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Dutch university bans Iranian students

By Ruben Temming*

03-01-2008

University of Twente (Photo: Flickr/Jeroen Latour)Iranian students are not welcome at the Technical University Twente in the town of Enschede. At the request of the Education Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the university has agreed not to admit any Iranian students. The government fears that Iranian students and workers would steal sensitive nuclear information to help their government develop nuclear weapons. The university's decision is the direct result of a 2006 UN resolution calling on member states to prevent Iran from gaining access to nuclear knowledge.

The UN has been concerned about the Iranian nuclear research programme for some time. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, says there is no evidence that Iran is developing its own nuclear weapon. However, at the same time Iran is accused of not providing sufficient information on its uranium enrichment programme. 

The most recent US intelligence report on Iran also concludes that there is no evidence of an Iranian nuclear arms programme, but it does accuse Iran of withholding information. Tehran insists that its enrichment programme is intended exclusively for domestic production of the fuel rods needed for a nuclear power plant currently under construction.

Psychology
Twente University is allowed to admit Iranian students on condition it guarantees they will not have access to nuclear information, a guarantee the university says it is unable to give. So far, three Iranian students have been refused. Iranians who want to study psychology would also be rejected. A spokesperson says students are free to wander around the campus, and 24/7 surveillance would be impossible. Iranian students already studying at Twente will be allowed to complete their studies.

Twente is the first technical university in the Netherlands to introduce such strict measures. The Delft Technical University says it first considers the subject that the applicant wants to study. In other words, Delft does not reject Iranian students on principle. The Eindhoven Technical University refuses to comment and refers all inquiries to the foreign affairs ministry.

Background:

The Netherlands played a pivotal role in one of the 20th century’s biggest nuclear spying operations. Pakistani nuclear physicist Abdul Qadeer Khan obtained his doctors degree at the Delft technical university in 1967, and worked at the Physical Dynamic Research laboratory from 1972 until 1975. It was there that Mr Khan acquired knowledge of enriching uranium via the ultra centrifuge process, a method that is still in use today.  He suddenly disappeared in 1975, only to reappear in 1976 as the leader of the Pakistani nuclear weapons research programme. In 2004, Pakistan announced that Mr Khan had sold nuclear information to Libya, Iran and North Korea. In doing so, Mr Khan was assisted by his Dutch business partner Henk Sleebos, who, years later, was handed a prison sentence for his illegal activities.

 Former Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers says the then Dutch government was aware of Abdul Qadeer Khan's clandestine activities. Reportedly, he was not arrested at the request of the US intelligence service, the CIA, which wanted to gain insight in the network that the Pakistani scientist was a member of.

* RNW translation (gsh)

 

Tags: Abdul Qadeer Khan , Enschede, Iran, nuclear, Twente, University

Reaction(s):


jasmin, 06-01-2008 - India

DUTCH NOBEL LAUREATES WIKIPEDIA Tobias Michael Carel Asser Nicolaas Bloembergen Paul J. Crutzen Peter Debye Christiaan Eijkman Willem Einthoven Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff Gerardus 't Hooft Heike Kamerlingh Onnes Tjalling Koopmans Hendrik Lorentz Simon van der Meer Jan Tinbergen Nikolaas Tinbergen Martinus J. G. Veltman Johannes Diderik van der Waals Pieter Zeeman Frits Zernike DUTCH SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTES DUTAMOLF ASTRON Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek B Biomedical Primate Research Centre Blgg Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis E Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands F F.C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging I Institute for Energy I cont. Institute for Logic, Language and Computation Institute of Social Studies International Institute for Research and Education International Institute of Social History K KITLV KNMI Kapteyn Astronomical Institute Kavli Institute of Nanoscience N NIKHEF National Aerospace Laboratory N cont. National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group S Science shop Social and Cultural Planning Office U UNU-MERIT


jasmin, 06-01-2008 - India

THE NETHERLANDS IS MORE THAN DRUGS AND WINDOWS... LET NOT THIS OVERSHADOW THE GENIUS CATEGORISED BELOW AND MILLIONS WHO ARE GREAT IN OTHER WAYS.. Category:Dutch scientists From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Classification: People: By occupation: Scientists: By nationality: Dutch also: Netherlands: People: By occupation: Scientists Subcategories There are 13 subcategories in this category, which are shown below. More may be shown on subsequent pages. A [+] Dutch archaeologists [+] Dutch astronomers B [+] Dutch biologists C [+] Dutch cartographers C cont. [+] Dutch chemists [+] Dutch computer scientists G [+] Dutch geographers [+] Dutch geologists L [+] Dutch linguists M [+] Dutch mathematicians P [+] Dutch pharmacologists [+] Dutch physicists [+] Dutch psychologists CLICK THESE CATEGORIES TO KNOW THEM IN WIKIPEDIA


Lea, 04-01-2008 - USA

I care about the Netherlands, Austin. And they are not a joke, Bobby.


Me, 04-01-2008 -

Are you kidding me? I did not know they had universities in Holland!!! i thought they only have good drugs and prostitutes!!!! Who goes to Holland to study anyway! If we want to make a bomb we make it, we do not need you, so you can kindly go f*** yourself.


Austin Powers, 04-01-2008 - Dushbagsland

if this is true then I am really sorry for Stupid Dutch!! There are millions of Iranians in North America with access to most advanced universities. Who cares about retarded, crappy, flooded and prostitution glorified Netherland?


Bobby, 03-01-2008 - USA

The Netherlands is a complete joke. And this school is as paranoid and demented as the Iranian government. They think students will enroll and steal information which Russians are already providing and assisting Iran with. The Dutch anti-islamic agenda is becoming more clear all the time.


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