September 2012
OTTAWA An event at Carleton
University that celebrated the religious and political teachings of Iran’s
former theocratic ruler Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini has come under fire for
ignoring the his dismal human rights record.
Ten Iranian-Canadian academics
wrote a letter to Carleton’s president Roseann O’Reilly Runte outlining their
objections to the June 2 event titled "The Contemporary Awakening and Imam
Khomeini’s Thoughts."
Fourteen other prominent figures
from Canada’s sizable Iranian population, including Nazanin Afshin-Jam, wife of
Defence Minister Peter MacKay and a former Miss Canada, addressed a separate
letter also voicing concerns about the positive portrayal of the late Khomeini
at the conference.
The event was organized by a
student group, the Iranian Culture Association of Carleton University, in
collaboration with the Culture Centre of the Islamic Republic of Iran to honour
the 23rd anniversary of Khomeini’s death. According to the Iranian Culture
Centre’s report of the event, the three speakers "provided the perfect image of
how great the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran truly was."
What was not discussed at the
event, the letter writers contend, was Khomeini’s human rights record, including
his mass execution of political prisoners and minority groups and the many
scholars and activists who were imprisoned under his regime, as documented by
United Nations sanctions and Amnesty International reports. Among the
signatories to the academics’ letter is Ramin Jahanbegloo, a University of
Toronto professor who was detained without charge by Iranian authorities in
2006.
"We think reputable academic
institutions have a moral obligation not to turn a blind eye on atrocities
committed against their colleagues in other countries," the letter reads.
The second letter states:
"Carleton University, one of the leading academic institutions in this country,
negligently permitted its campus to become the site of a celebration of human
rights violations, gender inequality and anti-Semitism."
Carleton’s response was brief. Mr.
Runte replied with a one-line email to the academics that read, "Thank you and
your colleagues for your recent letter. Carleton University did not sponsor or
act as host to the event you mention."
A Carleton spokesperson later
stated that the university hosts many events on its campus, and though subjects
are sometimes controversial, views expressed do not reflect the university as a
whole and Carleton, "like all other Canadian universities, encourages a culture
of debate and free expression."
Although Carleton’s statement said
it played no role beyond hosting the event, campus security kept some students
and protesters from participating.
National Post, June 27, 2012
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