I just witnessed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrive at the UN Conference against racism, i even came within 10 ft of the man. He is due to give the main address of the afternoon, this man, a man who advocates holocaust denial, a man who has vowed the destruction of the state of Israel, a man who claims that Iran has no homosexuals, this man is giving the main address at a UN conference for Human Rights and against racism this afternoon.
At my university in Leeds, we have a diverse bunch of people, however the UN is a far more diverse institution, an institution that prides itself on being the global protector of human rights. At Leeds met, i am proud to say we would not allow such a man to speak, we would give all students in Leeds the respect and dignity to not have to attend a university that devalues the basic human rights and breeds hatred.
Many countries and NGO's have already vowed to walk out during his address in recognition of his abhorrent views, however i would urge anyone and everyone at this conference to avoid listening and giving a platform to this biggot.
This is probably not enough, this conference does not need more european states to pull out, as the conference is already a de-ligitimised body for giving such a platform to this man.
Keep watching for the next update at 4pm GMT
No comments:
Post a Comment