Iran's once active campuses falling silent

By Edmund Blair

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's university campuses are falling silent. Student activists, once at the vanguard of a movement seeking political and social change in the Islamic Republic, say they are increasingly afraid to speak out.

"I used to take part in so many protests. I was arrested twice, once in 2001 and once in 2003," said student Mehdi Aminzadeh, describing his role in rallies during the tenure of pro-reform former President Mohammad Khatami.

"The situation has changed a lot since that time. The pressures have pushed us to be more cautious," said the 29-year-old, who says he has been barred from registering for a masters in political science.

Since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took power in August last year vowing a return to Islamic revolutionary principles, activists say 181 students have been summoned to university disciplinary boards and 105 of them were suspended.

Most have been reinstated but Aminzadeh is among a handful who activists say are still barred from registering to study.

Many students, who wanted more radical change to Iran's system of clerical rule than reformist politicians proposed, became disenchanted even before Khatami left office in 2005. Reformists, when in power, failed to deliver on many promises.

Critics say the authorities, since Ahamdinejad's election, have been slowly tightening the screws on rivals, not in sweeping gestures, but with measures that send a clear message about the cost of opposition and silencing activists.

As well as clamping down on students, critical professors say they have been pushed into early retirement. A leading pro-reform newspaper has been shut. And Western diplomats say their cultural events or exchanges are facing obstacles.

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