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Radio Al Ansaar petition supporting Ashwin Desai
by imc-ct
Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 at 3:41 AM
The following (paper) petition, organised by Radio Al Ansaar, has already collected almost 600 signatures.
PETITION AGAINST ATTACKS ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM AT UKZN
In recent weeks the media have reported a number of attacks on academic freedom at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Academic freedom is protected by the South African constitution and is a necessary part of any democracy. But it is especially important to defend the right of academics to be critical of power in these dark times globally.
The most outrageous expression of this new intolerance at UKZN is the summary banning of Dr. Ashwin Desai from any association with the University. Dr. Desai is a world renown intellectual and is also widely respected as an activist against the occupation of Iraq and Palestine and growing poverty in South Africa. We the undersigned call on the Vice-Chancellor of UKZN, Prof. W.M. Makgoba, to respect academic freedom and to immediately withdraw his unconstitutional banning of Dr. Ashwin Desai.
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