Monday, April 20, 2009

If The Shoe Fits....Wear it!


Ahmadinejad Denounces Israeli Racism, Sparks UN Walkout

Al-Manar

"20/04/2009 Dozens of delegates have walked out of a United Nations conference on racism after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, described the Israeli cabinet as a "racist government".......

The Iranian President criticized the creation of a "totally racist government in occupied Palestine" in 1948, calling it "the most cruel and racist regime".

"Following World War II they resorted to military aggressions to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering," Ahmadinejad told the conference, on the day that Jewish communities commemorate the Holocaust. "And they sent migrants from Europe, the United States and mother parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in the occupied Palestine," he said, according to the official translation. "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." .........

Poland became the latest nation Monday to boycott the meeting after the United States, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand. France decided to attend the event but warned that Europeans would walk out if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was due to address the conference, made "anti-Semitic accusations" during the event.

Ahmadinejad launched a new broadside against Israel before heading to the meeting, saying "the Zionist ideology and regime are the flag bearers of racism."
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told France Info radio: "We will have to be very clear. We will not tolerate any slips." "If he utters racist or anti-Semitic accusations, we will leave the room immediately," Kouchner said......

The European Union's traditional show of unity on international human rights unraveled, as Britain, France and Ireland decided to attend......

Campaign group Human Rights Watch faulted boycotting states for "turning their backs" on victims of racism. Juliette de Rivero of Human Rights Watch said that without Washington there, the meeting could lack diplomatic gravitas. "For us it's extremely disappointing and it's a missed opportunity, really, for the United States," she said. "If the U.S. fails to participate, it will disappoint many who invested hope in the Obama administration's commitment to engage internationally to protect human rights.""

No comments: