http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/24/2007-09-24_irans_president_i_dont_deny_holocaust-3.htmlIran's president: I don't deny Holocaust
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DAILY NEWS STAFF
Monday, September 24th 2007, 3:16 PM
Meeting with a frosty reception at Columbia University, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted today he did not deny the Holocaust and said he wanted to visit the World Trade Center site to "show my sympathy" to 9/11 victims' families.
But even before the controversial leader began his speech, he received a harsh welcome from Columbia's President Lee Bollinger, who took him to task for Iran's record on human rights, its nuclear program, its alleged arming of Iraqi insurgents and its treatment of Iranian-American scholars.
Bollinger also challenged Ahmadinejad to explain why he did not believe documented evidence about the Holocaust and why he has vowed to "wipe Israel off the map."
"You exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger declared.
"Frankly, and in all candor, Mr. President, I doubt that you will have the intellectual courage to answer these questions," Bollinger said, as protesters demonstrated outside the hall.
But Ahmadinejad received a rousing round of applause when he took the stage after Bollinger's introduction and chided Columbia officials for their "unfriendly treatment."
"In a university environment we must allow people to make up their own mind," Ahmadinejad said, speaking in Farsi while a translator relayed his comments. The audience clapped loudly.
Ahmadinejad said he was taken aback that Columbia's president would attack his speech before he had even delivered it.
"In many parts of his speech there were many insults and claims that were incorrect," Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad, who plans to address the UN General Assembly tomorrow, said he did not deny the Holocaust occurred, but didn't see what was wrong with asking questions about it.
"I'm not saying that it didn't happen at all," he said. "
can you argue that researching a phenomenon is finished forever, done? Can we close the books foreever on a historical event?"
He sidestepped audience questions about his enmity toward Israel, saying instead, "I'm asking you, is not the Palestinian issue an issue of international prominence or not?"
Ahmadinejad said Iran's nuclear program was for energy needs, not weapons, and he said he had asked to visit the World Trade Center site "to show respect, to show sympathy" for the victims and their families.
"What's bad for someone to show sympathy to the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 tragic event?" he asked, but then turned around and said the root causes of the attacks needed to be explored.
Asked about executions in Iran, Ahmadinejad said his nation was not the only one that puts criminals to death.
"Don't you have capital punishment in the United States? You do too!" he said.
As for other human rights, Ahmadinejad insisted, "Women in Iran enjoy the highest level of freedom."
Applause punctuated parts of Ahmadinejad's speech, but loud jeers erupted when he responded to questions about the persecution of gays by claiming, "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."