World Reaction to Ahmadinejad at Columbia

It's difficult to see how Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia will play out over time.  At first I was very much against Columbia's having him there, but I thought Lee Bollinger's introduction rated an A+ for laying out a first class case against Ahmadinejad's regime, and I think that the opportunity the appearance presented for the world to witness the anger of the American street, for a change, might not have been a bad thing.  It also illustrated the fact that displeasure with Iran's human rights abuses and encouragement of terrorism crosses left/right political boundaries. Though some in the US might have argued for or against allowing him to speak, the huge preponderence of Americans are united in contempt for his policies.

Reactions I've read from around the world noted American hostility to Ahmadinejad's visit and the derision with which he was faced for his views on the Holocaust, his regime's human rights abuses, and his incredible declaration that there were no homosexuals in Iran.

On balance, I think he did himself more harm than good and that the US earned some points in the terrorism media war by allowing him to appear and voice his rambling and ludicrous thoughts.

Media reactions:

Washington Post:  "Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad from a lectern across the stage. He said that Ahmadinejad's past denials of the Holocaust might fool "the illiterate and ignorant" but that "when you come to a place like this, it makes you quite simply ridiculous."

A leader known to live largely protected from criticism at home, Ahmadinejad appeared shocked and insulted. He chastised Bollinger for judging his speech before it had even begun and suggested that such a move was unforgivable in a university setting.

Ahmadinejad, who in the past has argued that Israel should be "wiped off the map," repeated his assertions that the Holocaust should be researched "from different perspectives" and said Palestinians should not be "paying the price for an event they had nothing to do with." The Iranian leader also blasted U.S. sanctions against his country, insisted on Iran's right to nuclear development and declared his willingness to "dialogue" with U.S. leaders.

The war of words at Columbia was, in many ways, a herald of Ahmadinejad's unwelcome reception in New York, a city both scarred by terrorism and at the heart of American Judaism. The controversy began even before the Iranian leader landed Sunday night for a three-day trip on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly, which Ahmadinejad will address Tuesday afternoon.

As it does for many a dignitary, New York, home to the United Nations, provided extra security for Ahmadinejad along with the U.S. Secret Service and Iranian security. But luminaries, leaders and the local media made it abundantly clear that much of New York is holding its nose while Ahmadinejad is in town.

New York Times:  He said that there were no homosexuals in Iran — not one — and that the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews should not be treated as fact, but theory, and therefore open to debate and more research.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, aired those and other bewildering thoughts in a two-hour verbal contest at Columbia University yesterday, providing some ammunition to people who said there was no point in inviting him to speak. Yet his appearance also offered evidence of why he is widely admired in the developing world for his defiance toward Western, especially American, power.

In repeated clashes with his hosts, Mr. Ahmadinejad accused the United States of supporting terrorist groups, and characterized as hypocritical American and European efforts to rein in Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“If you have created the fifth generation of atomic bombs and are testing them already, who are you to question other people who just want nuclear power,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said, adding, pointedly: “I think the politicians who are after atomic bombs, politically, they’re backwards. Retarded.”

The San Francisco Chronicle:  MAHMOUD Ahmadinejad, Iran's much-detested president, must have some excellent security guards - and a really warped sense of humor. With the hint of a smile, he took the stage at Columbia University as though the thousands of livid protesters assembled outside had nothing to do with him, his country's alarming human rights record, or his statements about the Holocaust.

He even spoke as though he had just ambled in for a calm talk with a few credulous tourists - describing the Iranian nation as one that has "always extended a hand of friendship to other nations," and adding that "We love the Jewish people." It was an impressively unruffled performance, though a stilted one.

...He extended an invitation for all of Columbia's faculty to speak at any Iranian university, where, he said, "we will respect you 100 percent." A note to those who might consider it: Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a Columbia graduate is being held in Iran right now. A reason to be thankful for American free speech, indeed.

The BBC:  The BBC's Jon Leyne, in New York, said Mr Ahmadinejad was visibly annoyed. At one point he demanded to know why raising issues about the Holocaust or the existence of Israel was not compatible with freedom of speech, our correspondent says.

Mr Ahmadinejad has called in the past for an end to the Israeli state and described the Holocaust as a "myth".

Addressing the Holocaust issue, Mr Ahmadinejad said he simply wanted more research to be done.

He also said the issue was abused by Israel to justify what he said was its mistreatment of the Palestinians.

Spiegel: Although Bollinger had already announced that he was going to be tough with Ahmadinejad, nobody had expected the host to give such a reprimand to his guest -- including the guest himself, who had waved benevolently to the audience before sitting down. "Wow," someone said when the university president finished his speech.

Ahmadinejad looked irritated. "I want to complain a bit (about) the person who read this political statement against me," he said, giving an ice-cold smile and pointing his index finger into the air. Bollinger's words were "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here" and included "insults and claims that were incorrect," he said, but added that he would not let himself be affected by the "unfriendly treatment."

He went on to lose himself in a lecture on God, science and politics, sprinkled with reproaches, accusations and suggestions. After the speech, Bollinger admitted that he didn't totally know what Ahmadinejad had wanted to say. Ahmadinejad skirted around the question of Holocaust denial, but said there was not "sufficient research that can approach the topic from different perspectives." (At this point, the audience almost drowned out the voice of the interpreter.) Again he insisted on Iran's "right to peaceful nuclear energy."

During the following question and answer session, the students were even tougher on Ahmadinejad than the journalists had been earlier -- although the Iranian leader still didn't answer any of their questions. Asked about the executions of homosexuals, he said with a straight face: "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country." Laughter and booing echoed around the hall.

Winnipeg Sun:  Spitting-mad New Yorkers took to the streets yesterday to protest a controversial visit by the man they call "Public Enemy No. 1."

Hoisting placards that screamed "Hitler Lives" and "Block the Bomb," thousands demonstrated outside Columbia University, where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the VIP guest at a world leaders' forum.

'FEELINGS OF HATRED'

"He has feelings of hatred for America, for Israel, for the west in general. He has repeatedly said he wants to attack the west and he's attempting to build a nuclear arsenal. He may come here, but I'm against everything he stands for and I want him to know that," said Gabriel Homa, a 20-year-old Montreal native.

The campus clash set the stage for today's address at the UN by the international pariah who denies the Holocaust and has been accused of saying he wants to wipe Israel off the map.

Columbia had taken much heat for the invitation, but yesterday the university's president, Lee Bollinger, did not offer a warm welcome. Instead, he lashed out at the Iranian president for his record on human rights and support for terrorism, and suggested he was "brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated" for denying the Holocaust.

...Holocaust survivor Albert Linder was sad and disgusted. "I was there, I saw it. I saw my 18-month-old sister die, I watched my grandparents die. I watched my other grandparents being shot. I saw it all, and I don't want it to happen again and this guy is all about making it happen again."

Reuters UK: Vilified as a Holocaust denier, a supporter of terrorism and a backer of Iraqi insurgents, the president of Iran was actually able to make New Yorkers burst into laughter -- but not at a joke.

"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at Columbia University on Monday in response to a question about the recent execution of two gay men there.

"In Iran we do not have this phenomenon," he continued. "I do not know who has told you we have it."

Loud laughs and boos broke from the audience of about 700 people, mostly students at the Ivy League school whose garb included "Stop Ahmadinejad's Evil" T-shirts.

Everyone from presidential candidates to September 11 families had expressed outrage that Ahmadinejad would speak there.

After his assertions that Israel persecutes Palestinians and that Iran's nuclear program is for energy not weapons, the Iranian leader's comment on gays broke the tension.

But it spurred strong reaction too.

"This is a sick joke," said Scott Long of Human Rights Watch, saying Iran tortures gays under a penal code that punishes homosexuality between men with the death penalty.

When Ahmadinejad, speaking in Farsi, actually tried to crack a joke, it drew no laughter, although maybe the nuance was lost in translation.

"Let me tell a joke here," Ahmadinejad said. "I think the politicians who are after atomic bombs, or testing them, making them, politically they are backward, retarded."

The crowd seemed uncertain how to react. Some applauded that pacifist sentiment, others seemed befuddled by the insensitive use of the word retarded.

The Scotsman:  MAHMOUD Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, was labelled a "petty and cruel dictator" during a visit to a prestigious university in the United States yesterday.

Mr Ahmadinejad looked "simply ridiculous" when he openly called for the destruction of Israel and questioned the scale of the Holocaust, said Lee Bollinger, the president of Columbia University in New York. 

The invitation to speak at the university's school of international and public affairs had sparked a high-profile debate over freedom of speech and its limits.

But his visit did little to advance his claims to be treated as a serious international statesman when he claimed women enjoy the "highest level of freedom" in Iran.

His remarks were at times met with laughter from disbelieving students, unable to comprehend the effrontery of Mr Ahmadinejad's statement that: "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country."

Mr Ahmadinejad's appearance may have seemed a propaganda coup before he spoke, but once he had completed his rambling, incoherent address on the nobility of scientific research, he no longer had the air of one of the world's most dangerous or controversial leaders.

Comments

[Linda]

Personally, I did not think this was worthy enough for protesters. You see, I'm for people like that hanging themselves, which he clearly did. Unfortunately, we can't blindly ridicule him as he is moving forward with nuclear technology. Men who are as crazy as this guy are more dangerous than your average leader.

[WLestina]

Thanks for doing the heavy lifting on the research for the variety of news reports. I am fascinated by the high level of ethical issues raised by the invitation to speak at Columbia (freedom of speech, intellectual debate, world forum, Bollinger's opening remarks, etc.). I cannot reconcile Bollinger's invitation to with his explanations (which sound, to me, disingenuous). Ahmadinejad not only denies the Holocaust, he sponsored an international conference to promote the theories of Holocaust deniers from around the world. Considering this action alone (and there are certainly plenty of other examples of his dangerous mind), it seems irresponsible (at best) to give him credence by giving him an honorable platform. Bollinger's remarks could be considered a self-serving ambush, politically honed; few people will read them, now or ever. The majority of people in the world who take note of this event will only recall that Ahmadinejad was invited, he spoke, and there were protests: he was given major world leader status by the mere fact of the invitation (haven't noticed any lectures scheduled featuring, say, Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea.