Carleton University hosted a conference to celebrate a murderer!
Nazanin Afshin Jam's letter to the President of Carleton University Dr. O'Reilly Runte:
My name is Nazanin Afshin-Jam. I was born in Iran and my family was forced to flee in1979 at the start of the revolution when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power as my father was unjustly imprisoned, tortured and nearly executed.
We have been living in Canada for 31 years.
I am an international human rights activist and co-founder of Stop Child Executions organization. I must tell you that I was incensed upon learning that Carleton University collaborated with the Iranian Embassy and gave a platform to regime supporters to host the conference, "The Contemporary Awakening and Imam Khomeini's Thoughts,"; which I learned was a celebration of Ayatollah Khomeini. He was a man who was personally responsible for the death and torture of countless innocent Iranians and responsible for installing discriminatory laws against women, allowing the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities and suffocating any form of decent.
Our family, along with hundreds of thousands of other Iranians left Iran to have a better life here in Canada free from fear. However now seeing tyrants or those that support them being given a platform at a prestigious university like Carleton instills fear and sadness in me and many others. Press TV (a well known mouthpiece of the IRI) was also present and documented this pro-Khomeini gathering. This gets reported back in Iran, empowers the regime officials and deflates the vast majority of the freedom loving Iranians who want freedom.
At this time more than ever the Iranian people need to know that those in the world stand in solidarity with them. They do not need our universities to prop up those with blood on their hands.
Please reconsider in the future providing a forum and giving a voice to those that suppress 70 million voices back home.
Sincerely,
Nazanin Afshin- Jam
