Norway warns Ahmadinejad

Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre (as depicted) is, unlike officials from many Western countries, attending the UN Durban review conference in Geneva, but warns that any attempt, by Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to cross the line with regards to Israel, will be met with sharp protests, according to a newswire report brought by Norwegian dailies VG Nett and Dagbladet.no (both sources in Norwegian).

He may soon find that he’d be held to his words, as:

Diplomats have walked out of a speech by the Iranian president at a UN anti-racism conference after he described Israel as a “racist government”.

– BBC News

Also, from CNN.com:

[...] Dozens of delegates walked out of the chamber as Ahmadinejad accused Israel and the West of making “an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering … in order to establish a totally racist government.”

He said Zionism, the Jewish national movement, “personifies racism,” and accused Zionists of wielding economic and political resources to silence opponents. He also blasted the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan.

A brief glimpse of the session in question (the blog post continues underneath YouTube clip):

More on the incidence in Norwegian. And, for the full Washington Post treatment…

Also, in other Scandinavian news:

• Delegater lämnar FN-konferens – svd.se
• FN-konferensen om rasism urartade i praktskandal – dn.se
• Kaos ved racisme-konference – politiken.dk
• Forlot FNs antirasismekonferanse i protest – tv2nyhetene.no
• Klovn til kamp mot Ahmadinejad – vg.no
• Per Stig truer med boykot efter kaos – politiken.dk
• – Fortjener ikke å avspore konferansen – db.no
• Støre: – Grensen gikk ved Holocaust-fornektelse – vg.no
• Per Stig: Danmark udvandrede som aftalt – politiken.dk
• Svensk opposisjon skeptisk til boikott av FN-konferanse – db.no
• Kastet klovnenese etter Irans president – tv2nyhetene.no
• Støre irettesatte Ahmadinejad – tv2nyhetene.no
• Refser Støres oppførsel i FN – tv2nyhetene.no
• Ahmadinejad angrepet med klovnenese – db.no
• Bildt: Ahmadinejad gick över gränsen – svd.se
• Asmaa Abdol-Hamid langer ud efter Pia Kjærsgaard – politiken.dk
• – Forkastelig av Støre – nettavisen.no
• Støre i strupen på Iran – nettavisen.no
• – Som å invitere Hitler til å snakke om menneskerettigheter – db.no
• Støre roses av jødiske ledere – db.no
• Støre roses av jødiske ledere – tv2nyhetene.no

Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

So far there’s little news of Mr. Støre’s eagerly awaited reaction, but I expect it to be a sharp one. There are no reports as of yet that he’s left the conference chamber along with EU colleagues, but in an earlier statement said:

“Leaving the conference chamber would only deepen and reinforce the differences,” while emphasising that even for Norway there’s a limit to what’s acceptable, continuing

“But I cannot define, word by word, where to draw that line.”

People protest against racism in the Kensington community of Calgary, Alberta. Photographer: Robert Thivierge/Wikimedia Commons

Update:

According to newswire NTB, Mr. Støre entered the podium immediately after president Ahmadinejad, defending his right to express himself, while stressing that he rejected his allegations:

“I strongly reject the last speaker’s views,” pointing out that Ahmadinejad has placed himself “beside the rest”, contrary to the spirit of the conference, as “the odd man out”.

“Norway will not accept that the odd man out hijacks the efforts of the many,” Støre said (translated via Norwegian).

Top photo: Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre (Labour). Photographer: Bjørn Sigurdsøn/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.