Livni to Ban: UN must stop giving Ahmadinejad a stage

Opposition leader meets UN secretary-general in New York; pleads for diplomatic sanctions against Iranian regime; objects to UN flotilla probe.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Livni Ban Ki-moon 311 (photo credit: Dover Kadima [file photo])
Livni Ban Ki-moon 311
(photo credit: Dover Kadima [file photo])
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Wednesday, telling him that the United Nations must stop giving Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a platform to speak.
Livni said that Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN General Assembly earlier this month proved that economic sanctions against Iran are not sufficient and further diplomatic sanctions preventing the regime from continuing to get a platform to express their extreme ideas are necessary.
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She added that Ahmadinejad needs to get the clear message from the world - as long as he continues to speak as he does, he will not be given legitimacy.
Livni also expressed her opposition to Israel's decision to cooperate with the ongoing UN investigation into the raid of the Turkish flotilla ship the Mavi Marmara, being chaired by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer.
The Kadima leader stated that international involvement in Israel's military activities endangers the Jewish State as it would endanger any nation having to wage a war against terror.
Livni said that Israel's own internal probe into the events surrounding the Turkish flotilla should have been sufficient and can be trusted to credibly investigate the issue.
Livni and Ban also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as well as the situation in Lebanon.