interesting development,
here's another one:
Even Iran expected to vote 'aye' today as UN denounces all Holocaust denial
By Shlomo Shamir
The United Nations General Assembly is expected today to adopt a resolution condemning "any denial of the Holocaust."
The draft resolution circulated by the United States "condemns without reservation any denial of the Holocaust" and urges UN member states "unreservedly to reject any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event."
Advertisement
The proposed resolution enjoyes widespread support in the UN and may be supported by all member states, including Iran. In this case there would be no need to vote on it.
The United States submitted the proposal on Tuesday and representatives of the European Union, Canada, Australia and Israel mustered the majority support for it. By yesterday afternoon 80 states had expressed support for the proposal and diplomats said they intended to obtain the backing of more than 104 - the number of states that voted for holding an International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
Iran, which supported the resolution to commemorate the Holocaust in 2005, may support today's resolution, which is seen as a direct response to Iran's hosting a Holocaust denial conference in December 2006.
The conference was sponsored by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called the Holocaust a "myth" and said Israel was a "tumor" in the Middle East.
Turkey, Russia and Germany, currently holding the European Union's presidency, acted to obtain a majority support for the proposal.
A senior Western diplomat told Haaretz yesterday that a number of representatives of Arab states said that, in principle, they did not object to the resolution. "I have rarely seen such harmonious cooperation among central member states," he said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last Friday that the Holocaust was "a unique tragedy that is impossible to deny."
He said the Nazis' ability to rally supporters despite their "pure evil" is still frightening.
Remembering the Holocaust is "an essential answer to people who were deceived and argue that the Holocaust never happened, or that the stories about it are exaggerated," he said.
The proposed resolution condemning Holocaust denial was seen as a continuation of the proposal setting January 27 as international Holocaust remembrance day. The UN is planning numerous ceremonies and events to commemorate the Holocaust.
|
