Students in Iran are murdered. The rest of the world is stunned. The Swedish National Union of Students, SFS, addresses the government and demands action.
The student protests in Iran and the demonstrations against the regime started after Mahsa Jîna Amini was arrested by the Iranian moral police and later died in custody on September 16. Unlike previous protests, the support among the citizens is broad, beyond class boundaries, gender identity and age boundaries.
Two months have passed since the protests began and the demonstrations don't seem to stop. On the third of October, students at the prestigious Sharif University were also attacked. Security forces are reported to have shot, beaten and arrested students.
A targeted attack on students is an attack on all people in pursuit of free speech and academic freedom. The violence against protesters must end. Sweden needs to take a clearer stand. WE urge 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 lightbulbs that gradually, systematically empower and help lift people out of poverty, break down oppression and hatred.
It is especially important to support the students who are standing up against the totalitarian forces in a country like Iran, a country that historically values education and training highly. When we also see school students standing up against the regime, we also understand that the resistance has a base for several years to come. A base in future students.
As part of the international student movement, we are particularly concerned about all students, PhD students, researchers in academia in Iran. We are all well aware of Ahmad Reza Djalali's hardships and the need to safely and safely return him home to Sweden.
Since our founding in 1921, several representatives of SFS, and the entire organization, have stood up for human rights and been a voice for the right to higher education. Sweden and the Swedish student movement stand out in their commitment to oppression.
The situation in Iran requires that Sweden's government take a stand against the regime and strongly emphasize 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 ones, fall victim. Action is required.
Within Swedish academia, a safe place is now offered for foreign academics through Scholars at Risk. We request that Sweden's Riksdag and the government expand the opportunity for Sweden's higher education institutions 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 study place, guaranteed housing and residence permit. Through education and training, Sweden can contribute to creating future leaders, revolutionaries and champions. It is a role Sweden's education system can fulfill, it is our moral obligation. It is the Swedish people's weapon against totalitarian forces, both now and in the future.
Linn Svärd, chairman of the Swedish National Union of Students