The Tehran Holocaust denial conference entered its second day Tuesday, hosting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the man who inspired the conference with his remarks.
"Israel
is about to crash," the Iranian president promised the attendees, "scientists" from across the world working to deny the Holocaust.
"This is God's promise and the wish of all the world's nations," he added.
Iranian president and Neturei Karta representative (Photo: AFP)
According to the Iranian news agency Fars, the audience at the conference applauded the Iranian president's remarks.
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Ahmadinejad went on to say that "when I said the Zionist regime must be wiped off, the Zionist media of course harshly blasted me, but everyone must know that just as the USSR disappeared, this will also be the fate of the Zionist regime, and humanity will be free."
He added that "those who once supported the Zionist regime must know that every day that passes, this regime's interests are in danger, as well as their dignity. We recommend that as they authorized this regime, they should now 'fold' it. I hope that the Zionist regime's supporters will respond positively to this human invitation."
During the conference, its participants decided to establish an international committee to research the Holocaust. The man who will head the committee, Iranian academic Lai Ramin, said that its members "are not racist and do not personally oppose any group."
According to him, "They are only looking for the truth and seeking to liberate humanity."
The two-day conference is organized by the Iranian Institute for Political and International Studies, an institute which is subject to the Iranian Foreign Ministry. Some 67 researchers from 30 countries are taking part in the conference, some of them countries in which Holocaust denial is considered a criminal offense, such as Germany and Austria.
The conference attendees heard from the Iranian president that "Iran
is your home and the home of all the advocates of liberty in the world. Here everyone can calmly and freely voice their opinions."
In the past 24 hours, the conference was condemned across the world. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Berlin, condemned the convention, as well as French Foreign Minister Phillipe Douste-Blazy, who said that "discussing these issues is unacceptable."
Pope Benedict XVI said that the Holocaust was a terrible tragedy which one cannot remain indifferent to.
"In light of the Holocaust denial theories, the memory of the Holocaust must remain as a warning sign in our minds," he added.
US State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said that the conference is "just absolutely outrageous. You know, you get to a point where it's hard to find the words to describe the statements that are emanating from the Iranian president, continuing about this commentary about his desire to wipe Israel off the face of the map."
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