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The following is the speech of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Durban Review Conference on racism in Geneva on April 20
.Mr. Chairman, honorable secretary general of the United Nations, honorable United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Ladies and gentleman:We have gathered in the follow-up to the Durban conference against racism and racialdiscrimination to work out practical mechanisms for our holy and humanitariancampaigns.Over the last centuries, humanity has gone through great sufferings and pains. In theMedieval Ages, thinkers and scientists were sentenced to death. It was then followed by a period of slavery and slave trade. Innocent people were taken captive in their millionsand separated from their families and loved ones to be taken to Europe and Americaunder the worst conditions. A dark period that also experienced occupation, lootings andmassacres of innocent people.Many years passed by before nations rose up and fought for their liberty and freedom andthey paid a high price for it. They lost millions of lives to expel the occupiers andestablish independent and national governments. However, it did not take long before power grabbers imposed two wars in Europe which also plagued a part of Asia andAfrica. Those horrific wars claimed about a hundred million lives and left behind massivedevastation. Had lessons been learnt from the occupations, horrors and crimes of thosewars, there would have been a ray of hope for the future.The victorious powers called themselves the conquerors of the world while ignoring or down treading upon rights of other nations by the imposition of oppressive laws andinternational arrangements.Ladies and gentlemen, let us take a look at the UN Security Council which is one of thelegacies of World War I and World War II. What was the logic behind their grantingthemselves the veto right? How can such logic comply with humanitarian or spiritualvalues? Would it not be inconformity with the recognized principles of justice, equality before the law, love and human dignity? Would it not be discrimination, injustice,violations of human rights or humiliation of the majority of nations and countries?The council is the highest decision-making world body for safeguarding international peace and security. How can we expect the realization of justice and peace whendiscrimination is legalized and the origin of the law is dominated by coercion and forcerather than by justice and the rights?Coercion and arrogance is the origin of oppression and wars. Although today many proponents of racism condemn racial discrimination in their words and their slogans, anumber of powerful countries have been authorized to decide for other nations based ontheir own interests and at their own discretion and they can easily violate all laws andhumanitarian values as they have done so.
 
Following World War II, they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nationhomeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering and they sent migrants from Europe, theUnited States and other parts of the world in order to establish a totally racist governmentin occupied Palestine. And, in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racismin Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime inPalestine.The Security Council helped stabilize the occupying regime and supported it in the past60 years giving them a free hand to commit all sorts of atrocities. It is all the moreregrettable that a number of Western governments and the United States have committedthemselves to defending those racist perpetrators of genocide while the awakened-conscience and free-minded people of the world condemn aggression, brutalities and the bombardment of civilians in Gaza. The supporters of Israel have always been either supportive or silent against the crimes.Dear friends, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. What are the root causes of the US attacks against Iraq or the invasion of Afghanistan?Was the motive behind the invasion of Iraq anything other than the arrogance of the thenUS administration and the mounting pressures on the part of the possessors of wealth and power to expand their sphere of influence seeking the interests of giant armsmanufacturing companies affecting a noble culture with thousands of years of historical background, eliminating the potential and practical threats of Muslim countries againstthe Zionist regime or to control and plunder the energy resources of the Iraqi people?Why, indeed, almost a million people were killed and injured and a few more millionswere displaced? Why, indeed, the Iraqi people have suffered enormous losses amountingto hundreds of billions of dollars? And why was billions of dollars imposed on theAmerican people as the result of these military actions? Was not the military actionagainst Iraq planned by the Zionists and their allies in the then US administration incomplicity with the arms manufacturing countries and the possessors of wealth? Did theinvasion of Afghanistan restore peace, security and economic wellbeing in the country?The United States and its allies not only have failed to contain the production of drugs inAfghanistan, but the cultivation of narcotics has multiplied in the course of their  presence. The basic question is that what was the responsibility and the job of the thenUS administration and its allies?Did they represent the countries of the world? Have they been mandated by them? Havethey been authorized by the people of the world to interfere in all parts of the globe, of course mostly in our region? Are not these measures a clear example of egocentrism,racism, discrimination or infringement upon the dignity and independence of nations?Ladies and gentlemen, who is responsible for the current global economic crisis? Wheredid the crisis start from? From Africa, Asia or from the United States in the first place
 
then spreading across Europe and their allies?For a long time, they imposed inequitable economic regulations by their political power on the international economy. They imposed a financial and monetary system without a proper international oversight mechanism on nations and governments that played no rolein repressive trends or policies. They have not even allowed their people to oversea or monitor their financial policies. They introduced all laws and regulations in defiance of all moral values only to protect the interests of the possessors of wealth and power.They further presented a definition for market economy and competition that deniedmany of the economic opportunities that could be available to other countries of theworld. They even transferred their problems to others while the waves of crisis lashed back plaguing their economies with thousands of billions of dollars in budget deficit. Andtoday, they are injecting hundreds of billions of dollars of cash from the pockets of their own people and other nations into the failing banks, companies and financial institutionsmaking the situation more and more complicated for their economy and their people.They are simply thinking about maintaining power and wealth. They could not care anyless about the people of the world and even their own people.Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, Racism is rooted in the lack of knowledgeconcerning the root of human existence as the selected creature of God. It is also the product of his deviation from the true path of human life and the obligations of mankindin the world of creation, failing to consciously worship God, not being able to think aboutthe philosophy of life or the path to perfection that are the main ingredients of divine andhumanitarian values which have restricted the horizon of human outlook making transientand limited interests, the yardstick for his action. That is why evil's power took shape andexpanded its realm of power while depriving others from enjoying equitable and justopportunities of development.The result has been the making of an unbridled racism that is posing the most seriousthreats against international peace and has hindered the way for building peacefulcoexistence in the entire world. Undoubtedly, racism is the symbol of ignorance whichhas deep roots in history and it is, indeed, the sign of frustration in the development of human society.It is, therefore, crucially important to trace the manifestations of racism in situations or insocieties where ignorance or lack of knowledge prevails. This increasing generalawareness and understanding towards the philosophy of human existence is the principlestruggle against such manifestations, and reveals the truth that human kind centers on thecreation of the universe and the key to solving the problem of racism is a return tospiritual and moral values and finally the inclination to worship God Almighty.The international community must initiate collective moves to raise awareness in afflictedsocieties where ignorance of racism still prevails so as to bring to a halt the spread of these malicious manifestations.
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