04/21 News

Diplomats Storm Out Of UN Racism Conference
8:59pm UK, Monday April 20, 2009

Diplomats have walked out of a UN conference on racism after the president of Iran launched a blistering attack on the Israeli government.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel of being the "most cruel and racist regime", causing angry Western diplomats to get up and leave the room.
In a rambling speech, Mr Ahmadinejad pointed a finger at the US, Europe and Israel and accused them of destabilising the entire world.
Some European diplomats immediately walked out of the room when the Iranian president said Israel was created on the "pretext of Jewish suffering" in World War II.
A wigged protester shouting "Racist, racist" threw a soft red object at Mr Ahmadinejad, hitting the podium and interrupting his speech.

The conference has been shunned by America and many of its allies including Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Italy.
Their boycott stemmed from the fear it could be a platform for what US President Barack Obama called "hypocritical and counterproductive" antagonism towards Israel.
President Ahmadinejad is the only major head of state who accepted an invitation to the gathering, which UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also due to address.
France, like Britain and the Czech Republic, is sending ambassadors but not senior members of government.

It is hard to find an explanation as to why exactly the Swiss, hosting the 'Durban II' anti-racism convention in Geneva, opted to make its guest of honour Iran's strong man Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The UN wants the summit to focus on easing ethnic and racial tensions that threaten migrant workers and minorities.
Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini said the failure of the 27-member European Union to agree a common position on the meeting was a huge disappointment.
"Going there and acting as a silent witness does not pay in the end: you only risk becoming complicit to it," he said in an interview with Italian daily Il Giornale.
The US and Israel walked out of the last major UN race conference in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 after Arab states sought to label Zionism as racist.