I’m already liking the new secretary to the U.N. Of course, my favorite thing about him is that he was not Kofi’s hand-picked successor. But this made me like him even more:
Incoming U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Iran on Thursday it was unacceptable to deny the Holocaust or call for Israel to be wiped off the map.
Ban, at a news conference, was asked about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who since coming to power in August last year has caused an outcry by terming the Holocaust a “myth” and calling Israel a “tumor” in the Middle East.
Ahmadinejad just ended a two-day international conference on the Holocaust that was dominated by speakers who questioned the extermination of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in World War Two.
“Denying historical facts especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust is just not acceptable,” Ban said.
“Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of states or people,” Ban said. “I would like to see this fundamental principle respected in both rhetoric and practice by all the members of the international community.”
It’s certainly a nice change from Kofi, but people have been telling Iran its behavior is unacceptable for decades now, and when Iran contemptuously pays no attention nothing happens. Even when states break relations or recall ambassadors to express anger, the Iranians see them come crawling back a few months later. That’s what happened after they seized our embassy, when they kidnapped the French Ambassador, and in other cases. Why should Iran pay any attention? Based on past experience they will conclude that any storm will blow over soon without them having to do anything. If they are contemptuous of the EU and the rest of the world there is reason for it in their eyes.