Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has, surprisingly, put his foot down.
He told Iran’s leaders to cease threatening Israel.
Ban arrived in Iran today for the Non-Aligned Movement Conference there. He held a series of meetings with Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ban also met with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and with Saeed Jalili, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
“In all these meetings, the Secretary-General conveyed the clear concerns and expectations of the international community on the issues for which cooperation and progress are urgent for both regional stability and the welfare of the Iranian people,” said Ban’s spokesman,Martin Nesirky. “On human rights, the Secretary-General in his meeting with the President said that the human rights situation in Iran remains a source of concern. He said fundamental, civil and political rights should be respected. He also mentioned in his meeting with the President, and separately with the Supreme Leader, that he strongly objected to recent remarks from Iranian officials denying the Holocaust and Israel’s right to exist. He said that such offensive and inflammatory statements were unacceptable and should be condemned by all.” The spokesman added that Ban said “that Iran needed to take concrete steps to address the concerns of the International Atomic Energy Agency and prove to the world that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.”
Earlier this month Ahmadinejad said there was no place for the Jewish state in a future Middle East and Khamenei said Israel would one day be returned to the Palestinian nation and would cease to exist.
“He said such offensive and inflammatory statements were unacceptable and should be condemned by all,” Nesirky said.
On Syria, Ban urged Iran’s leaders to use their influence to call on Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad to end the violence and create conditions for “credible dialogue and a genuine political process that meets the will of the Syrian people.”
“The secretary-general very strongly believes that Iran, given its regional influence and its influence in Syria, has an important role to play and be a part of the solution,” said Nesirky, adding that Ban also called on all states to stop supplying weapons to all sides in Syria.
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
Very rare indeed. The Secretary-General of the UN to have the courage and integrity to come out with such a statement is refreshing. Especially considering how fashionable Israel-bashing (read “antisemitism”) is in that political body.
Unfortunately, the UN is essentially a body of speech-makers with no power of its own, so his words might not be taken seriously. But at least he had the guts to say it.
One thing that I find disturbing is that Ban Ki-Moon just seems to be commenting on the public statement and its diplomatic ramifications. He doesn’t deal with the very-real military ramifications. This guy is building a nuclear bomb (though of course he denies the “bomb” part) and is making a public statement about his intentions when the bomb is finished. Pretty scary. It’s pretty clear why Israel has come out with statements about being prepared militarily for a conflict.