Student Union Releases Statement on Iranian Crisis

(June 23, 2009) The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) Executive today released a statement in response to the current political crisis in Iran. Since the June 12, 2009 election, the Executive has become increasingly concerned about the actions of the Iranian government against its own citizens, including its student population.

The statement is as follows:

"The USSU Executive strongly condemns the recent attacks on freedom of assembly in Iran.

The USSU Executive is gravely concerned about news of attacks on Iranian students as they attempted to voice protest over that nation’s recent election results. With reports of as many as 19 people killed and some 457 arrested since the June 12 election, the USSU Executive views the attack on Iranian citizens by its police and military forces as a fundamental violation of their right to freely associate and assemble, as is outlined under Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As such, the USSU Executive believes the recent actions by the Iranian government are a reprehensible and blatant violation of Article 19, and calls on the Iranian government to immediate cease its violent and authoritarian actions.

The USSU Executive encourages all fellow students to take action by writing directly to their Member of Parliament, urgently requesting that the government of Canada take an immediate stand against the Iranian government’s human rights violations during this crisis."