UN's Ban congratulates Iran President Ahmadinejad
Reuters / Louis Charbonneau
11-Aug-2009 (2 comments)

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Tuesday that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose contested re-election sparked violent protests across the country.

"The letter went out yesterday," said U.N. spokeswoman Marie Okabe.

Iran's June 12 election, which secured hardline President Ahmadinejad's re-election, plunged Iran into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, exposed deepening divisions in its ruling elite and set off a wave of protests that left 26 people dead. [ID:nHAF039117]

Western leaders, already upset by Ahmadinejad's anti-Israel rhetoric, Holocaust denial and uncompromising nuclear line, refused to congratulate the president on his inauguration last week, although their counterparts in Japan and Turkey did so.

Among those leaders who withheld their congratulations to Ahmadinejad were U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The U.N. spokeswoman said Ban's letter was a "customary letter on occasion of inauguration" but added that the text would not be made public. The secretary-general routinely congratulates leaders after elections and the U.N. has released the content of some of those messages in the past.

>>>
Shifteh Ansari

Laying the foundation for a human rights probe?

by Shifteh Ansari on

I think Ban Ki-moon's congratulations were a prelude to what he plans on doing next.  I think he is preparing to respond to Shirin Ebadi's call on him to demand visiting Iran to see about the situation of human rights after the recent uprising in Iran.


Share/Save/Bookmark

 
farokh2000

Selective Human Rights?

by farokh2000 on

As bad as the criminal Mullahs have been in violating the Human Rights of their own people, we have other Nations around the World that have been committing more Human Rights violations without any attention from UN.

USA has murdered more than 2 Million innocent Iraqis since 1991 invasion. Is that not Human Rights violation and if it is, then where is the condemnation and investigation?

The Isralies are raping and killing the Palestinians every day and no one is investigating that.

There are numerous cases of genocide in Africa and no one is investigating them.

The Mullahs should be punished by the people of Iran, no question there. But they are not alone.

We need to make sure the UN does what it was set up to do and not be selective.