IRAN PURGES PROFESSORS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 004457 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/12/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV IR ECON ELAB SUBJECT: IRAN PURGES PROFESSORS DUBAI 00004457 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Jason L Davis, Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (d) 1.(U) Summary: The Iranian government forced 46 professors from Tehran University to retire in the last two months, sparking criticism and protests from political analysts, journalists, and students. They accuse the government and university administration of purging the country's universities of secular, reform, opposition, or "Westernized" professors. Iranians editorials have lambasted the government for harming the education system, depriving students of experienced and renowned professors, and acting against Islamic principles of respect for elders. Government and university officials defend the moves as apolitical administrative procedures, enforcing retirement rules. End Summary. The Retirements -------------- 2.(U) Since May, the government has forced university professors throughout Iran to retire in growing numbers, beginning with six prominent law professors at Tehran University. In late June, more than 40 professors at Tehran University were presented with mandatory retirements, and there are reports of dozens of other professors around the country receiving similar notices. (Note: Since the revolution in 1979, the Iranian government imposed conservative Islamist values in universities by removing professors deemed secular or Western. The government initially closed universities for two years while revising faculty and curricula. Since then, government officials or informants have monitored lecturers and classes. Such restrictions motivated many professors to emigrate abroad, although a number of Western-educated professors have remained. end note) 3.(U) Ahmad Saiee, aged 68 and a professor of international relations at Tehran University, told the Los Angeles Times that professors received letters granting them "the honor of retirement." The list contained many senior lecturers at Tehran University, including the dean of the law and international relations school, Hassan Ali Doroudian. All were over 60 years old and had been teaching for at least three decades. According to credible news sources, several days of student protests broke out after the announcements of the mandatory retirements, leading to violent clashes with the police. Political Motivations? -------------- 4.(U) The forced retirements, according to many political analysts, journalists, and students, are focused on reformist and liberal professors, with the intent of creating a government-sanctioned, uniform ideology in universities. Former Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Towfiqi told the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) the move looks suspicious, and forcing professors with strong academic records to retire would harm the universities. If this stepped up enforcement of retirement rules is apolitical, then it should be applied uniformly and without regard to ideology. Former Majles member Ahmad Shirzad added that the retirings should not have happened in one "massive wave." 5.(C) Many students saw the move as political coercion and protested against government involvement in the university system. One PhD student from Tehran University, applying for a visa to transfer to a U.S. university, told PolEconoffs that the professors who were retired were "pro-American," noting that much of the international relations department had been educated in the West. He added that the university environment has become more restrictive in the last year, and some professors have felt compelled to leave or have been forced to leave. He claimed the student population has felt a definite impact from increasing regulations, especially since the president of Tehran University was changed, but he noted there is nothing the students can do about it. He believes the international relations department will suffer tremendously from the lack of Western-educated professors and said, "you can't study international relations without American foreign policy." He feels the government is trying to refocus international relations studies around Iranian foreign policy. Three of his professors have been retired; he assumed they would find teaching positions in the US. In contrast, a fairly recent graduate of Shahid Beheshti university in North Tehran told PolEconoffs that there have not been any forced retirements at his university or as many political restrictions, and the environment is less tense and more liberal. 6.(U) The Organization of University Graduates of Islamic Iran's spokesman, Abdollah Mo'meni, told ISNA that previous government statements made the intentions behind the retirements clear: DUBAI 00004457 002.2 OF 002 "When the parliamentary deputy minister in the Ministry of Science announces that 'we will not allow the outsiders into the universities, and the supervision council will also only accept the (political) insiders,' then certain steps, such as the retirement of university professors, are not unexpected. At the moment, a move to divide people between 'insiders' and 'outsiders' can be observed in all departments." He defined 'insiders' as those with pro-government intellectual inclinations and political leanings. The secretary of the Islamic Society of Students at Tehran University, Iman Maleka-Ashtiyani, accused officials of trying to create a homogenous intellectual climate. He said most people believe the retirements were a political move to eliminate "critical professors." Editorials Against Forced Retirements -------------- 7.(U) Two reformist daily newspapers, Sharq and E'temad-e Melli, published editorials criticizing the forced retirements. Mehran Karami in Sharq on May 28 focuses on the forced retirement of six Tehran University law professors. He writes that these professors reflect decades of the country's political and legal development and have trained many important members of Iranian society. Retiring these academics does not solve the growing youth unemployment problem. University professorships are not just "jobs," according to Karami, but even if they are considered jobs, they are best filled with experienced (and hence older) professors. He also claims forced retirement contradicts Islamic values, such as respecting elders and observing human benevolence. In Iran's volatile domestic environment characterized by recent student unrest, ethnic tensions, and the nuclear crisis, the government should act more prudently and respect the value and leadership that such intellectuals bring to the nation. If not, civil society will erode, causing a political and cultural divide between the government and the people. 8.(U) E'temad-e Melli's anonymous editorial on May 31 warns the loss of experienced faculty will harm Iran's already poor academic record. The article cites statistics from UNESCO that Iran has one of the highest levels of brain drain, and the cost of training a professor is close to one million dollars. Professors should be considered a national asset that cannot be abandoned. Government Defends its Actions -------------- 9.(U) Tehran University President Ayatollah Abbasali Amid Zanjani denied publicly that the retirements were politically motivated and said the professors were retired according to law. (Note: Zanjani, the first cleric to hold this position, was appointed by president by Ahmadinejad in December, breaking with the normal process of selection by the university administration, a move that sparked student protests at the time. Notably, he is 68 years old. End Note.) Zanjani, as well as officials in the Ministry of Science, claimed that in some cases, the professors initiated the request to retire. The head of the Basij at Tehran University and Tehran Medical Faculty, Ali Ramazani, claimed forced retirements are a "common occurrence", and the administrative departments followed "ordinary procedures on the basis of university regulations" when deciding which professors to retire. He claimed "there is a lot of propaganda and media blackmail being organized by certain movements." 10.(C) Comment: Although the feared general social crackdown after Ahmadinejad's election last year has not yet materialized, there has apparently been a targeted attempt to make universities -- traditionally a hotbed of political activism in Iran -- more conservative. For instance, we hear that dress codes are more rigorously enforced on campuses than on the streets. Such a trend suggests that the retirement of these professors was likely politically-motivated. The thinking is likely, "Remove the Western-minded 'provocateurs,' such as these professors or political philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo, and you'll remove the source of discontent among the youth." BURNS