UN Diplomats Walkout During Ahmadinejad Speech

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Bal-Sagoth

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8008572.stm (video of events in link)

Walkout at Iran leader's speech

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

Two protesters, wearing coloured wigs, disrupted the start of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech - followed by a mass walkout of Western delegates.

Other diplomats clapped as Mr Ahmadinejad continued his address.

France said it was a "hate speech" and the US called it "vile". Some countries 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....

....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," the Associated Press news agency 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 Mr 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".

The US deputy ambassador to the UN, Alejandro Wolff, said the speech was "inaccurate", as well as showing disregard towards the UN, and "does a grave injustice to the Iranian nation and the Iranian people".
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The clowns were funny but the walkout was absolutely amazing. I love the look Ahmadinejad has on his face as they all get up and leave. What do you think was going through his head at that very moment?

This comes at a critical time when tensions between Israel and Iran are still heating up.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6115903.ece

April 18, 2009
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran's nuclear sites

The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran's nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government.
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I have nothing but respect for the diplomats who walked out. It was a pretty impressive display.
The coming weeks will be interesting to see what else is said (especially a larger response from the UN).
 
Israel and Iran are lead by racist governments. But because Israel is a western country surrounded by Arab states they get a free pass.
 
fedaykin said:
It would be a lot more interesting to actually read his speech.
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I actually want to read it as well. Maybe it will appear online at some point. Probably more of the same from what he started the speech with but it would be an interesting read all the same.

This was a huge public relations disaster for the UN and that is the main reason I am eagerly awaiting a more official statement from them on the walkout.

It will also be interesting to see how many countries now are boycotting the event. The more the merrier!

The UN chief said that he regretted the absence of the United States and the other boycotting member states.

"There comes a time to reaffirm our faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of us all," Mr Ban said.

The major sticking points in the draft final declaration prepared for the current meeting concern its implied criticism of Israel and an attempt by Muslim governments to remove all criticism of Islam, Sharia law, the Prophet Muhammad and other tenets of their faith.

The American decision to boycott the meeting has been given extra weight by the fact that it was taken by the country's first black president.
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Also, did anyone catch what was thrown at Ahmadinejad? I think it was a clown nose. :lol:
 
He's actually quite right in a few of the statements. I particularly agree with the first quote. Most are exaggerated, though. But all the quotes the BBC has chosen to publish aren't particularly special, I don't see why anyone should walk out on a speech that is almost half right.
 
I too, would really like to read a translation of his speech.
Local newspapers here all wrote about this story and the debates in those newspaper-forums are getting quite heated but to me it seems that no one really knows what he said.

While I don't agree with him [Ahmadinedschad], I won't judge the situation until i know, what exactly he said.
I've seen the media spin the words in his mouth more than once already.

The only thing i know right now is, that its imo pretty darn unprofessional as a politician to just walk away from a discussion.

edit: thanks Radwaster for the link. Just read the "key quotes" and those really can't be the reason all those people left the room.
 
I think the representatives (which include my own countries) who walked out were being childish and petty.

It was my understanding that organisations such as the UN are there so that everyone can say the're peice and get a response. Walking out is like burying your head in the sand.

Its powerful imagry though. Almost scary when you think about it, the devide of east and west - again. Could lead to another cold or even a hot war?

Further more if I were in charge I would have the clowns taken outside and shot. This is the UN for christ sakes, not your local community meeting. Those clowns could well have given the people in the room a push towards war.

Personally I think the president of Iran had every right to stand up and say whatever he wanted in his alloted time and have the mutual respect from others to sit and listen to what he had to say.

If he makes a bad speech then people are going to take him less seriously or think hes an idiot, no need to up and walk away from what was being said - surley thats just making things worse?

EDIT:

Dreadwolf said:
The only thing i know right now is, that its imo pretty darn unprofessional as a politician to just walk away from a discussion.
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Exactly.
 
Well it seems I'm the only one with the diplomats here.

That statement was both childish and ignorant. What could he have possibly hoped to gain by that statement? It disturbs me that someone so tactless is the leader of a people. A more diplomatic intellectual way of stating that would have been easy to achieve.

Now lets not judge Ahmadinejad by just this one statement. Lets go further back in the past and evaluate other statements he has made. How about this one, its one of my favorites, "Israel is a stinking corpse"... Graphic and presidential!

Oh! Or how about “Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury,” Yaaaaaay! we all get to burn!

Lastly I'd like to take a comment out of his own book, “you need diplomacy and not slogans.”

I think those diplomats were really walking out because they are tired of hearing more of the same spouting from him and I am too.
 
Israel is racist, no lies there. Their treatment of Palestinians is nothing short of apartheid.
 
Maphusio said:
That statement was both childish and ignorant.
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What statement?

For those other quotes: Don't know about that. If he really said those in these words, then yeah he's a moron.
But I have a feeling that a few of those radical quotes were mistranslated /-interpreted.
(Again, not that i defend his views)

Maphusio said:
I think those diplomats were really walking out because they are tired of hearing more of the same spouting from him and I am too.
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I somehow doubt that was the reason.
It's all politicians do (most of 'em) so they should be used to "all the spouting all the time"
 
Maphusio said:
I think those diplomats were really walking out because they are tired of hearing more of the same spouting from him and I am too.
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The main reason they walked out was that a tone had been set in a previous event where Islamic nations had attempted to shield Islam from criticism and use the event to attack Israel and Zionism.
That was the reason the conference was already being boycotted by several other nations.

It was made quite clear that if Ahmadinejad uttered even one word that could be considered Antisemitic the Europeans would leave the room.

France said on Monday that Europeans would walk out of the conference if Ahmadinejad made any antisemitic remarks.

"We will have to be very clear. We will not tolerate any slips," French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner told France Info. "If he utters racist or antisemitic accusations, we will leave the room immediately.
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France has called for "extremely firm action" against Iran, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dubbed Israel a racist regime at the UN anti-racism conference in Geneva. The European Union delegation walked out of Monday's session as the Iranian leader spoke. The US, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and New Zealand boycotted the meeting.
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http://www.rfi.fr/actuen/articles/112/article_3529.asp


They were sending a very clear message. The message being that the Western World will not tolerate or even slightly consider listening to his rhetoric and propaganda.

It was a stunning display for sure.
 
Full transcript of the speech here:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=92046

Can't vouch for accuracy of the translation/transcription, but it took a bit of searching to find it at all.

IMO he made a few valid points supported by over-selective references (no mention of muslims as slave traders/owners for centuries for example). The rest is a mishmash of bigotry, 'Protocols of the Elders' - type paranoia, scaremongering and dodgy religious sentiment. Tools of the politicians trade really.
 
rcorporon said:
Israel is racist, no lies there. Their treatment of Palestinians is nothing short of apartheid.
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If people were chucking explosives into my home ever since I moved in, I'd get pissy too.
 
Mikael Grizzly said:
rcorporon said:
Israel is racist, no lies there. Their treatment of Palestinians is nothing short of apartheid.
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If people were chucking explosives into my home ever since I moved in, I'd get pissy too.
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Hmmn, yeah, and if your house was built on land that hasn't officially belonged to you in 2000 years, I can see how it could turn into a conflict.
 
Mikael Grizzly said:
If people were chucking explosives into my home ever since I moved in, I'd get pissy too.
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If foreign governments one day decided that your country no longer existed, and supplanted a bunch of new people there who then placed you into a ghetto and denied you civil rights, I'm sure you'd be just as pissy.
 
The Palestinians were forced into a ghetto thanks to themselves. If they were able to peacefully coexist with the Jews, there'd be no problem.

Blame lies on both sides of the conflict.
 
They've been breaking ceasefires repeatedly. I highly doubt the last Israeli offensive would happen, if the Palestinians stopped being jerks and actually tried to coexist for once.
 
Mikael Grizzly said:
They've been breaking ceasefires repeatedly. I highly doubt the last Israeli offensive would happen, if the Palestinians stopped being jerks and actually tried to coexist for once.
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Or at the very least would not have given the Israelis the excuse they needed to give the operation a green light.
 
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