This is a guest post by UJS Students in Geneva
The controversy over Ahmadnejad speaking at the UN Durban Review Conference is now all over the news, worldwide. The protest from the conference floor of several delegations walking out was nothing short of admirable and a true reflection of what the sentiment that this conference should representing.
The speech that the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave yesterday was appalling. It crossed all of the UK red lines as well as those of many other countries. We are proud that the UK delegation were among the first to walk out as he began to speak. As the day and the evening progressed, other countries began to pull out of the conference altogether as further protest of the farce that the Durban Review Conference has become.
It is a pity, however, that the British delegation is continuing their participation in a conference that is clearly here not to stand up against racism and intolerance worldwide, but bear witness to it happening on its own doorstep and do nothing. The British delegation is still part of a conference with a chairperson and many other delegations that remained silent during the tirade of a racist.
We are witnesses to the injustice and the disgrace that the conference has descended, and call on the British government to withdraw their delegation from the Durban Review Conference.
Worst of all, the European Union of Jewish Students this morning had their accreditation to the United Nations taken away from them for being part of the NGO leadership campaign against Ahmadinejad. The UN had no hesitation about kept racists in the conference and but deliberated on casting anti-racists out at an anti racism conference – ridiculous!
UPDATE:
The Jewish students now have their accreditations back. However, how can an organisation ban anti-racists while giving the platform to a homophobic, holocaust denying racist.
There is a fast growing Facebook Group called “STAND UP TO RACISM – Withdraw from Durban II.”
David T adds:
Ahmadinijad’s speech can be read here on PressTV (where else!)
