When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes to the UN this week, his biggest fear will be that the visit will be marred by international condemnations over election fraud and the massive human rights abuses taking place in Iran under his watch. If he has his way, however, the international media may forget about the killings in Iran and focus on his provocative Holocaust comments instead.
Mindful of the horrific human rights abuses that have taken place in Iran in the aftermath of the stolen elections, and the continuing protests and resistance by ordinary Iranians, one would think that Ahmadinejad's lack of internal legitimacy would be the natural topic of conversation. But Ahmadinejad is not a man of limited resources.
He knows how to deflect the attention of the media and he is a master of changing the subject. And he knows all too well how to push the buttons of Western audiences.
So it is not a surprise that after having been relatively quiet about the Holocaust for almost two years, Ahmadinejad suddenly decided to question it once again just a few days before landing in New York. At the Friday prayer sermons on September 18, Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a "lie."
His calculation seems to be as follows: Just as before, Western journalists will focus on the controversy around his Holocaust denial, while neglecting about the abuses and violations that are taking place in Iran on a continuous basis. The controversial Holocaust comments will overshadow everything else and will be the focus of not only Western media, but also the protests in New York as well as the statements and comments by European officials. At a minimum, it may help Ahmadinejad portray the situation as such to his audience in Iran.
Ahmadinejad can handle the scorn of world leaders and the Western media with his questioning of the Holocaust, partly because his own constituency of hardliners in Iran sees eye to eye with him on this issue. And partly because ordinary Iranians may be displeased and embarrassed by his comments, but in the midst of the repression they face in Iran, are preoccupied with more immediate concerns. Indeed, when European diplomats walked out on Ahmadinejad in Geneva during the racism summit earlier this year, many ordinary Iranians felt insulted by the act even if they rejected Ahmadinejad's comments.
What Ahmadinejad cannot handle, however, is extensive and relentless focus on Iran's human rights record. Criticism against Ahmadinejad on these grounds by world leaders could do irreparable damage to Ahmadinejad's standing inside Iran, particularly as Iranians of all walks of life continue to defy his rule. It would show that the world is not indifferent to the systematic and lethal abuses taking place in Iranian prisons. It would show that the world cares, not only about Ahmadinejad's provocative rhetoric, but actually also about the well being of the Iranian people.
Ahmadinejad cannot handle a walkout at the UN over his election robbery and human rights abuses.
So if delegates at the UN General Assembly walk out on Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, the decisive issue will be on what grounds they did so. Will it be over his Holocaust denial or over his stealing of an election and torture of his own people?
Ahmadinejad's preference is clear. He has used the tragedy of the Holocaust for political gain before. The question is if the world will walk into his trap again.
Follow Trita Parsi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tparsi
Joel Rubin: Iran, Holocaust Denial, and Israel Bashing: Don't Take Ahmadinejad's Bait
Ahmadinejad's Israel-bashing, Holocaust-denying statements are bizarre, yet well calculated ploys to distract. We would be well served to remember that he is doing this for a reason. What we should not do is take the bait.
If the “derived” cross correlation of the Polls of the Terror Free Tomorrow (May 2009) and WPO (September 2009) are as high as 60-80%, then one might conclude the following:
Western and Foreign powers (once again?), in a well preplanned and well coordinated plot assisted the great mass protest (exploiting the broad intense dissatisfactions of the educated people ). By using the Internet, their hired media, and other possible means they consistently spread FALSE claims about the “widespread fraud” and “rigged” election..
Juan Cole and many others believed all that.
Study these PDFs:
http://www.terrorfreetomorrow.org/upimagestft/TFT%20Iran%20Survey%20Report%200609.pdf
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/sep09/IranUS_Sep09_rpt.pdf
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/pdf/sep09/IranUS_Sep09_quaire.pdf
These revelations come at the time when suspicions are growing over Neda’s death, its connections with the Brazilian man, with what happened in Venezuela, the question why the doctor who is in the video fled the country and so on
Trita, you are intelligent, believable and. Don’t you think your priority must be first fighting the hideous warmongers and talk about the “important” human right cases only after the suffocating dusts of another “possible” genocide are settled?
Juan Cole called the stolen election immediately, skewered that woeful WaPo poll to shreds, and continually exposes the IRI regime as lethal charlatans and is solidarity with the Iranians struggling for freedom. Long live a free Iran.
Maybe we should stop worrying about other nations right now. What happens in Iran, is Iran's business unless there is a legitimate threat to our nation. And, I mean legitimate. Not this "maybe, so let's jump the gun" attitude. We have a lot of our own problems to fix here and we're stretched too thin already. Talking to him won't do any good. The guy is obviously beyond reasonable conversation. The violation of human rights in Iran is beyond disgusting, but he has found a stupid way to justify it or excuse it. No one here is buying it but what can we really do as a nation to shut him up?
Of all people, Trita Parsi should know better that in international politics, the charge of abusing human rights is a slippery path to take if you don't have strong international support. Iranian election, for its better and worse, has been accepted by the international community as avalid democratic process. while the internal political crises that occurred in its aftermath has been resolved through legal processes. Like it or not, no country (especially in the middle east) could claim of having a superior human rights record compared to Iran. So bringing human rights issues to discredit Ahmadinejad is not only counterproductive, but also laughable.
However, where I disagree is in somehow thinking all that makes what Ahmadinejad's thugs did OK and not worthy of protest. I would rather see the UN protesting all human rights violations equally. However the answer to that is not to stop criticizing Ahmadinejad's violations but to push more forcefully to cover everyone else as well and support groups like Amnesty International that do so.
To make this more interesting, for every 5% historical overestimation of any death count, Israel would lose 5% of its 1948 territory. Given that estimates of the entire European Jewish pre-WWII population are about 5.5 million, this could be entertaining.
Maybe we'll find out that Hitler was just throwing tea parties for everyone.
I'm sure that was the case.
Our Pavlovian response to anything Iranian needs to be curbed. We are embarrassing our country with our over-the-top behavior towards Iran and its President.
And as far as human rights go, that's a pretty funny topic to bring up given that the US has invaded two countries and is continuing to operate a network of secret prisons around the globe.
This isn't about the insults that Iranians feel and the internal squabbling that is taking place in their country as a result of Ahmadinnerjacket's illegitimate government...his provocative comments about the Holocaust signify that no matter how Iran wishes to portray itself, as long as Ahmadinnerjacket and the crazies are in charge and hold these vile, contemptible views, they will never be considered anything except a pariah nation...if Iranians feel insulted by that, well, that's too bad...
By the way on what basis are you calling the Iranian government illegitimate - there is no concrete proof of this at all.
1. The US public will more readily accept an attack on Iran if Iran is exclusively shown in a negative light
2. Israel's treatment of the Palestinians can be conveniently forgotten about while corporate media pretend to be defending human rights in Iran.
Surely you jest...
Iran's radical elements have managed to silence opposition and install a man who is more interested in provocation than helping his country emerge from the dark ages of theocratic rule and tyranny. Iran will forever remain an outlaw nation as long as its leaders treat America and Israel as enemies and seek the destruction of Israel...there can be no admittance into the world club as long as religious zanies run Iran...the people of the country understand this, and are tired of being relegated to being a pariah nation because of the crazy, militant, insane rantings of Ahmadinnerjacket and his fellow religious loons...
Let's start with Americas first!