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By PAUL J. BALLES
Paul J. Balles questions the alleged democratic principles of the countries that succumbed to Israeli lobbying and decided to boycott Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the UN anti-racism conference in Geneva on 20 April, in which he condemned the racist nature and practice of the Jews-only state of Israel.
According to Press TV: "President Ahmadinejad was scheduled to deliver a speech at the Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland, and later participate in a question and answer session, but the event was cancelled after intense Israeli lobbying."
Why would Israel lobby against a speech? They knew it would be critical of Israel. But Israel is a democracy, often touted as the only democracy in the Middle East. When they stop criticism, what kind of democracy is that?
Press TV reports: "The Iranian president arrived in Geneva on Sunday [19 April] to attend a UN-backed Durban Review Conference against racism, xenophobia and intolerance beginning on Monday."
What was Israel's response? "Tel Aviv stepped up efforts to convince European countries to boycott the meeting and to abstain from meeting the Iranian president, a vocal critic of Israel."
What kind of democracy is that?
More from Press TV: "Israel also recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, Ilan Elgar, in protest to the UN conference that was boycotted by Tel Aviv's allies."
Tel Aviv's allies included Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand the United States, Sweden, Australia, Canada and Poland, all democracies boycotting speeches.
What kind of democracy is that?
Press TV had more to report: "The United States and Israel walked out of the first UN racism conference in Durban in 2001, which condemned Israeli atrocities against Palestinians and sought to pass a resolution likening Zionism to racism."
Something of principle might be argued for so-called democracies to boycott a forum when they're sure, based on past experience, that a speaker's criticism will be unjustified and untrue. But the criticism in 2001 was true and justified.
What kind of democracy is that?
American/Israeli lawyer Alan Dershowitz said on the sidelines of the Durban Review Conference that Switzerland's president was supportive of “hate mongering” and that the anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu was a “racist and bigot”.
Both statements, typical of Dershowitz, are patently untrue and unjustified. Instead of taking part in the conference, Dershowitz, Elie Weisel, actor Jon Voight and 14 Israeli students set up a special media room to provide immediate responses to anti-Israeli statements.
What kind of democracy is that?
Gilad Atzmon wrote: "What we saw yesterday at the UN Anti Racism Forum was crude collective institutional Islamophobic racism in the making, a coordinated show of rabid Western chauvinism. A bunch of European diplomats behaving as a herd of sheep, exhibiting complete denial of the notion of freedom of speech and the culture of debate."
Why would members of these celebrated democracies walk away from an open debate? Why would they not face Ahmadinejad and make their own arguments? What were they / are they afraid of?
What kind of democracy is that?
What was it that Dershowitz and his gang accused Ahmadinejad of? They called him a racist and a bigot. Why? Because Ahmadinejad called Israel a racist state. Gilad Atzmon, born and raised an Israeli Jew, said: "Israel is indeed a racist state!"
Dershowitz also called Ahmadinejad a bigot. However, it's Dershowitz who is the bigot. Atzmon says: "…this flock of Western diplomats shouldn’t have been participating in an ‘anti-racism forum’ in the first place. The fact that they have behaved intolerantly proves that they and the governments behind them are the root cause of current racism, namely Islamophobia."
What kind of democracy is that?
Amnesty International said it was "dismayed" by the boycott and urged governments not to "politicize" the meeting. However, they did. Amnesty said: "True conviction in combating racism requires governments to be there to stand up for what is right and to reject forcefully what is objectionable," That’s the kind of democracy that we need.
Paul J. Balles is a retired American university professor and freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for many years. For more information, see http://www.pballes.com.
Posted by JNOUBIYEH at 1:17 PM
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