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Old 20-04-09, 16:51   #1
Mad Tony
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Thumbs up Walkout at Iran leader's speech

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Originally Posted by BBC News
Diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a "racist government".

Two protesters, wearing coloured wigs, disrupted the beginning of the speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - followed by the Western walkout.

Others enthusiastically clapped as Mr Ahmadinejad continued his address.
France said it was a "hate speech". A number of other Western countries have boycotted the conference altogether.
The walkout is a public relations disaster for the United Nations, which had hoped the conference would be a shining example of what the UN is supposed to do best - uniting to combat injustice in the world, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.

UN dismay

The walkout by delegates from at least 30 countries happened within minutes of the speech starting on Monday. The delegates planned to return later to participate in the rest of the conference.
One of the two protesters escorted out of the conference hall managed to throw an object at the Iranian president - as they yelled "racist, racist" as he stood at the podium.

Mr Ahmadinejad, the only major leader to attend the conference, said Jewish migrants from Europe and the United States had been sent to the Middle East after World War II "in order to establish a racist government in the occupied Palestine".

He continued, through an interpreter: "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."
French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattei said: "As soon as he started to address the question of the Jewish people and Israel, we had no reason to stay in the room," Associated Press reported.

British ambassador Peter Gooderham, also among those who left, said "such inflammatory rhetoric has no place whatsoever in a United Nations conference addressing the whole issue of racism and how to address it."
Speaking to the BBC Radio 4's PM programme, he said of the Iranian leader's accusation of Israeli racism: "That is a charge we unreservedly condemn and so we had no hesitation at that point in leaving the conference hall."

The US, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and New Zealand had all boycotted the conference being held in Geneva, in protest at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance, and Israel recalled its ambassador to Switzerland.
Mr Ahmadinejad told a press conference after his speech that the countries boycotting the forum were showing "arrogance and selfishness".

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had warned that French delegates would walk out if the forum was used as a platform to attack Israel.
Speaking after the walkout, he said: "The defence of human rights and the fight against all types of racism are too important for the United Nations not to unite against all forms of hate speech, against all perversion of this message.
"Faced with attitudes like that which the Iranian president has just adopted, no compromise is possible."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed dismay at the boycotts, and the speech, saying Mr Ahmadinejad had used his speech "to accuse, divide and even incite"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8008572.stm

I knew this would happen. I must say though, bravo to the diplomats that walked out. I've got to wonder though, why did the British diplomats even bother going? It was fairly obvious Ahmadinejad would use this event as a platform to spread his racist views. They would've been better off just boycotting the event like some of the other coutnries did. I guess the real question is though, why was Ahmadinejad even invited in the first place? This is a man who denies the Holocaust and has said in the past that Israel "should be wiped off the map".
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Old 20-04-09, 16:52   #2
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Doesn't surprise me at all. And Obama wants to talk one on one with these idiots? If he does, Obama's lost all credibility!
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Old 20-04-09, 17:04   #3
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Doesn't surprise me at all. And Obama wants to talk one on one with these idiots? If he does, Obama's lost all credibility!
Iran may be run by a mad man but the Iranian state is a key to the peace process in the middle east.

As for the Mad Man, he should leave his moronic theories to himself. He is just making himself look at bad. I hope he get voted out of office in the next election.

Last edited by Kittypower; 20-04-09 at 17:08.
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Old 20-04-09, 17:06   #4
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Iran may be run by a mad man but the Iranian state is a key to the peace process in the middle east.
And why is that? Right now it seems all they're doing is adding more fuel to the fire.
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Old 20-04-09, 17:16   #5
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And why is that? Right now it seems all they're doing is adding more fuel to the fire.
At this point in time, i see somewhat of a cold war between Israel and Iran. If we were to become friends with Iran the possibility of war in the middle east vanishes(atleast between the major powers). However, Whats his face has made this conference hostage to non-constructive politicization and biased rhetoric which is not helping.

Last edited by Kittypower; 20-04-09 at 17:17.
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Old 20-04-09, 17:39   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kittypower View Post
At this point in time, i see somewhat of a cold war between Israel and Iran. If we were to become friends with Iran the possibility of war in the middle east vanishes(atleast between the major powers). However, Whats his face has made this conference hostage to non-constructive politicization and biased rhetoric which is not helping.
Ahmonajihad is pretty powerless, its the mullahs who control things, its there actions that we care about.
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Old 20-04-09, 17:54   #7
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Originally Posted by Kittypower View Post
At this point in time, i see somewhat of a cold war between Israel and Iran. If we were to become friends with Iran the possibility of war in the middle east vanishes(atleast between the major powers). However, Whats his face has made this conference hostage to non-constructive politicization and biased rhetoric which is not helping.
As long as Iran have the leaders they have now, the prospect of war in the Middle East will always be present.
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Old 20-04-09, 18:27   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kittypower View Post
Iran may be run by a mad man but the Iranian state is a key to the peace process in the middle east.

As for the Mad Man, he should leave his moronic theories to himself. He is just making himself look at bad. I hope he get voted out of office in the next election.
Actually, the mad man just talks on TV. Iran is run by Khomeini.
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Old 20-04-09, 18:44   #9
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Iran is run by Khomeini.
Khamenei.
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Old 20-04-09, 18:52   #10
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Khamenei.
Are you saying it is misspelt 54 times here?
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