Heshmatollah Tabarzadi is a journalist who, especially with the establishment of the Iranian Democratic Front and his role as the editor-in-chief of publications such as “Payam-e Daneshju” and “Neday-e Daneshju”, became a well-known figure in the field of student activities. Mr. Tabarzadi has been temporarily arrested several times since 1995 due to his civil activities and has been sentenced to long-term imprisonment since 2000, with a total of more than 9 years of imprisonment on his record.

In this issue of the monthly magazine “Peace Line”, we have arranged an interview with Mr. Tabrizi, who is currently on leave, about the situation of the student movement in Iran and the fears and hopes of this movement. We have sought his opinions on this matter.

Dear Tabrizi, first of all, I would like to ask how do you evaluate the ups and downs of the student movement in Iran, and essentially, to what extent do you consider the student movement in our country to be influential in social developments?

See, the student movement in Iran has not been institutionalized as it should be, and there are many reasons for this. If we look back at history, from 1317 to 1320 when the University of Tehran was established by Reza Shah, these so-called student activities or the student movement took shape and began to work; especially in the 1330s, it shone brightly and reached its peak in 1332 when it led to the martyrdom of Mr. Razavi, Bozorgnia, and Ghanchi. These activities, or rather the movements for freedom in the university, continued to rise and fall until the time of the 1957 revolution. In fact, if we want to be fair, in 1956 when I myself was a student, it was this student movement that brought all matters to the stage of revolution and brought the people to the streets and alleys, and in accordance with the student movement, organizations, parties, and NGOs

Do you believe that after the revolution, with all the events that took place in the early years – by which I mean the Cultural Revolution and so on, in which you were involved – it can still be said that the student movement did not continue its activities?

In the early years, unfortunately, after the announcement of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution and the arrest of numerous individuals, various left and democratic parties, unions, student activists, and suppressions, there was a slight decline in the activities of the student movement, but this movement never stopped. Before and after the revolution, due to suppressions from both ruling powers, obstacles were encountered in the student movement and its goals, causing ups and downs along the way, but it never stopped or stood still. I believe that if the student movement had not faced all these suppressive waves, both before and after the revolution, it would have performed much better.

Despite the suppressions that you mentioned, don’t you think that the student movement has had a strong overall performance as expected? Some have even talked about the death of the student movement.

See, as I mentioned, the student movement has always faced suppression since its inception. Now, these suppressions have had both intensity and weakness, and these intensities and sometimes calmness have caused ups and downs in the student movement. Essentially, in my opinion, the student movement has had a goal throughout its history and has had two important characteristics. One: it has always acted democratically, and two: it has always sought freedom for all levels of society. These two characteristics are enough for this movement to always have a smoldering fire under the ashes and with the smallest spark, the opportunity to flare up and show its hot activities.

In any case, it seems impossible to me for the student movement to die; perhaps it may experience a period of weakness or stagnation, but it will never die. You have seen that even during Ahmadinejad’s government, which was the worst period for this movement and the atmosphere was suffocating for any kind of activity, and despite all the suppression and issues that arose for most active students, this movement continued its work. The pursuit of freedom is ingrained in the essence of the student movement and rest assured, it will never die.

So, with this calculation, you evaluate the performance of the student movement in recent years positively…

See, considering the suppressions and issues that especially during the 8-year period of Ahmadinejad’s government, the Iranian society has been struggling with, if we want to look at the situation objectively, this has been the worst period for the student movement. With all the arrests, closures, and stardom of students that reached its peak in 2009 and continues to this day, the student movement is currently unable to have a significant impact. In my opinion, at this point, we can only say that student organizations and the student movement in general should have a vanguard attitude and then manage the situation with the help of parties, organizations, NGOs, and other intellectuals.

“Talk of students becoming stars emerged; the name of Mr. Tofiqi, who became the head of the Ministry of Science, was proposed as the Minister of Science before the swearing-in ceremony of Hassan Rouhani, and he was supposed to be chosen as the head of this ministry, but ultimately it did not happen. As you know, Jafar Tofiqi was in charge of the Ministry of Science during the second term of President Khatami, after Mostafa Moein, and some students support him… Do you think Mr. Rouhani is committed to his obligations towards students?”

See, Mr. Rouhani’s government is a government of agents, or rather the cabinet of Hashemi Rafsanjani, but with an updated version. If you pay close attention, you’ll see that the ministers of this government are the same ones who were in his cabinet. In fact, they are experienced and seasoned ministers, but with a new and more democratic approach. This government’s advantage is that it is not the government of Ahmadinejad. To be honest, I didn’t have much hope for this government from the beginning, but now I see that there is no sign of that intense and harsh security atmosphere that existed in the ninth and tenth governments; not that it doesn’t exist, but it is less. Rouhani is trying to win the hearts of the people and even the students, to the extent that he goes to the University of Tehran and speaks openly about their freedom, or talks about world peace in the United Nations General Assembly and calls for a world free of war

Given these circumstances, do you have a positive view on the fulfillment of student demands in Mr. Rouhani’s government?

From my perspective, considering the current issues in Iran and the situation that has arisen both domestically and internationally with the election of Mr. Rouhani, it is time for this matter to be resolved and for the student movement to overcome its fears and have hope to achieve its demands.

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us in the Khatt-e-Solh magazine…