{news} Fw: USGP-INT Iranian university chancellors ask Columbia president 10questions (Fars News Agency)

[Justine McCabe]

> Iranian University Chancellors Ask Bollinger 10
> Questions
>
> Fars News Agency, September 25, 2007
> http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8606300370
> http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6888
>
>
> Seven chancellors and presidents of Iranian
> universities and research centers, in a letter
> addressed to their counterpart in the US,
> Colombia University, denounced Lee Bollinger's
> insulting words against the Iranian nation and
> president and invited him to provide responses to
> 10 questions by Iranian academics and
> intellectuals.
>
> The following is the full text of the letter:
>
>
> Mr. Lee Bollinger
> Columbia University President
>
> We, the professors and heads of universities and
> research institutions in Tehran, hereby announce
> our displeasure and protest at your impolite
> remarks prior to Iranian President Mahmoud
> Ahmadinejad's recent speech at Columbia
> University.
>
> We would like to inform you that President
> Ahmadinejad was elected directly by the Iranian
> people through an enthusiastic two-round poll in
> which almost all of the country's political
> parties and groups participated. To assess the
> quality and nature of these elections you may
> refer to US news reports on the poll dated June
> 2005.
>
> Your insult, in a scholarly atmosphere, to the
> president of a country with a population of 72
> million and a recorded history of 7,000 years of
> civilization and culture is deeply shameful.
>
> Your comments, filled with hate and disgust, may
> well have been influenced by extreme pressure
> from the media, but it is regrettable that media
> policy-makers can determine the stance a
> university president adopts in his speech.
>
> Your remarks about our country included
> unsubstantiated accusations that were the product
> of guesswork as well as media propaganda. Some of
> your claims result from misunderstandings that
> can be clarified through dialogue and further
> research.
>
> During his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad answered a
> number of your questions and those of students.
> We are prepared to answer any remaining questions
> in a scientific, open and direct debate.
>
> You asked the president approximately ten
> questions. Allow us to ask you ten of our own
> questions in the hope that your response will
> help clear the atmosphere of misunderstanding and
> distrust between our two countries and reveal the
> truth.
>
> 1- Why did the US media put you under so much
> pressure to prevent Mr. Ahmadinejad from
> delivering his speech at Columbia University? And
> why have American TV networks been broadcasting
> hours of news reports insulting our president
> while refusing to allow him the opportunity to
> respond? Is this not against the principle of
> freedom of speech?
>
> 2- Why, in 1953, did the US administration
> overthrow Iran's national government under Dr
> Mohammad Mosaddegh and go on to support the
> Shah's dictatorship?
>
> 3- Why did the US support the blood-thirsty
> dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88
> Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, considering his
> reckless use of chemical weapons against Iranian
> soldiers defending their land and even against
> his own people?
>
> 4- Why is the US putting pressure on the
> government elected by the majority of
> Palestinians in Gaza instead of officially
> recognizing it? And why does it oppose Iran's
> proposal to resolve the 60-year-old Palestinian
> issue through a general referendum?
>
> 5- Why has the US military failed to find
> Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden even with all its
> advanced equipment? How do you justify the old
> friendship between the Bush and Bin Laden
> families and their cooperation on oil deals? How
> can you justify the Bush administration's efforts
> to disrupt investigations concerning the
> September 11 attacks?
>
> 6- Why does the US administration support the
> Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) despite the
> fact that the group has officially and openly
> accepted the responsibility for numerous deadly
> bombings and massacres in Iran and Iraq? Why does
> the US refuse to allow Iran's current government
> to act against the MKO's main base in Iraq?
>
> 7- Was the US invasion of Iraq based on
> international consensus and did international
> institutions support it? What was the real
> purpose behind the invasion which has claimed
> hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives? Where are
> the weapons of mass destruction that the US
> claimed were being stockpiled in Iraq?
>
> 8- Why do America's closest allies in the Middle
> East come from extremely undemocratic governments
> with absolutist monarchical regimes?
>
> 9- Why did the US oppose the plan for a Middle
> East free of unconventional weapons in the recent
> session of the International Atomic Energy Agency
> Board of Governors despite the fact the move won
> the support of all members other than Israel?
>
> 10- Why is the US displeased with Iran's
> agreement with the IAEA and why does it openly
> oppose any progress in talks between Iran and the
> agency to resolve the nuclear issue under
> international law?
>
> Finally, we would like to express our readiness
> to invite you and other scientific delegations to
> our country. A trip to Iran would allow you and
> your colleagues to speak directly with Iranians
> from all walks of life including intellectuals
> and university scholars. You could then assess
> the realities of Iranian society without media
> censorship before making judgments about the
> Iranian nation and government.
>
> You can be assured that Iranians are very polite
> and hospitable toward their guests.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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