Ihsan

Ahmadinejhad speech to Non-Aligned Movement

“The diverse cultures of the world nations resemble the different flowers of a large flower garden. In other words, flowers may have different colors and scents; all of them are beautiful and loveable as the gift of creation in the great flower garden of human society. Unfortunately, there are some major powers, which intend to dominate other nations. And in pursuit of this objective, these powers have employed all their propaganda and political clout in order to fight the world indigenous cultures, to destroy the foundations of other nations' customs and traditions as well as the particular features, which distinguish these nations from one another.

“This is because these powers consider other nations' particular features as an obstacle to their covetous interests and acts of plundering. In our opinion, cultural diversity is one of the beautiful aspects of human society, which paves the way for positive interaction between nations. When different indigenous cultures are allowed to reach the zenith of perfection, they will create a prosperous society and a virtuous lifestyle for all human beings.

On September 3, 2007, the Iranian President Ahmadinejhad addressed the foreign ministers of the members of the Non-Aligned Movement:

"In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate. God's peace and salutation be upon Our Lord and Prophet, Muhammad, and to his infallible household. O God! We beseech you to hasten the advent of your regent. And please grant him good health and assistance. God! Make us the best of his companions to testify before him.

“Mr. Chairman, honorable audience, ladies and gentlemen! I would like to welcome you all and wish you success. Ladies and gentlemen! The creator of existence granted distinguished features to His noblest creature, human being. One of the features, which distinguish mankind, is the diversity and the vastness of human rights. The immense diversity of mankind's rights and not limiting these to a few material rights, give mankind a lofty status. Mankind's prominence, therefore, is as vast the extent of the rights to which human beings are entitled.

“The extent of these rights was established on the day of creation and shall continue until the Day of Judgment; and mankind's materialist life is only a part of these rights. Mankind's eternity is understood by realizing the eternity of his life, his prominence and the vastness of the whole of existence. One of the most important rights of mankind is the prospect of improving his life and securing prosperity throughout his life.

“This right will be realized when mankind appreciates the importance of his entire existence and special place in this arena. Therefore, those who limit mankind's right to benefit from the immense possibilities of existence, in effect curtail his rights to the same degree. If we accept the fact that mankind is eternal, we must accept that mankind has the right to be flourishing for ever.

“The next important of right of human beings is that they should be able to enjoy their material and spiritual rights simultaneously. Mankind's rights are not confined to food, shelter and other material needs. What distinguishes mankind is his entitlement to enjoy certain elevated rights, which other creatures cannot appreciate. The next characteristic, which distinguishes human beings from other creatures, is their right to freedom and the right to elevate themselves.

“The grossest tyranny of materialistic atheism against humanity in the last century was that it offered a limited definition of mankind's particular features, expectations and the dimensions of human existence. Honorable audience, ladies and gentlemen! Mankind was cruelly denied of another right. And that was the right to connect to the eternal divine power, which is the boundless source of mercy.

“In addition to being in touch with nature and with other human beings, mankind's instinctive desire is to be in touch with the creator. The creator of all existence is, better than anyone else, aware of mankind's capacity, capability and interests. He is therefore worthier than anyone else to be mankind's Lord and Providence. Divine guidance is an opportunity for mankind. And the biggest tyranny is to deny mankind of its right to have a worthy link with the eternal power of Almighty God. It was Almighty God, who granted mankind two internal and external sources to guide him.

“That is, Almighty God granted human beings the wisdom and divine revelation. We can, therefore, see that mankind was wronged by two groups of individuals. The first group were those, who denied mankind of the right to benefit from his wisdom properly; and as a result human beings were burdened with reactionary ideas and were stopped from exercising their inquisitive minds. And the second group were those, who deprived human beings of the guidance offered by the divine revelation of God's prophets. In effect, both groups prevented human beings from the benefit of Almighty God's instructions, to direct them in their deeds.

“Honorable audience! It is an absolute right of human beings to seek perfection and to strive along the path of rightness. Mankind's creation is based on the best structure and foundation. The creator of existence has made mankind as the noblest of His creations. He has given mankind the ability to conquer the earth and the heavens. And He created everything else on earth for the benefit of mankind. Among all other creatures of the world, God has given mankind the opportunity to become His heir on earth.

“For the same reason, God has created human begins with equal rights, free and based on their instinctive desire to follow monotheism. Almighty God says that no human being is superior to another because of his race, language, color or ethnic origin. He says that human begins are equal with one another, the same as the teeth of a comb. Therefore, no human begins has the right to enslave others. No human being has the right to serve his own interests by violating the rights of other human beings.

“This is the main important foundation of human rights. Good behavior and decent deeds are the only criteria, which distinguish human beings from one another. For the same reason, mankind has the right to consider the most pious human being as the most superior one. Human rights will be perfected when the perfect and reforming human being takes charge of managing human beings. And human rights will be perfected when pious and worthy human beings assume the task of managing mankind. In view of this perspective, rule by the pious individuals is not just their right, but also a duty to serve all in human society.

“In view of this perspective, no human beings are superior to others because of their language, nationality, culture or ethnic origin. And the existing differences, which we can see, are just some guidelines to enable human beings to identify one another and to establish a link with one another. The only criterion, which distinguishes one human being from another, is the virtue of humanitarian behavior.

“Thanks to the virtue of humanitarian behavior, human beings will not be hostile to one another. On the contrary, such a virtue will make a human being friendly, fraternal and benevolent towards other human begins. And such a human being will not seek to serve his own interests at the expense of others. When decent behavior is made the foundation of interactions among human beings, its outcome will be justice.

“Justice is an absolute right, which must become the basis of establishing relations between world nations and governments. When human beings from every ethnic origin and cultural background are united around the common humanitarian spirit of monotheism and justice, they manifest a huge crowd based on alliance, whose outcome will be inquisitiveness, abundance and diversity with harmony, cooperation and acceleration towards a sacred goal, which will be in the interest of all human beings.

“Human beings share a common divine spirit. And the instructions offered by divine prophets provide a clear and accepted foundation for resolving the disputes among human beings. Mankind is free and enjoys freedom of choice. And God would not alter the destiny of any society, unless the members of that society were to desire a change. The foundation of freedom lies in liberating ourselves from slavery and in rejecting the decision to follow any power but God. Mankind's innate generosity does not depend on his ethnic origin, race or native language. And all human beings are bestowed with the virtue of generosity.

“The ability to acquire generosity does not depend on one's race, ethnic origin or particular culture. That is, all human beings would be able to acquire the virtue of generosity, is they were to establish a link with the Almighty Creator and if they were to behave impeccably. The indigenous culture of world nations is generally rooted in divine beliefs. And if we were to study each culture carefully, we would realize that they are based on monotheism, compassion, fraternity, justice, love and the desire for perfection.

“The diverse cultures of the world nations resemble the different flowers of a large flower garden. In other words, flowers may have different colors and scents; all of them are beautiful and loveable as the gift of creation in the great flower garden of human society. Unfortunately, there are some major powers, which intend to dominate other nations. And in pursuit of this objective, these powers have employed all their propaganda and political clout in order to fight the world indigenous cultures, to destroy the foundations of other nations' customs and traditions as well as the particular features, which distinguish these nations from one another.

“This is because these powers consider other nations' particular features as an obstacle to their covetous interests and acts of plundering. In our opinion, cultural diversity is one of the beautiful aspects of human society, which paves the way for positive interaction between nations. When different indigenous cultures are allowed to reach the zenith of perfection, they will create a prosperous society and a virtuous lifestyle for all human beings.

“Honorable audience! If cultural diversity is not based on the common foundation of divine spirit, its outcome will be authoritarianism, unilateralism, seeking self-interest at the expense of others, covetous demands and arrogance. When monotheism is ignored and one, who only considers his own personal interests, calls on others to obey him, without a doubt, human rights will be the main victim.

“When justice is ignored and discrimination and injustice becomes common practice for some arrogant powers, and some openly believe that some people are better than others only because they possess hardware and more weapons and think they have the right to deny others of their rights, then the end of human rights has come.

“Unilateral strategies, economic, political and cultural domination have created an unfortunate and unpleasant situation in the world. In many parts of the world human rights and freedoms are still breached and threatened by bullies. Millions of people are still deprived of food, health, clothes, housing and suitable education. The economic powers are still using their economic capabilities to dominate others.

“Whilst poverty, hunger and illiteracy are overshadowing a large part of the world, the wealth of some nations is still used to acquire weapons which are used merely to destroy mankind. Military deployments still either kill or make many people homeless. The depressing story of the Palestinian people has been going on for 60 years. The occupying Zionist regime took shape after the killing of thousands of people, the homelessness of millions of the indigenous people, and the destruction of hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmlands, cities and villages. It has continued to survive in this shape.

“This regime destroys the people's homes, kills children, announces its plans to assassinate Palestinian leaders beforehand and locks thousands of Palestinians in prisons. The occupiers of Palestine are trying to destroy the cultural heritage of the Palestinian people by surrounding and closing their borders, and destroying their vital infrastructures, holy sites, academic, cultural and historic centers.

“It's shameful that such a inhuman regime enjoys the political, economic and military support of some powerful countries and the endeavors of other world countries to stop these crimes and to put these crimes on trial are futile due to their Veto power. Political exploitation of the Veto right to support the violators of human rights is one of the most explicit instances of inequality and discrimination. The arrogant powers who claim to support human rights are openly disrespecting the vote and will of the Palestinian people and are trying to overthrow the government which has risen from the determination of the Palestinian people by imposing sanctions and political and economic pressure.

“Dear friends and colleagues. Take a look at the situation in Iraq. They deployed military forces there under the pretence to overthrow the dictatorship of Saddam, who they themselves supported for many years against the independent Iranian nation, and to discover weapons of mass destruction. However, the truth was that they wanted to secure their long-term interests and to dominate energy resources.

“They occupied a large country which is a member of the United Nations and has a 7000-year civilization. Now Saddam has gone and no weapons have been found. However, the occupiers are still there and are adamant to stay there. Now, Saddam has gone and no weapons have been found, but the occupiers are still there and they insist on staying.

“They have made the insecurity, which they themselves have caused, the pretext for their continued presence. Throughout the period of occupation, more than 160,000 people have been killed, more than 600,000 injured and millions made homeless and the precious cultural heritage of Iraq has been subjected to pillaging.

“The occupiers even oppose the constitution and the government that has arisen from the votes of the Iraqi people. Acting like bullies, they are attacking the Iraqi people's rights, lives and honor, and they impudently call for the changing of an independent government. In order to fill the pockets of their companies, they do not forego any killing or crime.

“They have imposed hundreds of thousands of troops and a whole variety of military hardware on the Iraqi people, and they shamelessly make allegations against others. Friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, these very same people, establish secret prisons. They abduct their opponents at the airports of different countries and torture them in secret prisons. They control the telephones of their own citizens and they auction off the dignity of their own people for the profit of their companies.

“But, at the same time and most regrettably, the UN's human rights instruments are abused by bullying powers to target independent countries. Disregarding extensive and institutionalized violations of human rights in many parts of the world, whilst, at the same time, exploiting human rights to exert political pressure on a group of countries is a sign of the prevalence of double standards which has inflicted much, irreparable damage on the ideal of human rights.

“Friends, you have seen some of these powers' conduct on the Iranian nuclear issue. Iran is an official member of the atomic energy organization and has signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and has abided by it so far. Nevertheless, some exclusivist and bullying powers, with highhandedness and by inflicting severe political pressure on the IAEA, have used all their propaganda and diplomatic capabilities to deprive the Iranian nation of its self-evident rights in contravention of the clear provisions of the IAEA's charter.

“And, to this end, they have not foregone political threats, economic sanctions and even military threats. They have gone so far as to sacrifice the Security Council's entire prestige for their political objectives and illegitimate demands. They have openly insulted the peace- and justice-loving Iranian nation, which has a lofty culture and a brilliant civilization and which loves world peace and security. And they have acted in ways that are ugly and beneath human dignity.

“They have dragged this issue, in violation of regulations that they themselves have written, to the Security Council, and, in contravention of all legal norms, they have issued resolutions against the Iranian nation. And, through economic sanctions, they have tried to prevent it from using its legal right.

“Throughout this time, the Iranian nation, with patience, unity and fellowship, has tried, on the one hand, to warn them against their illegal moves and to prevent them from behaving in this incorrect way. And, on the other hand, by standing firm and being in constant contact with friends and independent countries, it tried to change the circumstances.

“I have to declare openly that, today, thanks be to God's grace and the firm stance of the leader and the great Iranian nation, and the solidarity of friends, as far as we're concerned, the nuclear file is closed. And the majority have accepted the Iranian nation's rights. And the one or two remaining countries have no option but to accept this truth. The process of dealing with this in the IAEA is the legal and correct way which is to everyone's advantage.

“In this distinguished gathering, I want, first, to express my gratitude for the unstinting support of the Non-Aligned Movement countries, especially at the meeting of foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur and, then, the summit in Cuba, and the honorable Malaysian prime minister and the esteemed Cuban president and all our friends, and for the support of members at the Board of Governors.

“And I declare that the Iranian nation, contrary to the exclusivist powers, considers the fuel cycle to be at the service of peace and its own welfare and that of all nations. And it is ready, on the basis of the regulations of the IAEA and under its supervision, to put its achievements at the disposal of other IAEA members in the form of training programmers. And, as friendly advice to those who have behaved in this ugly way towards the Iranian nation, let me say: Take care not to repeat this incorrect behavior with the other IAEA member countries.

“They should allow all nations to have equal rights in an atmosphere of friendship and the rule of law. They should know that they are no longer able to prevent the realization of nations' rights. My good friends, ladies and gentlemen, the emergence of the Non-Aligned group of countries at a time when the world had been divided between two poles of power, was a message of hope to independence-loving nations.”

posted by redwood at 9/05/2007 01:19:00 AM