Students in Iran are being murdered. The world is stunned. The Swedish National Union of Students, SFS, addresses the government and demands action.
The student protests in Iran and demonstrations against the regime started after Mahsa Jîna Amini was arrested by the Iranian morality police and later died in custody on September 16. Unlike previous protests, the support among citizens is broad, beyond class boundaries, gender identity and age limits.
Two months have passed since the protests began and the demonstrations do not seem to be ending. On October 3, students at the prestigious Sharif University were also attacked. It is reported that security forces shot, beat and arrested students.
A targeted attack on students is an attack on all people in the pursuit of freedom of expression and academic freedom. The violence against protesters must end. Sweden needs to take a clearer stance. WE call on the Swedish government to protect students who are forced to flee by implementing a Students at Risk program.
We have seen similar developments in Hong Kong, Belarus and Afghanistan, among others. Attempts to silence students should not be accepted. Students and academia are often beacons for democracy, freedom of expression and human rights. Progressive torchbearers who gradually, systematically strengthen and help lift people out of poverty, breaking down oppression and hatred.
It is especially important to support the students who stand up against the totalitarian forces in a country like Iran, a country that historically values education and culture highly. When we also see schoolchildren standing up against the regime, we also understand that the resistance has a base for years to come. A base in future students.
As part of the international student movement, we are particularly concerned about all students, doctoral students, researchers in academia in Iran. We are all well aware of Ahmad Reza Djalali's hardships and the need to safely and securely return him home to Sweden.
Several representatives in SFS, and the entire organization, have stood up for human rights and been a voice for the right to higher education since our founding in 1921. Sweden and the Swedish student movement stand out in their commitment to combating oppression.
The situation in Iran requires the Swedish government to take a stand against the regime and strongly signal that it will not be tolerated by the outside world. Sweden claims to have a feminist foreign policy, but that is not what we have seen when students, especially female students, fall victim. Action is required.
Within Swedish academia, a safe place for foreign academics is currently offered through Scholars at Risk. We demand that the Swedish Parliament and the government expand the opportunity for Swedish universities to be a safe place for both academics and students.
Sweden needs a Students at Risk program that guarantees a safe place to study for students from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Offer them a free place to study, guaranteed housing and a residence permit. Through education and training, Sweden can help create the leaders, revolutionaries and champions of the future. That is a role that Sweden's education system can fill, that is our moral obligation. It is the Swedish people's weapon against totalitarian forces, both now and in the future.
Linn Svärd, chairwoman of the Swedish National Union of Students