Ahmadinejad Met With Protests in New York

NEW YORK, Sept. 24 -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was greeted with protests Monday as he prepared to address university students and speak before the U.N. General Assembly.

In preparation for his arrival at Columbia University to deliver a speech and answer questions Monday afternoon, student groups ranging from Jewish organizations to fraternities plastered the campus with posters. Many of them attacked Iran's human rights record and denounced statements in which Ahmadinejad dismissed the Holocaust and threatened Israel.

Before his appearance at Columbia, Ahmadinejad spoke by video conference to the National Press Club in Washington, denying reports of human rights violations in Iran, defending his government's nuclear program and condemning what he said were U.S. efforts to "manage the world."

In response to questions, the Iranian leader asserted that "freedom is flowing at its highest level" in his country. "Our people are the freest people in the world, the most aware people in the world, the most enlightened." He added when asked about Iranian women, "The freest women in the world are women in Iran."

Ahmadinejad also denied that sophisticated Iranian weapons are being smuggled into neighboring Iraq and professed support for stability there. "We want nothing but goodness and progress for the Iraqi nation," he said.

Asked if Iran were willing to go to war to protect its nuclear program, Ahmadinejad insisted that its efforts are "legal and for peaceful purposes." He said, "We think that talk of war is basically a propaganda tool."

The hard-line Iranian president arrived Sunday after stirring controversy with a request to visit and lay a wreath at Ground Zero, site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strike that destroyed the World Trade Center. City officials denied the request, a decision generally applauded by U.S. political leaders who said an appearance there by the leader of a reputed state sponsor of terrorism would have violated sacred ground.

Ahmadinejad told the National Press Club he had wanted to visit Ground Zero because "I was interested in expressing my sympathy to the victims of that tragedy" and because he wanted to comment on the need to "understand the root causes of events like 9/11." He did not specify what he meant by "root causes," but he added later: "We oppose the way the U.S. government tries to manage the world. We believe it is wrong. We believe it leads to war, discrimination and bloodshed."

On the Columbia University campus, the Iranian's visit brought out protesters from a variety of groups.

"Stop Ahmadinejad's Evil," said a black T-shirt being distributed by a Jewish student group for protesters to wear at the Iranian president's campus speech.

Sarah Brafman, one of the students handing out the T-shirts, said that while she opposes Ahmadinejad, his appearance provides an opportunity to promote freedom of speech.

"Students do want to hear what he has to say," the Columbia sophomore said. "He's a heavy player in world politics. But this is a platform for us as much as it is for him, to expose what he's really made of."