This week, leaders from around the world are meeting in New York to attend the U.N. Security Council. There’s all sorts of talk about climate change, nuclear weapons, and other such topics. But what I’ve found interesting, thus far, is an interview that Newsweek had with the current Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
If you’ve been following the news in the past few months, or even reading my blog, you’ll know that Iran has been the source of some rather appalling news. With riots, human rights violations, and more, Iran hasn’t been a very pleasant place.
Putting aside the current state of Iran, though, read through the article I mentioned above. Put aside your pre-conceived notion of who Ahmadinejad is. Put aside the vitriol spouted about him in the media. Read what he had to say, and think about it for a few minutes.
Now that you’re done, let’s look a little closer at what he’s saying. Seriously, because I think what’s being said here is a bit more than the standard “He’s EVIL!” stuff you see in the media. Not that I’m arguing that point, but still, there is some food for thought here.
Let’s start with the Holocaust stuff. The popular media marks him as a Holocaust denier, but if you read what he actually says, I believe there’s more to it than that simplistic label. When asked why he would say there was no Holocaust, here’s how he responded:
What I am saying is extremely clear. It is an academic approach to a crucial subject and also one based on humanitarian considerations. What I am saying here is that in past history many events have happened, and in World War II many crimes were committed. Over 60 million people were killed and even more were displaced. So we have several specific questions with regard to the events of World War II, and I believe we cannot find the answers to these questions through the propaganda that is promoted by the media. In the end, the questions need convincing answers.
Ok, so far so good. So he’s admitting that people died and were displaced. He does seem to be equating historical information to propaganda, but that’s not so very wrong. After all, the winners generally get to write the history books, so equating it to propaganda isn’t so terribly wrong. But let’s move on, shall we? He mentioned some questions…
The first question that I have to try and understand is why in the midst of all that happened in World War II, the Holocaust is emphasized more than any other [event]?
Holy. Shit. Wow.. umm.. That’s one hell of a question. Think about it for a minute. Millions of people died during World War II. Why is the Holocaust emphasized so much? There are a lot of valid answers to this, but it’s still a damn good question. And his follow-ups are even better.
The second question is why do Western politicians focus on this issue so much? The third question is how does that event connect with issues that we see around us in the world today? Was this a historical event that happened in isolation without impacting the present conditions?
These are some thought provoking questions. On the one hand, I believe the reason this is brought up so much is that we need to learn from mistakes and do our best to ensure that such atrocities don’t occur again. On the other hand, it does get used a lot as an excuse for this or that. It is a historical event, though I’m not sure it has a direct effect on present conditions. Sure, it happened, it was an atrocity, and a lot of people lost their lives, but would the world be that much different today if it did not happen? Very hard to say, either way. Good food for thought, though.
The next question we should ask ourselves is if the event did take place, where did it happen, who were the perpetrators, what was the role of the Palestinian people? What crime have they committed to deserve what they have received as a result? Why exactly should the Palestinian people be victimized? Are you aware that over 5 million Palestinians have been displaced and have had refugee status? What role did they play in the Holocaust? Why is the Holocaust used as a pretext to occupy the land of other people? Why should the Palestinian people give their lives up for it? You are probably aware that there have been embargoes on the people of Gaza.
And now we get to the real meat of this issue. Remember, we’re talking about Iran here, home to palestinians. When we talk about Israel, the Holocaust is sure to come up. After all, the Holocaust was a deliberate attack on Jews, and it is argued that the formation of Israel is a direct result of the Holocaust. I believe this is what Ahmadinejad is getting at. Basically, the nation of Israel was formed as a home for the Jewish people. The problem is, it was created at the expense of the Palestinian people. Whether you agree or not, there were a lot of people displaced by that decision.
Now, add in the Holocaust to that. It is believed that the existence of the Holocaust resulted in a lot of empathy votes when the U.N. voted on the Palestine Partition Plan. For better or worse, we ended up with Israel and a lot of really pissed off Palestinians. The holocaust was not caused by the Palestinians, but it seems they are being made to pay for it. Or, at least, that’s what popular culture leads us to believe. There are those that disagree, of course.
He follows up with more, though you can read that for yourself.
After tackling the holocaust, Ahmadinejad is asked about the recent presidential election. During that election there was both protesting and rioting. Many believe that large numbers of protesters were unjustly arrested and have been mistreated ever since. These human-rights violations are apparently going to be discussed in Geneva in the near future and the interviewer asks if the president is prepared to talk about them. Interestingly enough, Ahmadinejad seems to deflect the question by asking how many people are imprisoned in the USA. He goes on to state the following:
Do you know the number of prisoners here in the United States? I will give you an answer; if you please, bear with me. You don’t expect me to give you the answer you are expecting. You have 3.6 million prisoners in the United States. Why are they in your prisons? Some of them are electrocuted. Why? Exactly why? There is a law here that deals with such matters. Could we say it is a bad thing? Could we address exactly why 3.6 million people are in prison? If nobody has violated the law, there is no reason for them to go to prison. Once the law is violated, then they could end up in prison.
What is interesting about this is how he tries to gloss over his countries actions by pointing out how difficult it is to make sure that every person in jail is supposed to be there. He then goes on to compare his countries judicial system to the system in the USA. He states that there are five stages to a court trial and that four of them are reviews of the case. Somehow this is to prove that they are much more diligent in Iran and will absolutely uphold the rights of the person being held.
He then goes on to state that other issues such as Guantanamo Bay, world security and disarmament, the economy, and more will be discussed in Geneva. He then rails on Europe and the rights violations that occur there. He states that merely discussing the Holocaust ends up with scientists and academics being imprisoned. But at no point does he mention that he is willing to discuss what happened most recently in his country. It’s interesting how he can spin a conversation and evade answering questions.
At this point the interview turns towards nuclear power, enriching uranium, and other nuclear-related topics. Personally, I’m not sure I trust his true intentions and I believe the U.N. needs to proceed with caution. He does, however, raise a number of good questions about procedure and legalities with respect to global nuclear law. I think those matters need to be looked into, but I’m of the opinion that the entire story isn’t being told.
I definitely don’t think Ahmadinejad has the best interests of his people at heart, and I would love to see him lose his presidency to someone who will fight for the people. That said, I think we need to tread carefully as he is a well-spoken, well-educated individual and I think he can be very, very dangerous.