Glasgow University students propose Vanunu for Rector

[Englander]

Muhammad Idrees Ahmad, The Electronic Intifada, 2 December 2004
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3394.shtml

It is 1986. One man risks his life, his freedom and his future to save the world from the impending disaster of nuclear proliferation while another sets aside International law, any semblance of human decency and universal justice to order the kidnap of the former. One of them goes on to spend 18 years in jail –- 11 of which are spent in solitary confinement –- while the other wins the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a world less cynical, it would be safe to assume that courage and conscience were rewarded while the disregard for law precipitated the punitive measures. Alas, the world we live in nurtures apathy as a virtue; embraces selfishness as a guiding principle while courage and integrity are relegated as qualities whose appreciation is contingent on the rarity of their appearance.

Mordechai Vanunu, the man who risked it all to draw the world’s attention towards the nuclear ambitions of his nation -– which far exceeded its so-called security considerations –- was thrown into prison, and erased from public memory. Shimon Peres, who ordered his kidnap and oversaw the subsequent sham of a trial, went on to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Vanunu got re-arrested just recently for speaking the truth, whereas Mr. Peres thrives behind the protective wall of international diplomacy which is rarely penetrated by truth or principle. Liberal conformists would proclaim a dilemma: whether it’s possible to adhere to the universal principles of justice and morality without abandoning respect for the international institutions that seem immune to these truisms? Students at the University of Glasgow, fortunately, have transcended the need for such institutionalized legitimacy.

As in the past, the students of the University of Glasgow are not afraid to show the way to the rest of the world. They will not worship power, they will not consecrate privilege. They will honor courage, they will reward integrity and they will recognize human endurance. Mordechai Vanunu may have been forgotten by the rest of the world; Israel may have used the death of Yasir Arafat as a diversion to arrest Vanunu again, but the students here are intent on bringing him back to the limelight. Mordechai Vanunu has been nominated to run for Rector at this institute which is one of the four oldest in Britain, and one of its most prestigious.


Muhammad Idrees Ahmad is an active member of the Vanunu4Rector Campaign. He is a filmmaker, a writer and a musician, currently pursuing his PhD in Media Research at the University of Glasgow.

[Englander]

1. Glasgow University students elect Vanunu new rector

Mordechai Vanunu won with 1033 votes, with John Ross Beattie declared the runner up having gained 793 votes. The University Rector is elected by matriculated students of the University to act as their spokesperson.

University students claimed that they wanted Vanunu as Rector to show that they support basic human rights, and that they oppose weapons of mass destruction.

Principal of the University, Sir Muir Russell, said: “The election of Mr Vanunu demonstrates the diverse and international concerns of Glasgow students. It is our hope that he will be able to support the student body in the way that they desire.”

The Rector of the University of Glasgow holds a special position, and the office - that of a person elected by the students whose task is to represent them - is found only in the four so-called 'ancient' universities of Scotland.

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3437.shtml


THE Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was last night elected rector of Glasgow University.

The 50-year-old was voted in by students to follow in the footsteps of the politicians William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli, and Winnie Mandela. The main role is to act as their spokesperson.

Students said that they wanted Mr Vanunu as rector to show that they supported basic human rights and that they opposed weapons of mass destruction.

Mr Vanunu spent 18 years in prison after being convicted of espionage and treason for giving photographs and papers about Israel’s secret nuclear plant at Dimona to the Sunday Times in the 1980s.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1433672004

[drdon326]

2. Holy spit !!!!

.

[QueerJustice]

3. Now that will...

....elevate the academic standards of this university....NOT...How about Madonna or Michael Jackson for rector?

[Forkboy]

4. They should get the torture man Dersch!!!!!