, 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, USA
- Professor John Polanyi, 1986 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Canada
- Professor Sir Peter Ratcliffe, 2019 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, UK
- Professor Michael Rosbash, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, USA
- Professor Jean-Pierre Sauvage, 2016 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, France
- Professor Richard Schrock, 2005 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA
- Professor Gregg Semenza, 2019 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, USA
- Professor Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Nigeria
- Professor Kip Thorne, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor Mario Vargas Llosa, 2010 Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Peru
- Professor Arieh Warshel, 2013 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, USA-Israel
- Professor David Wineland, 2012 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, USA
- Professor Sir Gregory P. Winter, 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, UK
- Professor Michael Young, 2017 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, USA
