US protesters prepare for Ahmadinejad visit

Critics of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepared for protests as the hardline leader headed on Sunday for New York...

Critics of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prepared for protests as the hardline leader headed on Sunday for New York, where his planned speeches at a high-profile university and the United Nations have aroused a storm of opposition.

Some elected local officials and civic leaders planned to demonstrate on Sunday outside Columbia University, where Ahmadinejad was scheduled to speak at a forum on Monday. More protests were to follow near the UN, where the Iranian President was to address the General Assembly on Tuesday.

Some political leaders and religious groups have said Columbia should not give Ahmadinejad a platform. Among them are the head of the City Council, Christine Quinn, who has said “the idea of Ahmadinejad as an honored guest anywhere in our city is offensive to all New Yorkers.”

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In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said there were “efforts to cancel” the upcoming Columbia speech, but the Government was continuing to pursue the programme. Columbia has said Ahmadinejad has agreed to take questions on the Holocaust.

Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that the American people are eager to hear different opinions about the world, and he is looking forward to having the chance to voice them during his trip to the US, Iranian state media reported.

On his request to lay a wreath at the WTC site, in an interview on 60 Minutes, he said he would not press the issue but expressed disbelief that the WTC visit would offend Americans. Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad’s US visit is being debated back home. Some in Iran think his trip is a publicity stunt that hurts Iran’s image.

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