| [images and
captions added by this website] New York, Friday, January 22, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_re_us/un_holocaust_denial U.S. drafts
Holocaust denial resolution By JUSTIN BERGMAN, Associated Press Writer UNITED NATIONS - The United
States has drafted a U.N. resolution condemning the
denial of the Holocaust, a spokesman said Monday, a
month after Iran provoked widespread anger by
holding a conference casting doubt on the Nazi
genocide of Jews during World War II. According to a copy of the draft made available
to The Associated Press, the proposed resolution
urges all member states to "reject any denial of
the Holocaust," saying that "ignoring the
historical fact of these terrible events increases
the risk they will be repeated." The draft resolution "condemns without any
reservation any denial of the Holocaust," but
doesn't single out any specific country for
criticism. The U.S. said it planned to circulate
the draft to General Assembly members on
Monday. The December conference in Tehran gathered 67
writers and researchers from 30 countries, most of
whom argue that either the Holocaust did not happen
or that it was vastly exaggerated. It was backed by
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who
has called the Holocaust a "myth" and said Israel
should be "wiped off the map." Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S.
mission to the U.N., said the draft resolution was
being circulated ahead of the U.N.'s International
Day of Commemoration in memory of victims of the
Holocaust on Jan. 27. He said its purpose was to "make perfectly clear
that denying or minimizing the importance of the
Holocaust is unacceptable to the U.N. membership."
It was targeted toward "any country, organization
or individuals" who would act in such a way, he
said, without naming any country specifically. Gilad Cohen, a counselor in the Israeli
mission, referred indirectly to the Iran
conference, saying "these incidents cannot be
ignored any longer." "This is a matter for the U.N. to say loud and
clear, 'Enough is enough,'" he said. "Iran is
wanting to have nuclear weapons and deny the
Holocaust. This is something nobody should
accept." The spokesman for the Iranian mission to the
U.N. did not immediately return a phone call
seeking comment. Iran has been locked in a long-running dispute
with the U.S. and its allies over its nuclear
program, which Washington maintains is geared
toward developing atomic weapons. Iran says its
program is purely for peaceful purposes. The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution
last month imposing limited trade sanctions on
Tehran for its refusal to suspend uranium
enrichment, a process that produces the material
for nuclear reactors or bombs. On Monday, Iran said
it barred 38 members of a U.N. nuclear inspection
team from entering the country in what appeared to
be an act of retaliation. 
Hate
crimes not a crime in Slovakia?
|