Dr. Lee C. Bollinger
President
Columbia University
New York City, NY
Dear Dr. Bollinger,
We can not help but to express our profound dismay at the invitation Columbia University has extended to Mr. Ahmadinejad, the president of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Mr. Ahmadinejad has dedicated his entire life to the preservation and protection of the Islamic regime in Iran! Islamic Republic of Iran is the embodiment of everything that the civilized world stands for. It opposes peace. It is responsible for three decades of violation of Iranian people’s basic human rights. It pursues weapons of mass destruction and promotes the destruction of the state of Israel.
We are certain that you are fully aware of the fact that countless Iranians of all religious backgrounds and political persuasion have been imprisoned, tortured, and executed by the most gruesome ways in the hands of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thousands were not even of legal age! Many are still buried in unmarked mass graves all over the country. The most famous one of these mass graves is called Khavaran and is near Tehran. Almost every day an innocent person is hanged on the streets in the most inhumane way.
Mr. Ahmadinejad is fully aware of the existence of mass graves in Iran and many believe that he has directly participated in Islamic regime’s crimes against humanity. Some members of his cabinet, such as his interior minister, according to all accounts were directly involved in mass murder of political prisoners that took place in the late eighties.
Since Mr. Ahmadinejad became president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian universities and university students have suffered greatly. Many free thinking and experienced faculty of these universities have been forced into retirement. Many university students have been arrested and detained for expressing their views and many more have been suspended and expelled.
Although in your statement regarding Mr. Ahmadinejad’s scheduled appearance you stated that: It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. It is still sad to see Mr. Ahmadinejad standing, and speaking at the Columbia University while university students in Iran are being tortured and mistreated by his government.
We truly believe and Mr. Ahmadinejad’s record shows that Columbia University has truly opened the public forum to a dishonorable person.
Sincerely yours
Shayan Arya
Constitutionalist Party of Iran
Foreign Relations Committee Coordinator in America
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