Sic Semper Tyrannis

Since this appears to be another petition signing day, I figured I should cook up a petition of my own and ask for support.  Here it is:

Since 1979, the Islamic Republic has been engaged in committing various crimes against humanity in Iran.  It has executed tens of thousands of Iranians, imprisoned hundreds of thousands of others, tortured just as many and forced an equal number into exile.  In the past thirty three years, the Islamic Republic has killed, tortured and imprisoned a large number of Iranian scientists, intellectuals, political activists and even children in a similar manner. By now, it is clear that this is a systematic campaign with political intentions. Media reports and political pundits attribute these atrocities to the Islamic Republic.

If public reports are true that these crimes against humanity are orchestrated by the Islamic Republic, in order to maintain its hold on power, and to loot Iran’s wealth, then we petition the Islamic Republic to stop these atrocities –a tactic replacing political engagement with executions, imprisonment, torture and terror at the expense of innocent civilians. If allowed to continue, these crimes against humanity provide the Iranian authorities with the tools needed  to continue to suppress voices of dissent, even on the Iranian nuclear issue, to arrest and imprison political opposition, and to further curtail the activities of human rights activists. 

Moreover, the Iranian regime has engaged, in the past 32 years, in a campaign of bellicose warmongering, which has included, but has not been limited to, attacking and occupying foreign embassies and diplomatic missions (one as recent as a couple of months ago), taking foreign diplomats hostage, promising to wipe other nations off the map of the world, threatening to close international waterways, supporting terrorist groups around the world and engaging in clandestine nuclear activities in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and United Nations resolutions.  All of these activities have brought crippling sanctions upon the Iranian people and have brought the country to the brink of a devastating war, which is the Islamic Republic’s ultimate goal.   

As academicians, writers, human rights activists, and intellectuals, we condemn these atrocities. Such belligerence on the part of the Islamic Republic, its crimes against humanity and its warmongering can only escalate the internal tension and regional conflicts toward a military clash or war. Regardless of where we stand on Iran's nuclear program, we find these atrocities outrageous because they target the Iranian society without due consideration for human rights, due process of international and national laws, and lives of innocent individuals caught in the crossfire.

These types of killings have to stop, not only because they harm a nation in every possible way, but also because they build a deep psychological scar on the nation's public mind prompting it to ask for revenge in kind. We hope we are living in a better world than that. Killing innocent or even allegedly guilty people without consideration for their human rights and due process, by any force or government anywhere and anytime, is an outrageous act to be protested by all. If murderous dictatorships become the order of the day, no one will be safe in this world.

The following individuals have not yet signed this petition.  But judging by their level of concern for the Iranian people, I am sure they will sign it once they notice it.  So, I ask these find young men and women, especially the poets :-), to join me in condemning the Islamic Republic.  I will look forward to their support:

01. Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, SOAS, University of London

02. Masih Alinejad, Journalist

03. Asieh Amini, Journalist and Human Rights Activist

04. Fariba Amini, Independent Journalist and Writer

05. Hooshang Amirahmadi, Professor, Rutgers University

06. Richard P. Appelbaum, Professor of Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara

07. Rahim Bajoghli, Human Rights Activist

08. Darioush Bayandor, historian, author

09. Asef Bayat, Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

10. Iris Bazing, MD, Baltimore, Maryland

11. Maria Bennett, Poet, New Jersey, USA

12. Mohammad Borghei, Strayer University.

13. Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Professor, Syracuse University

14. Juan Cole, Professor, University of Michigan

15. Shirindokht Daghighian, Independent Scholar & Author

16. Mehrdad Darvishpour, Lecturer at the Malardalen University, Sweden

17. Lucia F. Dunn, Professor of Economics, Ohio State University

18. Goudarz Eghtedari, Ph.D., Voices of the Middle East

19. Mohammad Eghtedari, Economist, Washington, DC

20. Nader Entessar, Professor of Political Science, University of South Alabama

21. Amir Fassihi, Nowruz Foundation for Nonviolence, CA

22. John Foran, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara

23. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

24. Yoshie Furuhashi, Editor, MRZine

25. Alexandra Gallin-Parisi, Professor, Trinity University

26. Amir Hossein Ganjbakhsh, Senior Investigator, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD

27. Reza Goharzad, Journalist, Los Angeles

28. John L Graham, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine

29. Hossein Hamedani, Professor, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI

30. Nader Hashemi, Professor, University of Denver

31. Esmail Hejazifar, Professor of Physics, Wilmington College, Ohio

32. Paula Hertel, Professor of Psychology, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX

33. Mohsen Heydareian, Ph. D, Political Science, Sweden

34. Fredun Hojabri, Retired Professor of Sharif (Aryamehr) Univeristy of Technology

35. Angie Hougas, Human Rights Activists, McFarland, WI

36. Noushin Izadifar Hart, M.D., Radiation Oncologist, Reston, Virginia

37. Azadeh Jahanbegloo, Sociologist, Wright State University, Ohio

38. Jahanshah Javid, Editor, Iranian.com

39. Hasan Javadi, Retired Professor of Persian Language, University of California, Berkeley

40. Mark C. Johnson, Executive Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation, NY

41. Yahya Kamalipour, Chair, Global Communication Association, Purdue University

42. Aziz Karamloo, MD, Faculty Member, University of California, Los Angeles

43. Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, Professor of Theatre and Film, Siena College, NY

44. Liam Kennedy, Community Board Member,CCPB, UC, Irvine

45. Fatemeh Keshavarz, Professor, Washington University, St. Louis

46. Nanette Le Coat, Associate Professor, Modern Languages and Literatures, Trinity University

47. Arturo Madrid, Professor, Trinity University

48. Ali Akbar Mahdi, Professor Emeritus, Ohio Wesleyan University

49. Azita Mashayekhi, Industrial Hygienist, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

50. Rudi Matthee, Distinguished Professor of Middle Eastern history, University of Delaware

51. Farzaneh Milani, Professor, University of Virginia

52. Yaser Mirdamadi, Independent Scholar

53. Ziba Mir-Hosseini, CMEIL, School of Oriental and African Studies

54. Ida Mirzaie, Ohio State University

55. Valentine M. Moghadam, Professor of Sociology, Northeastern University

56. Mahmood Monshipouri, Professor, San Francisco State University

57. Akbar Montaser, Professor, Department of Chemistry ,George Washington University

58. Reza Mousoli, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

59. Baquer Namazi, Retired UNICEF Country Representative & Civil Society Activist

60. Arash Naraghi, Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Moravian College

61. Mohamad Navab, University of California, Los Angeles

62. Farrokh Negahdar, Political Analyst

63. Mohammad-Reza Nikfar, Independent Scholar and Philosopher

64. Azam Niroomand-Rad, Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University Medical Center

65. Farhad Nomani, Professor of Economics, American University of Paris

66. Mehdi Noorbaksh, Associate Professor, Harrisburg University of Science & Technology

67. Trita Parsi, President, National Iranian American Council, Washington, DC

68. Richard T. Peterson, Professor of Philosophy, Michigan State University

69. Davood Rahni, Professor of Chemistry, Pace University, New York

70. Farhang Rajaee, Professor, Carleton University

71. Asghar rastegar, MD, Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicinek

72. Thomas M. Ricks, Ph.D., Independent Scholar

73. Mahmoud Sadri, Professor of Sociology, Texas Woman's University

74. Muhammad Sahimi, Professor, University of Southern California in Los Angeles

75. Hamid Salek, D.D.S. University of Southern California , Los Angeles

76. Reza Sarhangi, Professor, Department of Mathematics, Towson University

77. Mehrdad F. Samadzadeh, University of Toronto

78. Gabriel Sebastian, Author, Futurist

79. Ali Shakeri, Community Board Member, CCPB, UC, Irvine

80. Evan Siegel, Ph.D., Independent Researcher on Iran & Azerbaijan, Adj. Mathematics Prof., CUNY

81. Arman Shirazi, Senior Scientist, CSM North America

82. Sussan Siavoshi, Professor, Trinity University

83. Mark D. Stansbery, Iran Action Network

84. Sussan Tahmasebi, Women's Rights Activist

85. Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, Univeristy of Toronto

86. Bahram Tavakolian, Willamette University

87. Farideh Tehrani, Ph.D., Middle Eastern Studies Librarian, Rutgers University, NJ

88. Mary Ann Tetreault, Cox Distinguished Professor of International Affairs, Trinity University

89. Nayereh Tohidi, Professor, California State University, Northridge

90. Patricia Trutty-Coohill, Professor of Art History, Siena College, NY

91. Farzin Vahdat, Research Associate at Vassar College

92. Bill Wolak, Poet, New Jersey, USA

93. Leila Zand, Program Director, Middle East Civilian Diplomacy, Fellowship of Reconciliation

94. Hamid Zangeneh, Professor, Widener University