Walkout at Iran leader's speech

**Thudpucker** · 04-20-2009, 09:25 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8008572.stm

Diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a "racist government".

Two protesters, wearing coloured wigs, disrupted the beginning of the speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - followed by the Western walkout.

Others enthusiastically clapped as Mr Ahmadinejad continued his address.

France said it was a "hate speech". A number of other Western countries have boycotted the conference altogether.

The walkout is a public relations disaster for the United Nations, which had hoped the conference would be a shining example of what the UN is supposed to do best - uniting to combat injustice in the world, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva.

The walkout by delegates from at least 30 countries happened within minutes of the speech starting on Monday.

The delegates planned to return later to participate in the rest of the conference.

One of the two protesters escorted out of the conference hall managed to throw an object at the Iranian president - as they yelled "racist, racist" as he stood at the podium.

Mr Ahmadinejad, the only major leader to attend the conference, said Jewish migrants from Europe and the United States had been sent to the Middle East after World War II "in order to establish a racist government in the occupied Palestine".

He continued, through an interpreter: "And in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine."

French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattei said: "As soon as he started to address the question of the Jewish people and Israel, we had no reason to stay in the room," Associated Press reported.

**Ray G.** · 04-20-2009, 09:27 AM

Awesome.

What a fucking joke this conference is.

**Ben** · 04-20-2009, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Raydawggie

Awesome.

What a fucking joke this conference is.

I heard the snacks they're serving during the coffee breaks are pretty bad, too.

**Nick_Ardill** · 04-20-2009, 09:30 AM

Who would have that having Iran's president giving a speech against racism seem like a good idea?

I know. Lets get Hitler's corpse to be the host of Ebony awards!

**Ben** · 04-20-2009, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Quackenbush

Who would have that having Iran's president giving a speech against racism seem like a good idea?

I know. Lets get Hitler's corpse to be the host of Ebony awards!

C'mon, that's just ridiculous. How could a corpse (which would barely be a skeleton at this point) host an awards show?

**bachman** · 04-20-2009, 09:33 AM

Maybe they all just had to pee.

**Ryan F** · 04-20-2009, 09:34 AM

We weren't even there to walk out!

Glad Sarkozy walked out after making an international ass of himself last week.

**Thudpucker** · 04-20-2009, 09:38 AM

Originally Posted by Ben

C'mon, that's just ridiculous. How could a corpse (which would barely be a skeleton at this point) host an awards show?

Hitlers corpse was dug up in 1970 by the Soviets, cremated and scattered in the Elbe River. That would complicate his ability to host even more.

**Thudpucker** · 04-20-2009, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by Ryan F

We weren't even there to walk out!

Glad Sarkozy walked out after making an international ass of himself last week.

Sarkozy isn't there. France is being represented by Jean-Baptiste Mattei.

**Ryan F** · 04-20-2009, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Thudpucker

Sarkozy isn't there. France is being represented by Jean-Baptiste Mattei.

Sorry, he made a big speech about the walkout. I didn't mean that he was literally there to walk out, but he made the call and has tried to score some points off it.

I thought it was an interesting move to take the lead on this after he pissed half of the western world off last week by dissing most of the other G20 leaders.