Ahmadinejad snubs Kouchner threats

Addressing a UN anti-racism confab Iran's president minces no words in calling Israel 'a totally racist government' formed on the back of 'military aggression'. Snubbing Monday warnings by the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the post-World War II military invasions on Palestine which preceded the propping up of the entity, were explained by 'Jewish suffering'. "They resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Judaism," he said. "They sent migrants from Europe, the United States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist government in the occupied Palestine." Kouchner (Kouchner with the organ "trader" Thaci..) had earlier warned that all European envoys would leave the UN anti-racism summit, should Ahmadinejad level 'racist or anti-Semitic accusations' against Israel. Ahmadinejad's comments were followed by the walking out of the delegates from several European supporters of Israel. Iran's president, however, continued his speech and was applauded by the audience. France, which had sent its representative to the event, also reportedly condemned the presentation as a 'hate speech' after the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed those who had boycotted 'this festival of hate'. Following hectic Tel Aviv efforts to criminalize the event, the United States was the first to impose the boycott opposing the language the conference's draft document used to characterize Israel The two had also slammed the previous conference held in Durban, South Africa in 2001, for being anti-Semitic because it brought into focus Israel's ill-treatment of the Palestinians and attempted to pass a resolution likening Zionism to racism. A protesting European official was quoted by DPA as saying that the delegations were offended by the 'inflammatory remarks'. As the president was walking up to the podium, some three clown impersonators attempted at obstruction shouting 'racist, racist'. They were ejected by the guards and Ahmadinejad commenced his presentation saying, "I would like to ask the respected audience to forgive these people. They are misinformed." "Coercion and arrogance is the origin of oppression and wars. Although many of proponents of racism today condemn racial discrimination in the words and slogans, a number of powerful countries have been authorized to decide for other nations based on their own interests and at their own discretion and they can easily violate all laws and humanitarian values as they have done so," the Iranian president had said earlier in his remarks