Reply #14: Ahmadinejad: States boycotting Durban II out of arrogance and selfishness

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Mr Diplomacy speaks.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday said countries that are boycotting the United Nations racism conference currently underway in Switzerland are doing so out of "arrogance and selfishness."

"In our opinion, this is arrogance and selfishness and the root cause of the problems of the world," Ahmadinejad told reporters, after his speech at the UN conference on racism sparked a mass walk-out by EU diplomats.

The conference has been boycotted by the United States, Israel, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Poland and Germany. The Czech Republic announced following his speech that it would be withdrawing from the summit over his remarks on Israel and the Holocaust

Dozens of Western representatives at the UN-sponsored Durban II conference against racism rose from their chairs and walked out of the hall in Geneva as Ahmadinejad launched a tirade against the Israeli government. The Iranian leader also blasted the United States for its invasion of Iraq.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079838.html