csua.org/u/eb0 -> sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/12/14/international/i001212S43.DTL
Email This Article (12-14) 03:56 PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday the Holocaust is a " myth" that Europeans have used to create a Jewish state in the heart of the Islamic world. "Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in the southeastern city of Zahedan. The Iranian president previously expressed doubt that the Nazi destructio n of six million European Jews during World War II had occurred. But Wed nesday was the first time he publicly denied the Holocaust. Ahmadinejad provoked an international outcry in October when he called fo r Israel to be "wiped off the map." Touring southeast Iran, Ahmadinejad said that if Europeans insist the Hol ocaust did happen, then they are responsible and should pay the price. "If you committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestini an nation pay the price?" "This is our proposal: if you committed the crime, then give a part of yo ur own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so th at the Jews can establish their country," he said, developing a theme he raised in Saudi Arabia last week. Germany and Israel condemned the remark, with German Foreign Minister Fra nk-Walter Steinmeier calling it "shocking and unacceptable." Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said: "The repeated outrage ous remarks of the Iranian president show clearly the mind-set of the ru ling clique in Tehran and indicate clearly the extremist policy goals of the regime. "The combination of fanatical ideology, a warped sense of reality and nuc lear weapons is a combination that no one in the international community can accept," Regev added, referring to allegations that Iran is develop ing nuclear bombs In Berlin, Foreign Minister Steinmeier said his government had summoned t he Iranian charge d'affaires to make "unmistakably clear" its displeasur e "I cannot hide the fact that this weighs on bilateral relations and on th e chances for the negotiation process, the so-called nuclear dossier," S teinmeier said, referring to European talks with Iran on its nuclear pro gram. Ahmadinejad said the West had harmed Muslims, invaded their countries and plundered their wealth. "If your civilization consists of aggression, making oppressed people hom eless, suffocating the voices of justice and bringing poverty to a major ity of the world's people, we say loudly that we hate your hollow civili zation," he said. The president's views sharply conflict with those of his predecessor Moha mmad Khatami, a moderate who used to call for dialogue among civilizatio ns and promoted a low-key understanding with the United States that stop ped short of diplomatic relations. Inside Iran, Ahmadinejad's remarks have been criticized by some of his co nservative allies who fear he is hurting the country's image. Moderate I ranians have called on the ruling Islamic establishment to rein in the p resident. But Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the ultimate say, has backed Ahmadinejad's calls for Israel's elimination. Ahmadinejad criticized the United States for refusing to sell Iran spare parts for its civilian planes as part of its long standing embargo again st the country. Iran has suffered a series of plane accidents most recently on Dec. Iranian officials have blamed Washin gton for the crashes, saying they are partly caused by the difficulty in obtaining spare parts. "No country is authorized to impose spare-part sanctions against another country. Ahmadinejad said the denial of spare parts was a reason why Iran would no t trust Western promises to give it nuclear fuel. The country is current ly at loggerheads with the West over its insistence on enriching uranium to fuel its first nuclear reactor, which is due to start generating ele ctricity next year. The Europeans, with US backing, do not trust Iran to have its own enric hment process, as highly enriched uranium can be used for nuclear warhea ds. Europe has offered to sell enriched uranium for the reactor, but Ira n has rejected this. Ahmadinejad said that if Iran gave in on the nuclear dispute, there was n o guarantee the West might not refuse to sell nuclear fuel in the future . "I assure you that we won't step back one inch from our nuclear rights," the president told the crowd, drawing chants of "Death to America!" Later this month, Iran is due to resume negotiations on the nuclear issue with envoys from Britain, France and Germany.
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