Black And Red: "We're Better Than This": Activists Admire Ahmadinejad, Overlook Human Rights Abuses

NOTE: I guess I bungled the blockquotes on this, but I wasn't in attendance at the meeting. Black-and-Red was and I quote them below.

Black and Red posts over at Mostly Water,

Every year during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad holds a series of strategic dinners and meetings. This year, one of his dinners in New York was held for American anti-war, social justice and peace activists, and I attended it.

I firmly believe in diplomacy and dialogue and am disappointed each year with the growing lack of international cooperation and failing leadership. We saw the same thing surrounding Ahmadinejad’s trip to the UN. The United States and Iran refuse to talk to each other so they talk around one another hoping that their messages will get delivered to those they are seeking to court. Lost in translation between these two countries and the static political posturing they use are the people of Iran and the United States.

While I didn’t know if I would have the opportunity to ask any questions or raise any issues at the meeting, I was hoping that I would be one among many that would challenge Ahmadinejad over Iran’s human rights violations.

Unfortunately, after over one hour of speeches from other activists in the room, I found myself feeling disappointed and dismayed. One after another, the guests at the dinner delivered prepared statements, posing no questions or challenges to the Iranian delegation. Mostly, people expressed outrage over U.S. foreign policy. They lauded Ahmadinejad as a hero for standing up to the bullying of the United States government and likened the meeting to Malcolm X’s encounters in Africa with revolutionaries fighting against colonialism. Many apologized for decades of dire U.S. policy towards Iran, while calling for self-determination for Iran and confidence in Ahmadinejad.

Speech after speech failed to address any calls for solidarity with the brave young men and women in Iran who took to the streets and demanded their rights in the face of government suppression. Iran has upwards of 500 political prisoners and the highest rate of capital punishment in the world. In the last year government critical newspapers have been shut down and countless journalists imprisoned. An estimated 44 people were killed in street protests in the last year.....

Go read it all. It's an excellent insightful post. Sadly, the anwer's no, those in attendance not better than this. I know. I've been there. Start the journey away from this crowd Black and Red.