Sep 25, 2007Quickie Link: No Gays in Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Says
By vanrozenheim
(USA) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday challenged a university audience to look into "who was truly involved" in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, defended his right to question established Holocaust history and denied there were Gay Iranians. When pressed about the harsh treatment of women, homosexuals and academics who challenge Iran's government, Ahmadinejad painted a rosy picture, saying, "Women in Iran enjoy the highest levels of freedom." He elicited laughter and boos from the audience at Columbia University when he said, "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals, like in your country." Ahmadinejad is in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. He spoke at the invitation of Columbia's president, Lee Bollinger, who in his introduction excoriated the leader by saying he "exhibits all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator."
