Iranian president begins US visit amid deep controversy
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad starts his third visit to the United States Monday with two public appearances that have kicked up a storm of controversy. The Iranian leader, who has called for the destruction of Israel and questioned the Holocaust, was to address the National Press Club in Washington by video-conference and to speak at Columbia University.
He is to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. Ahmadinejad said before leaving Tehran on Sunday that the visit would allow him to meet independent politicians from Tehran's arch foe and give Iran an international platform. The visit faces protests in the United States, which has accused Iran of trying to acquire nuclear weapons and considers the Iranian leader an ally of insurgents attacking US troops deployed in Iraq.
According to AFP, even before he arrived, city politicians and Jewish groups mounted protests against the visit, urging Columbia University to withdraw its invitation to the Iranian leader. Around 100 protesters gathered outside the university Sunday bearing placards with slogans such as "Don't give a platform to hate," and denouncing Ahmadinejad as a "Hitler wannabe" and a Holocaust denier.
Video: Ahmadinejad arrives in New York
What angered many New Yorkers more than anything was Ahmadinejad's plan to lay a wreath at Ground Zero -- the site of the September 11 attacks of 2001. City officials denied permission for the visit last week on security grounds.
President George W. Bush offered support to city officials, saying: "I can understand why they would not want somebody running a country who is the state sponsor of terror down at the site." The United States is obliged by diplomatic convention and as host of the United Nations to allow representatives of member states to visit areas within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of the world body's New York headquarters. // Reporter.MD
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