13.06.2007

From Halifax to Fiji

Steve Cooke reports on the latest news from the Hands Off the People of Iran campaign

Among the new signatories to the founding statement of the Hands Off the People of Iran campaign this week is Linda Riordan, Labour MP for Halifax and a member of the leftwing Socialist Campaign Group.

Other political activists who have signed up recently include Dr John Barry, co-convenor of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, and - all in a personal capacity - Patrick Nulty, chair of Labour Youth (Ireland), Dave Wetzel, president of the Labour Land Campaign, Ali Syed, chair of Bearsden and Milngavie Constituency Labour Party, and Gerry Byrne, chair of the Socialist Alliance and also vice-chair of the Campaign for a New Workers' Party.

Hopi has also received backing from US-based Iranian poet Dr Majid Naficy, theatre director Charlotte Westenra, songwriter and biographer Robb Johnson, and journalist and author Dave Osler.

The campaign continues to attract strong support in the higher education sector, with prominent intellectuals from several countries signing up this week.

These include psychiatrist professor Suman Fernando (University of Kent), philosophy professors David Cockburn (Lampeter) and Christopher Norris (Cardiff), sociology professors Ruth Lister (Loughborough) and Mary Evans (Kent), political economist professor Andreas Bieler (Nottingham) and two professors from the University of Strathclyde, accounting expert Christine Cooper and communication studies specialist Phil Taylor.

The latest professors from the States to declare their support include economist Cyrus Bina (University of Minnesota, Morris), philosopher Julius Sensat (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), historian Vinay Lal (University of California, Los Angeles), literary critic James Holstun (State University of New York, Buffalo) and social psychologist Timothy Shortell (Brooklyn College).

Three professors from York University in Canada have announced their backing for Hopi - namely political scientist James Laxer, philosopher Lorraine Code and anthropologist Margaret Critchlow Rodman. And from the University of Alberta, linguist professor Robert Kirchner and philosophy professors Amy Schmitter and Martin Tweedale.

In Australia, Hungarian philosopher professor György Márkus, historian professor Soumyen Mukherjee (both University of Sydney), political scientist professor Verity Burgmann (Melbourne) and technology critic professor Brian Martin (Wollongong) put their names to the campaign.

Hopi's statement has also been supported by several academics in New Zealand this week, including political theorist Dr Ramon Das (Victoria University of Wellington), sociologists Dr Camille Nakhid (Auckland University of Technology) and Dr Nabila Jaber (Canterbury), and cultural studies specialists Dr Geraldene Peters (AUT) and Dr Annie Potts (Canterbury).

News of the campaign even reached Fiji, where political scientist Dr Douglas Pacheco (University of the South Pacific) also became a signatory.

To add your name to the list of supporters of Hopi, email: office@hopoi.info with details of your trade union position and/or organisational affiliation (if any).