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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking at the Durban II conference in Geneva on Monday.
(AP)
Last update - 22:08 21/04/2009
UN: Ahmadinejad dropped Holocaust denial from speech
By The Associated Press
Tags: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 

The United Nations said on Tuesday that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dropped a reference to Holocaust denial from his speech the previous day at the Durban II conference.

The prepared English text of Ahmadinejad's speech said the West had used the "ambiguous and dubious" question of the Holocaust in setting up the state of Israel.

UN spokeswoman Marie Heuze said he omitted the remark in his delivery in Farsi on Monday. The French and English interpreters also dropped the phrase.
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Ahmadinejad used his speech at the conference on Monday to describe Israel as "the most cruel and repressive racist regime" because of its treatment of the Palestinians.

Dozens of Western diplomats walked out during Ahmadinejad's speech and a pair of rainbow-wigged protesters threw clown noses at Iran's hard-line leader when he called Israel the most cruel and repressive racist regime.

Some delegates, however, stayed in the room because they said he stopped short of denying the Holocaust.

Heuze said Tuesday that Farsi speakers confirmed the Iranian president's deviation from the official text provided by the Iranian government.

The UN and the Iranian Mission in Geneva did not comment on why the change was made. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, however, said he had met with the Iranian president before his speech Monday and reminded him the UN had adopted resolutions to revoke the equation of Zionism with racism and to reaffirm the historical facts of the Holocaust.

The original text of Ahmadinejad's speech said that following World War II, Jews resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless on the pretext of their sufferings and the ambiguous and dubious question of Holocaust.

UN Chief: Ahmadinejad 'misused' Durban II for political purposes

Ban accused Ahmadinejad on Tuesday of misusing a UN conference on racism at which he attacked Israel's policy towards the Palestinians as racist.

"It is very regretful that the conference was misused by the Iranian president for political purposes," Ban said during an official visit to Malta.

Ban also expressed regret that some countries had stayed away from the conference. The United States and Israel led about a dozen nations in boycotting the meeting because of concern that it might become a forum for attacks on Israel.

"Before the speech I had a long bilateral meeting with President Ahmadinejad and urged him to give a balanced and constructive contribution to the conference because he was the only head of state present," Ban said.

Ahmadinejad was invited to speak first because he was the only head of state at the conference, though invitations had been issued to all heads of state, Ban added.

He said he had no new appointment to meet Ahmadinejad but would approach Iran and other countries which had issues with the conference to discuss the situation.

Despite Ahmadinejad speech, UN looks to declaration

France, which later returned to the conference after walking out of Ahmadinejad's speech, said it was optimistic the UN would move on and approve a declaration by Tuesday night committing the world to fight racism.

"The meeting is not at all a failure but the beginning of a success," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on French radio. The global body was similarly hopeful.

"In the drama of yesterday everyone forgot what the conference is actually about," UN spokesman Rupert Colville said. "I think we're back on track now."

Conference organizers have sought desperately to avoid the same problems that marred the last global racism gathering eight years ago in Durban, South Africa. The U.S. and Israel walked out midway into that event over an attempt by Muslim countries to liken Zionism to racism.

Even though the final document produced at the conference will have no enforcement power, and will likely do little in the short-term to improve the situation of minorities around the world, it arouses great passion from all governments.

Israel is not mentioned anywhere in the agreement prepared for the current meeting, which seeks to avoid any offense but has angered many in the Muslim world for its failure to point the finger directly at the Israel for its policies toward the Palestinians.

Iran has fought to minimize any reference to the Holocaust, while the Obama administration has said it cannot accept a reaffirmation of the UN's 2001 declaration, which in its final version noted the plight of the Palestinians and Israel's right to security.

While themes from African poverty to the suffering of South America's indigenous peoples were discussed Tuesday in Geneva, the U.S. and eight other boycotting nations were joined on the sidelines by the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency.

China, which has prevented any criticism of how it treats Tibetans or members of the Falun Gong spiritual sect, called for dialogue and consensus to combat racism.

"New forms of racism keep cropping up so it is a very challenging job," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing. She called for zero tolerance to racism at both the international and national levels.

But some delegates at the conference refused to look beyond the Middle East. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki called Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank the "ugliest face of racism."

The UN, meanwhile, expelled 375 delegates representing different advocacy groups at the conference.

They included representatives of a Jewish student group that interrupted Ahmadinejad's speech with protests and attempted to block his appearance at a news conference. Iranian delegates that disrupted proceedings with their cheering were also removed from the meeting.

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      1.   iran 14:40  |  shimon 21/04/09
      2.   Dismantle the *U*seless *N*onsense. 14:48  |  petra 21/04/09
      3.   What can one expect? 14:57  |  The Prophet 21/04/09
      4.   Not dropped, Unterdruckt--fallen (Freud) 16:14  |  Marco Mauas 21/04/09
      5.   Let us bow 16:25  |  Arie 21/04/09
      6.   Right,Hitlers Reich stopped antijewish tirades, removed 16:29  |  Israeli Observer 21/04/09
      7.   Sounds familiar 16:32  |  Arie 21/04/09
      8.   Dropped obscenity from speech? 16:51  |  Rabbi Jonathan 21/04/09
      9.   great quote 17:06  |  yasser 21/04/09
      10.   how can he praise Hitler if the Shoah never happened 17:12  |  steve from Raleigh 21/04/09
      11.   It is indeed true, Ahmadinejads speech in Geneva was..... 17:16  |  Swiss (Dino) 21/04/09
      12.   yasser:" great quote" 17:20  |  Christopher 21/04/09
      13.   UNrealistic 17:21  |  ross 21/04/09
      14.   Clearly he recognizes that if the Holocaust his true... 17:27  |  McQueen 21/04/09
      15.   # 11 Swiss...if his "hosts" weren`t offended 17:30  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      16.   # 13 Lynn, did you forget that I`m Swiss..... 17:57  |  Swiss (Dino) 21/04/09
      17.   Oh, That Makes It All Better 17:58  |  Jeff Northridge 21/04/09
      18.   Swiss (Dino):"He obviously didn`t wanna offend his hosts" 18:02  |  Christopher 21/04/09
      19.   Swiss (Dino) thinking is obvious 18:04  |  Christopher 21/04/09
      20.   Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for inciting genocide, ... 18:11  |  Jean Van Daem 21/04/09
      21.   #16 Emotional Swiss 18:33  |  passerby 21/04/09
      22.   # 16 Swiss...if I were your countryman 18:36  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      23.   UN turns out an immoral institution 18:43  |  JP 21/04/09
      24.   # 9 yasser...yes, indeed 18:45  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      25.   Swiss (Dino) and Hotheads 19:16  |  Gideon 21/04/09
      26.   Not Exactly UN! Ahmadinejad At The Conference! 19:24  |  Yosemite 21/04/09
      27.   # 22 Lynn, the "evil" in this world has many faces.... 19:41  |  Swiss (Dino) 21/04/09
      28.   # 18 Christopher / 21 passerby, did you guys notice.... 19:45  |  Swiss (Dino) 21/04/09
      29.   You Know It Is Sad That Mahmoud Came... 19:53  |  Yosemite 21/04/09
      30.   Lol. It won`t matter. 19:53  |  Colin Wright 21/04/09
      31.   # 27 Swiss....throwing with stones? 20:09  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      32.   # 28 Swiss...the Swiss banks were threatened 20:12  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      33.   Swiss (Dino):"did you forget that I`m Swiss....." 20:16  |  Christopher 21/04/09
      34.   Rwandan victims and Darfur victims speak 20:17  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      35.   Swiss (Dino):"did you guys notice...." 20:21  |  Christopher 21/04/09
      36.   #18 Swiss ethics 20:33  |  passerby 21/04/09
      37.   Denial 20:35  |  paul 21/04/09
      38.   #18 Swiss ethics (Part II) 20:40  |  passerby 21/04/09
      39.   Swiss (Dino) - You are not one to speak 20:58  |  Yonatan 21/04/09
      40.   # 30 Wright...while you are laughing 21:01  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      41.   #16 Yessm Swiss (dino),, ....too many emotions are not really 21:02  |  Yonatan 21/04/09
      42.   lost this round swiss dino - saur 21:10  |  david 21/04/09
      43.   Lynn, Christopher, passerby: Sorry guys, but I`m afraid..... 21:13  |  Swiss (Dino) 21/04/09
      44.   37. paul, Denial 21:15  |  Eylo 21/04/09
      45.   Ahmadinejad in agreement with Olmert 22:23  |  Roo 21/04/09
      46.   Ahmadinejad in agreement with Olmert 22:47  |  Roo 21/04/09
      47.   Jeff Northridge #17 why was it anti semitic 22:49  |  ahem 21/04/09
      48.   # 37 paul....have you forgotten 23:37  |  Lynn 21/04/09
      49.   `Tea leaf` reading of his speech 23:42  |  Dean Blake 21/04/09
      50.   "...stopped short of denying the Holocaust"... 07:06  |  BBSNews 22/04/09
      51.   IRAN 12:54  |  Jim 22/04/09
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