Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was heckled as he gave a speech at the opening of a five-day conference on racism yesterday, with delegates streaming out of the auditorium as he spoke.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the conference earlier saying he was “profoundly disappointed” at boycotts by some Western countries, while all forms of racism persist.
Ban also released a statement condemning those who might deny or minimize the Holocaust as the conference began in Geneva.
PHOTO: AP
“We dream of moving in a new direction yet too many of us cling to the past,” the UN chief said.
“We speak of finding a new unity as times demand. Yet we remain weak and divided and stuck in old ways,” he said, adding that he was “profoundly disappointed” about mutual recriminations and absent countries.
“Some nations who by rights should be helping us to forge a path to a better future are not here. Outside these halls, interest groups of many political and ideological stripes shout against one another in acrimony,” he said.
“They too should be with us here,” Ban said. “I deeply regret that some have chosen to stand aside. I hope they will not do so for long.”
Poland yesterday joined the US, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and New Zealand in boycotting the UN meeting over fears that it would degenerate into a forum for anti-Semitic views.
Ahmadinejad has on previous occasions called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” and described the Holocaust as a “myth.”
A UN spokeswoman said Ban “condemns Holocaust denial and those who minimize the importance of the Holocaust.”
Ban pointed out that in 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution saying that “ignoring the historical fact of those terrible events increases the risk they will be repeated,” to mark the beginning of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
He later met Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the conference, which is to review progress in combating racism since a gathering in Durban, South Africa, in 2001.
Ban also told the meeting that the Holocaust was also a reminder that racism may be institutionalized.
“Alternately it may express itself less formally as the hatred of a particular people or class — as anti-Semitism, for example, or the newer Islamophobia,” he said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS