Reply #13: Foreign leaders blast Ahmadinejad's Durban II speech

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the Durban II conference on racism raised heated criticism with many diplomats storming out during the speech when he accused Israel of establishing a "cruel and repressive racist regime" over the Palestinians, and said "Zionism" had penetrated mass media and financial systems to extend its domination over other countries. World leaders were quick to issue their criticism of the speech, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy saying "the speech pronounced by Iran's president is ... an intolerable call for racist hatred that flouts the ideals and the values inscribed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Sarkozay also called for an "extremely firm reaction by the European Union."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who was present during the speech, said "I deplore the use of this platform by the Iranian President to accuse, divide and even incite. We must all turn away from such a message in both form and substance."

U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolf called the speech "shameful", while Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper praised the walk-out during the speech as "a very positive thing."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called Ahmadinejad's remarks offensive, inflammatory and utterly unacceptable. That such remarks were
made using the platform of the UN's anti-racism conference is all the more reprehensible."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079653.html