Warning from Seven Scientific Associations of Iran: Truth Cannot Be Defined by Orders and Threats

Members of seven scientific associations in the country issued a statement on Sunday, September 10, warning about the "widespread expulsion of professors and security crackdowns on students". They stated that the gradual and currently accelerating dissolution of the scientific institution exacerbates the current dismal inefficiency of the governance system. In their statement, titled "Truth Cannot Be Defined by Orders and Threats" and published on the Telegram channel "Kalameh", they wrote: "These days, the scientific community in Iran is facing the phenomenon of widespread expulsions and security crackdowns on students. These actions primarily jeopardize the independence and capability of the university institution and ultimately the possibility of scientific development in the country, which is not a temporary event but seems to be part of a process aimed at complete control of the scientific institution by power centers and altering the structure and role of the university and its educational, research, and civil components." The statement continued: "Currently, the security and political approach in these actions is not concealed, and the imposition of control over the scientific institution and its transformation, which began with the humanities, has now extended to technical and medical fields as well. Where it adopts an administrative and legal language, it results in nothing but forcing the scientific institution to fully comply with power and turning the university organization into a place for political propaganda of a newly emerged trend." The seven scientific associations of Iran warned about the "accelerating" dissolution of the scientific institution, stating: "If superstitions and pseudo-scientific beliefs proliferate, and the university becomes a political club or is viewed as a place for distributing privileges to loyalists of the political system, it will result in nothing but increased despair and inequality, draining the human capacity of society, and ultimately weakening the country." The signatories of the statement regarded defending the scientific institution as defending society, the country, and the future of Iran, and called on all professors, scientific and cultural figures to emphasize the importance of the scientific institution and defend the sanctity of the university, loudly announcing warnings until the day comes when the scientific institution in our society becomes so powerful that it can defend its fundamental values, identity, and existence, and block the implementation of destructive and ruinous policies and programs. On the eve of the reopening of universities, a wave of expulsions of "critical" or "opposing" professors from universities across the country has emerged, and these expulsions, along with simultaneous pressure on protesting students, have faced negative reactions from academics and various segments of the public.