Psycho4Bud
06-09-2006, 03:33 AM
The newly elected leader of Germany's main Jewish body has said the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, should be barred from the World Cup.
Charlotte Knobloch described him as "a second Hitler". "He denies the Holocaust - that is illegal in Germany," she told the newspaper Bild.
Mr Ahmadinejad has said he might go and support the Iranian team in Germany.
Germany has already granted a visa to an Iranian Vice President, Mohammad Aliabadi, to attend the World Cup.
Demonstrations
Mrs Knobloch, elected leader of Germany's Central Council of Jews on Wednesday, said the German government should not invoke diplomatic immunity for Mr Ahmadinejad, but rather should "investigate and charge him".
Denial of the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War II is a serious offence in Germany, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Mr Ahmadinejad has described the Holocaust as a "myth" and said Israel should be "wiped off the map".
The far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) has plans to hold a march in Leipzig during the World Cup, to show solidarity with him.
Iran opens its World Cup campaign with a match against Mexico on Sunday in Nuremberg.
Several groups plan to participate in a demonstration against Mr Ahmadinejad on Sunday, including the Israeli cultural organisation and exiled Iranian dissident groups.
Bavaria's Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein plans to join the demonstration.
"If he were to come, we, as Germans, must make it very clear that he is not wanted here," Mr Beckstein said.
He said it "would be for the best if Iran's president were not to come".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5058488.stm
Can't blame them. Considering their own law...how could they have Ahmadinejad in their country and treat him like a respectable diplomat?
Charlotte Knobloch described him as "a second Hitler". "He denies the Holocaust - that is illegal in Germany," she told the newspaper Bild.
Mr Ahmadinejad has said he might go and support the Iranian team in Germany.
Germany has already granted a visa to an Iranian Vice President, Mohammad Aliabadi, to attend the World Cup.
Demonstrations
Mrs Knobloch, elected leader of Germany's Central Council of Jews on Wednesday, said the German government should not invoke diplomatic immunity for Mr Ahmadinejad, but rather should "investigate and charge him".
Denial of the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War II is a serious offence in Germany, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Mr Ahmadinejad has described the Holocaust as a "myth" and said Israel should be "wiped off the map".
The far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) has plans to hold a march in Leipzig during the World Cup, to show solidarity with him.
Iran opens its World Cup campaign with a match against Mexico on Sunday in Nuremberg.
Several groups plan to participate in a demonstration against Mr Ahmadinejad on Sunday, including the Israeli cultural organisation and exiled Iranian dissident groups.
Bavaria's Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein plans to join the demonstration.
"If he were to come, we, as Germans, must make it very clear that he is not wanted here," Mr Beckstein said.
He said it "would be for the best if Iran's president were not to come".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5058488.stm
Can't blame them. Considering their own law...how could they have Ahmadinejad in their country and treat him like a respectable diplomat?