Iran announced yesterday it would stage a conference to question the authenticity of the Holocaust, a move certain to stir international anger.
The statement follows a series of inflammatory remarks by Iran's hawkish president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has described the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis in the second world war as a myth and called for Israel to be "wiped off the map". He has also suggested an alternative Jewish state should be set up in Europe or Alaska.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the proposed conference would examine the Holocaust's "scientific aspects and its repercussions". The description echoes Mr Ahmadinejad's characterisation of Holocaust denial earlier this month as a "scientific debate".
It is not clear who will attend. But following a chorus of anti-Zionist rhetoric since the president was elected last June, the announcement will trigger suspicions that the aim is to deny that the Holocaust happened. Last month, Mr Ahmadinejad dismissed it as a concoction invented to justify Israel's existence in the heart of the Muslim world. His comments drew widespread condemnation. At a meeting with President George Bush last week, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, described Mr Ahmadinejad's position on the Holocaust as unacceptable.
At a rare news conference on Saturday, however, the Iranian president was unrepentant. He described Mrs Merkel and Mr Bush as terrorists and war criminals, who would soon be put on trial for their support of Israel.
Describing the Holocaust as a question that had to be cleared up by scholars, he added: "My question was very clear. On the pretext of the killing of Jews in Europe, are they supporting the aggression and massacres [of Israel]? They will not intimidate me. Instead they have to answer me. If you started this killing of the Jews, you have to make amends yourself. This is very clear. It's based on laws and legal considerations. If you committed a mistake or a crime, why should others pay for it? Those who murdered [the Jews] should permit them to go back to their own fatherlands. That should be the end of it. You shouldn't say that nobody is permitted to say anything about this."
Mr Ahmadinejad initially provoked an international storm by calling for Israel's removal for the map last October.
His remarks repeated what had been official Iranian policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Support for the Palestinian cause is a central pillar in the ideology of Iran's Islamic regime, which regards Israel's existence as an affront to Muslims.
However, Mr Ahmadinejad has surpassed previous Iranian leaders in consistently attacking what he sees as the intellectual and moral basis for Israel's existence. Under his more liberal predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, anti-Zionist rhetoric was toned down. Iranian officials said they would respect a Middle East peace settlement as long as it was acceptable to the Palestinians.
In denial
Some 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust. However, deniers claim that Jewish deaths during the war were not caused by genocide. The most prominent denier of recent years is historian David Irving, in custody in Austria, where Holocaust denial is illegal. Mohammed Mahdi Akef, leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, has also called the Holocaust a 'myth'.
Katy Heslop
A raíz de las declaraciones del presidente iraní, Mahmud Ahmadineyad,
la asociación de periodistas islámicos de Irán se ha puesto a la tarea de organizar una conferencia internacional para analizar toda evidencia científica sobre la que se apoya el holocausto. El anuncio ha sido condenado por Israel y ha causado estupor en círculos intelectuales europeos.

Según Mehdi Afzali, el portavoz de la ''Asociación de Periodistas Islámicos'':
:“''el presidente Ahmadinejad ha puesto en el centro de atención internacional una cuestión muy importante sobre la veracidad de la versión que Europa y los sionistas han impuesto al mundo sobre el asesinato de judíos durante los años de la gran guerra, y por lo tanto, somos de la opinión de que es útil y necesario organizar una conferencia internacional sobre el tema, donde todos los historiadores e investigadores, incluso aquellos que no creen en la versión oficial, sean capaces de expresarse libremente''”.

:“''Nosotros queremos ofrecer a los historiadores una plataforma libre y democrática para que examinen en profundidad este mito, ya que vemos que en varios países europeos existen leyes contra la libertad y la democracia y no permiten que los intelectuales, que creen en versiones distintas a la oficial, se pronuncien sobre el holocausto''”.

:“''Invitaremos a aquellos que creen en las versiones impuestas así como también a aquellos que han gastado años de sus vidas en el estudio de documentos relacionados con el holocausto y han llegado a conclusiones de que la historia de los libros en las escuelas y las universidades no corresponde a la verdad''”.

Ahmadinejad por su parte le ha pedido a Occidente que tenga una mente abierta con respecto al debate y ha descrito el holocausto como un asunto que tiene que ser esclarecido por los académicos:
:“''Mi pregunta es bastante clara. ¿Con el pretexto de la matanza de judíos en Europa ellos están apoyando la agresión y las masacres de Israel? Ellos no me intimidarán. Por el contrario, tienen que responderme. Si ustedes empezaron esta matanza de judíos, ustedes mismos tienen que repararla. Esto es muy claro. Se basa en leyes y consideraciones. Si ustedes cometieron un crimen o error, ¿por qué tienen que pagar otros por el? Esos que asesinaron judíos deben permitirles ahora regresar a sus propias patrias. Esa debe ser la finalidad de esto. Ustedes no deben decir que a nadie se le permite decir nada sobre esto''”

La negación pública de la versión oficial del holocausto es considerada como un delito que se penaliza con multas y cárcel en en los siguientes países Austria, Bélgica, República Checa, Francia, Alemania, Israel, Lituania, Polonia, Rumania, Eslovaquia y Suiza,