Germany protests against Iranian Holocaust conference

Source: Xinhuanet | 12-14-2006 08:21

BERLIN, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Germany has condemned an Iranian conference on the Holocaust

Spokesman for the German foreign ministry Jens Ploetner said Wednesday that nothing of scientific value would come out of the Tehran conference ending Tuesday.

"The German government condemns all attempts to deny the Holocaust and question Israel's right to independent statehood," he said.

"For us, living in the country where the mass murder of Jews was planned and carried out, we feel a special responsibility to commemorate the victims of Nazi terror," said the spokesman.

"It's in this context that we condemn any attempt to provide a forum for revisionists who are out to rewrite history in an unacceptable manner," he added.

Iran's leadership has defended the conference as a scientific forum seeking answers to unresolved issues around the Holocaust.

Participants have doubted whether the mass murder of six million Jews really happened.

German lawmakers have also protested against the conference with Bundestag President Norbert Lammert among the strongest critics of it.

In a letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he said he condemned any attempt to promote anti-Semitic feelings in the guise of scientific freedom and objectivity.

Hubertus Heil, secretary general of Germany's Social Democratic Party, said anyone who denies the Holocaust is the enemy of modern day Germany.

Gert Weisskirchen, the Social Democrats' foreign policy spokesman in parliament, described the conference as a direct confrontation with Israel.

"You only have to look at how serious current attempts are by Iran and others to deny Israel's right to statehood and wipe it off the map completely," Weisskirchen said.

"You just have to consider the mood in Syria and among Hezbollah fighters to realize how real the threat is. For us Germans, there can be no other option than to stand firmly at the side of Israel and defend it against any sort of military threat or anti-Semitic propaganda," said Weisskirchen.

Editor:Du Xiaodan