euro|topics - Ahmadinejad in New York

07/10/2008

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Main focus of Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Ahmadinejad in New York

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has delivered speeches at New York's Columbia University and the UN general assembly session. European commentators question whether it was right to give an enemy of Israel and Holocaust denier such eminent platforms.

La Vanguardia - Spain

The daily considers that "logically, the invitation given to a 'petty and cruel dictatar' as he was called by Columbia University's chief education officer, is surprising and polemical. ... It was predictable that the Iranian leader ... would take advantage of the situation to display his cynicism and evade answering questions. It would nevertheless be a step forward if all the students in the world could hold direct discussions with the planet's leaders, even the most abject, to listen to them and, as much as possible, debate their arguments. It is always best to talk. Besides the moral and religious lessons that Ahmadinejad inflicted on his audience, nothing was said on the evolution of Iran's contentious nuclear question." (26/09/2007)

Die Welt - Germany

Historian Michael Wolffsohn considers it wrong that Ahmadinejad has been allowed to make public appearances in New York: "This potential mass murderer, who even has the temerity to announce his mass murders in advance, is being treated with a high degree of tolerance. But it's not Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who's the problem, it's us, or to be precise, us as part of an international community that allows people to do as they please - even call for the extermination of other states and deny the Holocaust... German and European politicians must wake up from the delusion that the UN embodies the world's conscience. In a nutshell: actions in a global context should be based on Western democratic values, not on UN compromises that are accepted by Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe or other rogue states. We must remember our values, which ultimately are universal." (26/09/2007)

Der Standard - Austria

Julia Raabe describes how Ahmadinejad has exploited the international stage. "He has attacked Israel ('[it's] based on racism'), talked nonsense at the renowned Columbia University ('There are no homosexuals in Iran') and publicly toyed with the idea of laying a wreath at Ground Zero - he who is 'probably the greatest sponsor of state terrorism' (to quote Condoleeza Rice). And the show will go on for as long as Ahmadinejad remains in the US. But the Iranian president has already played his role brilliantly for Washington. He has presented himself exactly as the Bush Administration sees him. And because he is the only representative of the Iranian regime that can capture the attention of the international public in such a way... there's no danger that a more nuanced picture of the situation in Iran will have to be painted in the future." (26/09/2007)

» To the complete press review of Wednesday, September 26, 2007

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