Editorial
Boycotting Ahmadinejad in Geneva
The West cannot eternally defend Israeli interests
THE conference on racism that the United Nations has organised in Geneva has run into trouble. It should not have, considering that the issue on the table is of grave importance to the international community. But that does not appear to have been taken into account by the western, largely European, nations which chose to boycott the conference because they did not approve of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's criticism of Israel. The boycott has obviously left UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon feeling justifiably embarrassed. His ire shone through his remarks, in which he clearly notes that nations that could help to forge a path to a better future were not to be seen. And among those nations have been the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Poland and the Netherlands.
It is indeed regrettable that so many western nations have chosen to undermine a serious undertaking merely because of their antipathy to the Iranian leader. President Ahmadinejad did not exactly endear himself to people around the world when not long ago he spoke of the need, in his words, to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. That statement was roundly condemned, even by those who have regularly been outraged by Israel's aggressive behaviour over the years. But for some nations to ignore the principled criticism of Israel that men like Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez have been making and instead go for an unconditional defence of Israeli actions in the Middle East gravely damages the world's self-esteem. The ruthless manner in which Israeli forces have destroyed Gaza and indeed the continuous way in which they have been pushing Palestinians to the wall are issues that the global community can ignore at grave peril to its future. Israel's bellicosity is unacceptable. If the West persists in looking away from its misdemeanours, it ought not to expect a solution to the Palestine issue any time soon.
Where dealing with Iran is the matter, the new administration in Washington has clearly opted to do the right thing by reaching out to Tehran. For its part, Iran too must reciprocate the gesture. It does not help itself when it puts journalists like Roxana Saberi in jail on charges that are not substantiated. The most important point to remember, though (and that is for the countries which have boycotted the Geneva conference), is that ostracising a foreign leader can only lead to worse problems. Washington's decades-long sanctions against Cuba are a case in point.
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