Donnerstag, 9. Februar 2012

OPEN LETTER

in regards to the event of the Iranian regime at Vienna’s adult education center, VHS Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus

To
Mayor of Vienna Dr. Michael Häupl
City councillor for Education Christian Oxonitsch
Mag. Eva Schröder (Director VHS Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus)
Dr. Michael Ludwig (Chairman of the board VHS)
Mario Rieder (Managing Director VHS)
Mag. Daniela Lehenbauer (Spokesperson VHS)

Vienna, February 9th, 2012

Dear Mr. Mayor,
Dear Mr. City councillor for Education,
Dear Sir or Madam!

On Saturday, February 11th 2012, an event of the Iranian regime is supposed to take place at the venue of the VHS Rudolfsheim Fünfhaus, the municipal adult education center. This time, the Iranian embassy does not make any effort to try to present the show as a harmless cultural event. It is a celebration on the occasion of the anniversary of the "Islamic Revolution" which has brought death and suffering to the whole country.

For the last couple of months, the city of Vienna, despite numerous protests, has insisted to rent out venues to the Iranian regime. While the regime is being provided with venues for its self-staging, the rulers in Teheran not only brutally crack down the opposition, execute homosexuals and persecute minorities, they also continue to work on their nuclear weapons and missile program, repeatedly deny the Holocaust and threaten Israel with annihilation. The latest IAEA report has made it clear how serious this threat has to be taken.

While Western states have decided to impose stronger sanctions, which are being supported by the Austrian government, the City of Vienna repeatedly reaches out its hand to the Iranian regime. Especially in view of the escalation during the last couple of weeks, it is unbearable that the Iranian regime can go on to spread its poisonous propaganda in Vienna. Only some days ago, the spiritual leader Ali Kahmenei called Israel a 'cancer' which has to be eliminated. And in preparation of the election to the Majles, the Iranian pseudo parliament, the regime is tightening its repression against the opposition.

We urgently ask you not to repeat your mistake of the last months and to cancel this event at a venue of the city of Vienna immediately.

Yours sincerely,

Univ. Prof. Dr. Mitchell Ash
Sogol Ayrom
Hiwa Bahrami, Demokratische Partei Kurdistan Iran
Mag. Klaus Bergmaier, MSc MAS, Musiker
Anneliese Blauensteiner
Timna Brauer
Prim. Dr. Hava Bugajer, Präsidentin WIZO Österreich
Dr. Ruth Contreras
Oskar Deutsch, Vizepräsident IKG Wien
BR Efgani Dönmez, PMM
Klaus Eberhartinger, EAV
Heinrich Ehlers
Mag. Martin Engelberg, CHAJ-Jüdisches Leben
Maryam Farzam, Integerationsreferentin SPÖ Favoriten
Mag. Raimund Fastenbauer
Johannes Grenzfurthner, monochrom
Dr. Stephan Grigat
Heimo Gruber, Bibliothekar
Univ. Prof. Dr. Peter Gstettner
Simone Dinah Hartmann, STOP THE BOMB
Dr. Rudolf Hellar
Ambassador ret. Dr. Kurt Hengl
Elfriede Jelinek
Rudolf Kaske
Prof. Dipl.-Päd. Mag. Albert Kaufmann
Prof. Topsy Küppers, Schauspielerin und Autorin
Klaus Leutgeb, Leutgeb Entertainment Group GmbH
Dr. Victoria Lunzer-Talos
Dr. Andreas Maislinger
Dr.in Anna Mitgutsch
Mag. Eva Mühlhofer-Gurion
Hon. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Neugebauer
Elisabeth Orth, Aktion gegen den Antisemitismus
Univ. Prof. Dr. Anton Pelinka
Univ. Doz. Dr. Ronald J. Pohoryles, Liberales Forum Mag. Werner Retzl
Erwin Riess, Schriftsteller und Behindertenaktivist
Negar L. Roubani, Obfrau Oriental Queer Organization Austria (ORQOA)
Dr. Bernhard Seyringer
Heribert Schiedel, Autor
Robert Schindel
BR Marco Schreuder
Günter Traxler
Dr. Peter Truzla, Henkel Personalmanagement Österreich
Fritz Verzetnitsch
Peter Weidner
Marie-Louise Weissenböck, Vorsitzende Christen an der Seite Israels – Österreich
August Werfring, Totalisatorleiter Wiener Krieau
Werner Winterstein
Josef Zeitlhofer, Chefinspektor, akad. Vortragender des Exekutivdienstes