Germany threatens to walk out of UN General Assembly if Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
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A spokesman for the German government has announced plans to walk out of the United Nations General Assembly if Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust in a speech he is due to give on Wednesday.
The spokesman said, "We will leave the hall if President Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust or makes anti-Semitic statements ... we are making efforts toward a unified European position," going on to request a "common response" from other European Union member nations. Gabriela Shalev, Israel's ambassador to the UN, also encouraged a boycott of Ahmadinejad's speech.
On Friday, Ahmadinejad gave a speech in which he called the Holocaust "a lie" and a "fairy tale". German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the remarks, calling Ahmadinejad "a disgrace".
Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany, where the Nazis carried out the Holocaust, a mass persecution and killing of Jews and other minorities, during World War II.
[edit] Sources
- "Germany: Will Walk out of U.N. if Ahmadinejad Denies Holocaust" — FOX News, 22 September, 2009
- "Germany to walk out at UN if Iran denies Holocaust" — Monsters and Critics, 22 September, 2009
- Brian Rohan. "Germany wants U.N. walkout if Amadinejad denies Holocaust" — Reuters, 22 September, 2009
- "Germany says will walkout at UN if Ahmadinejad denies Holocaust" — WashingtonTV, 22 September, 2009
