Diplomats walk out of U.N. conference on racism during speech by Iranian President Ahmadinejad, in which he says Israel is "the most cruel and racist regime." Today is also Holocaust Remembrance Day
Categories: International, Cultures, Conflict, Photography, news, History
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, delivers his speech in front of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, during the Durban review Conference (Durban II) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, April 20, 2009. Ahmadinejad accused Israel of being the 'most cruel and racist regime,' sparking a walkout by angry Western diplomats at a U.N. racism conference and protests from others.
(AP Photo/Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi)
Female members of the Iranian delegation react during the speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the UN Racism conference at the United Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, April 20, 2009. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel of being the 'most cruel and racist regime' sparking a walkout by angry Western diplomats at a U.N. racism conference and protests from others.
(AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
UN security officers arrest a demonstrator who threw a clown;s false nose at Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his speech during the opening of the Durban Review Conference (UN's Conference against Racism) at the European headquarters of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, April 20, 2009. The Durban Review Conference, to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, will evaluate progress towards the goals set by the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.
(AP Photo/Keystone, Laurent Gillieron)
Play Video AP – Raw Video: Iran's leader sparks Western walkout 
Iran leader sparks walkout at UN over Israel
GENEVA – Dozens of Western diplomats walked out of a U.N. conference and a pair of rainbow-wigged protesters threw clown noses at Iran's president Monday when the hard-line leader called Israel the "most cruel and repressive racist regime."
The United States decried the remarks by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as hateful — reinjecting tension into a relationship that had been warming after President Barack Obama sought to engage Iran in talks on its nuclear program and other issues.
Ahmadinejad — the first government official to take the floor at the weeklong event in Geneva — delivered a rambling, half-hour speech that was by turns conciliatory and inflammatory. At one point he appealed for global unity in the fight against racism and then said the United States and Europe helped establish Israel after World War II at the expense of Palestinians.
"They resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering," he said.
Jewish groups had lobbied heavily for a boycott of the conference, warning it could descend into anti-Semitism or other anti-Israel rhetoric, which marred the last such conference eight years ago in South Africa.
The meeting turned chaotic almost from the start when the two wigged protesters tossed the red clown noses at Ahmadinejad as he began his speech with a Muslim prayer. A Jewish student group from France said it had been trying to convey "the masquerade that this conference represents."
One of the protesters shouted "You are a racist!" before he and the other demonstrator were taken away by security.
Ahmadinejad interjected: "I call on all distinguished guests to forgive these ignorant people. They don't have enough information."
During his speech, he accused Israel of being the "most cruel and repressive racist regime" and blamed the U.S. invasion of Iraq on a Zionist conspiracy.
At the first mention of Israel, about 40 diplomats from Britain and France and other European Union countries exited the room.
Most of his remarks were not new but their timing and high profile could complicate U.S. efforts to improve ties with Iran. Alejandro Wolff, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N., denounced what he called "the Ahmadinejad spectacle."
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, asked by reporters about Ahmadinejad's remarks, replied: "Obviously, the president disagrees vehemently with what was said, as, from some of the video I saw, so did many others."
Gibbs said it proved that the United States was right to boycott the conference. Germany, Italy and at least six other countries also refused to attend the event, which began on the eve of Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"We call on the Iranian leadership to show much more measured, moderate, honest and constructive rhetoric when dealing with issues in the region, and not this type of vile, hateful, inciteful speech that we all saw," Wolff said at the U.N. in New York.
Later, about 100 members of mainly pro-Israel and Jewish groups tried to block Ahmadinejad's entrance to a scheduled news conference.
In a milder protest, Jewish groups outside the venue read out some of the names of the 6 million who died in the Holocaust.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Ahmadinejad before his speech and said he had counseled the Iranian leader to avoid dividing the conference. Ban later said he was disappointed the speech was used "to accuse, divide and even incite," directly opposing the aim of the meeting.
"It was a very troubling experience for me as a secretary-general," he said. "It was a totally unacceptable situation."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the speech and Ban's meeting with Ahmadinejad.
"It is unfortunate that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deemed it appropriate to meet with the greatest Holocaust denier of our time," the Foreign Ministry said. "This matter is especially severe, as it took place on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day."
Ahmadinejad has been praised by some in the Muslim world for his attacks on Israel. The hard-liner has often used international forums to criticize Israel.
Most Muslim delegations in Geneva declined to comment, but Pakistan said the protesters were wrong to interrupt Ahmadinejad.
"If we actually believe in freedom of expression, then he has the right to say what he wants to say," Ambassador Zamir Akram told The Associated Press. "There were things in there that a lot of people in the Muslim world would be in agreement with, for example the situation in Palestine, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, even if they don't agree with the way he said it."
While the speech was interrupted several times by cheers from the large Iranian delegation, it may not be well-received among many others in Iran, which is suffering from high inflation and unemployment partly as a result of its global isolation. Many have criticized Ahmadinejad, who is up for re-election in June, for spending too much time on anti-Israel and anti-Western rhetoric and not enough on the country's economy.
___
Associated Press writers Bradley S. Klapper and Eliane Engeler in Geneva, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Article: HERE
Western diplomats walk out past Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, top right at the podium, as he slams Israel during a speech
at a UN conference on racism
By David Williams
Last updated at 8:31 AM on 21st April 2009
Diplomats from more than 30 countries, including Britain, walked out of a UN conference yesterday after Iran's president launched a blistering verbal attack on Israel.
The event in Geneva had been intended to help unite countries to combat injustice.
But, in a rambling provocative speech, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel of establishing a 'cruel and repressive racist regime' over the Palestinians. Israel was created by the U.S. and Europe on the 'pretext of Jewish suffering' from the Second World War, he said.
The controversial hardline leader was speaking as Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. But although many diplomats walked out, some Arab delegates who remained clapped and cheered.
Downing Street said Gordon Brown 'unreservedly condemned' the president's comments - and that the Prime Minister backed the walkout by ambassador Peter Gooderham.
'Such outrageous anti-Semitic remarks should have no place in a UN anti-racism forum,' said Mr Gooderham.
Britain had chosen not to send a minister to Geneva. France described it as a 'hate speech.'
Ahmadinejad addresses the Durban Review Conference on racism at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the speech was 'offensive, inflammatory and utterly unacceptable'.
'That such remarks were made using the platform of the UN's anti-racism conference is all the more reprehensible. The UK delegation, along with many others, rightly walked out of President Ahmedinejad's speech because such hate-filled rhetoric is an intolerable abuse of free speech and of the conference.
'Our engagement in the UN conference has always been on the basis that will not accept attempts to prejudice the conference conclusions.
'And we will not accept an event that degenerates into racism and intimidation.'
A demonstrator wearing a wig is carried out of the conference as Ahmadinejad delivers his speech
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Mr Ahmadinejad had used his speech 'to accuse, divide and even incite' - directly opposing the aim of the meeting.
The week-long forum is already being boycotted by the U.S. and eight other Western countries, following concerns that it would be used as a platform for attacks on Israel.
President Barack Obama had said the U.S. would not attend fearing it would be dominated by what he called 'hypocritical and counterproductive' antagonism towards the Jewish state.
Mr Ahmadinejad is understood to be the only head of state attending. Protestors dressed in clown wigs and holding placards shouted 'Shame, shame!' and 'Racist, racist', at the conference.
Iran's leader declared: 'Following World War II they resorted to military aggressions to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering.
'And they sent migrants from Europe, the U.S. and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in the occupied Palestine.
'And in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine.'
Days previously, there had been reports that Israel was finalising plans for strikes against Iran's developing nuclear programme.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leaves a meeting with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon at the conference before his controversial speech
Article: HERE
Comments