Saturday, January 27, 2007
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UN assembly condemns Holocaust denial; Iran disassociates
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday condemned without
reservation any denial of the Holocaust, with only Iran publicly
disassociating itself from the consensus resolution which was
immediately hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The Assembly, noting that the resolution was adopted on the eve of the
UN-designated annual International Day of Commemoration for Holocaust
victims, who also included Roma, Sinti, homosexuals and other groups,
called on all its 192 Member States `unreservedly to reject any denial
of the Holocaust as a historical event, either in full or in part, or
any activities to this end.’
Welcoming the measure, which was introduced by the United States on
behalf of 103 co-sponsors, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a
statement voicing his `strong desire to see this fundamental principle
respected both in rhetoric and in practice.’
`By this action today, the General Assembly reaffirms its condemnation
of the Holocaust as a crime against humanity,’ said the body’s
president, Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa of Bahrain.
`This is a strong reminder to all that the international communityis
united in opposing all crimes against humanity,’ she said. `For the
dignity of all humanity, we must strengthen our resolve to prevent
such atrocities, whenever and wherever they might occur.’
Introducing the resolution, acting US Permanent Representative
Alejandro D. Wolff said it made clear that all people and all States
have a vital stakein a world free of genocide.
`We remember it [the Holocaust], indeed we must remember it, to ensure
that such events are never repeated,’ he stressed. `Those who would
deny the Holocaust – and, sadly, there are some who do – reveal not
only their ignorance but their moral failure as well.’
Iranian representative Hossein Gharibi, while reiterating his
country’s `unambiguous’ condemnation of genocide against any race,
dismissed the resolution as a manipulation to deflect attention from
Israel’s`atrocious’ crimes and said it should have included other
cases of genocide such as Hiroshimaand Nagasaki, where the US dropped
atomic bombs, Palestine, Rwanda and the Balkans.
`In view of the above we truly disassociate ourselves from this entire
hypocritical political exercise,’ he declared.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman said the lessons of the Holocaust are
universal, compelling all nations to recommit to preventing the
horrors of genocide. `While the nations of the world gather here to
affirm the historicity of the Holocaust with the intent of never again
allowing genocide, a Member of this Assembly is acquiring the
capabilities to carry out its own,’ he added.
`The President of Iran is in fact saying: `There really wasno
Holocaust, but just in case, we shall finish the job.”
Speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU), German Ambassador
Thomas Matussek said distortions of historical facts `are a shameful
failure of the responsibility we all share to ensure a world free from
such atrocities.’
Speaking in the name of his country, he noted that the `unprecedented
crime of the Holocaust was committed by Germans and in the name of
Germany, and from that stems our very special responsibility.’
The UN marks Holocaust Commemoration Day annually on 27 January but
because it falls on a Saturday this year, it will be observed on
Monday 29 January. In a message prepared for the occasion, Mr. Ban
calls the Holocaust `a unique and undeniable tragedy.’ The remembrance
`is an essential response to those misguided individuals who claim
that the Holocaust never happened, or has been exaggerated,’ he adds.
Tomorrow, a month-long exhibition will open in the General Assembly
Visitors’ Lobby, displaying both the plight of the Roma and Sinti
minorities in Central and Eastern Europe and paintings and sculptures
by four Holocaust survivors – Joseph Bau (deceased), Henny Trompetter
Zwecher de Brito, David Friedman (deceased) and Hanka Kornfeld-Marder.
Last month, on the day he was sworn in as the next UN
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban was asked about Iran’s conference on the
scale and nature of the slaughter of 6 million Jews. `Denying
historical facts, especially on such an important subject as the
Holocaust, is just not acceptable,’ he replied. `Nor is it acceptable
to call for the elimination of any State or people.’
In 2005, both then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security
Council condemned reported remarks by Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad calling for Israel to be wiped off the map.
mercopress.com