Ahmadenijad’s N.Y. Visit Triggers Protests, Upsets
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad was branded a "madman" on the front page of the New York Daily News on Monday, the day he was set to speak at Columbia University amid widespread protests and not so subtle references to Adolf Hitler, whom Columbia's Public Affairs Acting Dean John Coatsworth said would also have been allowed to speak on campus, at least in his pre-Holocaust era.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad was branded a “madman” on the front page of the New York Daily News on Monday, the day he was set to speak at Columbia University amid widespread protests and not so subtle references to Adolf Hitler, whom Columbia’s Public Affairs Acting Dean John Coatsworth said would also have been allowed to speak on campus, at least in his pre-Holocaust era.
New York Daily News:
Hatemonger Mahmoud Ahmadinejad landed in a hornet’s nest of outrage yesterday [Sunday] as Columbia University prepared to welcome him with open arms today and stuck by a dean’s outrageous assertion that it would let Adolf Hitler speak, too.
The Holocaust-denying Iranian tyrant jetted into New York as students, faculty and political leaders protested Columbia’s decision to roll out the red carpet.
Contrast that NYDN report with this different take on Ahmadenijad’s New York sojourn from an Iranian news outlet:
Fars News Agency:
Ahmadinejad, who is due to address the UN General Assembly in New York and hold other meetings, said he would be meeting “intellectuals and independent US politicians” on his trip to Tehran’s arch foe.
“The General Assembly of the United Nations is a good opportunity to present the solutions of the Iranian people to solve the problems of the world,” the president told reporters before leaving.
“The United States has had influence in international relations since World War II but the American people have suffered in diverse ways and have been deprived of access to accurate information,” he added.
“We need to take advantage of such opportunities to present the positions of the Iranian people as they (the Americans) are very keen to hear them.”
Click here to read Columbia University President Bollinger’s official announcement about Ahmadenijad’s visit and his goals for the Iranian leader’s talk on campus.
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