The New York Daily News was, as usual, its sensationalist self. Its headline screamed the warning “The Evil has Landed.”
No, it wasn’t referring to a vampire alighting from the Transylvanian mountains or even something as mundane as bird flu hitting Manhattan – it was referring to a head of state – Iran’s, to be precise.
Yup, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had just landed in the Big Apple, maybe to attempt to spread world peace (or at least, his version of it), and New Yorkers weren’t too happy, especially after it was broadcasted that he would speak at Columbia University. An open forum was scheduled for the president at this Ivy League institution, and protesters started getting ready.
Now, what President Mahmoud didn’t know was that even prior to his arrival, IGLHRC (the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission) had already been scheming behind his back. IGLHRC approached Columbia U, and asked if during the open forum, dear Mahmoud could be prodded about Iran’s human rights record – especially its record versus gays and lesbians.
Columbia U, happily enough, accepted, and so IGLHRC delivered prepared questions to the moderator, Professor Coatsworth, with the connivance of Columbia U’s President, Lee Bollinger. When the time of the open forum came, out popped the question about Iran’s reported execution of two men that the government had accused of homosexual acts.
Then came the answer that made headlines – “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country…In Iran, we don’t have this phenomenon. I do not know who has told you we have it.”
Denial queen! Of course, that provoked laughter, not only from the audience, but also from those in this country who have experienced this so-called phenomenon. (Not me personally, ok?) And of course, that provoked indignation as well – as IGLHRC’s Executive Director said, “The Iranian President’s stark denial of our reality reflects his government’s ongoing refusal to recognize the basic human rights of LGBT people. IGLHRC and other human rights organizations have documented widespread and systematic violations of the rights of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Iran.” (In more prosaic terms – we all know Iran’s criminal law punishes gay men with the penalty of death.)
And as if that wasn’t enough, some nosy IGLHRC staffer sneaked around the official website of the Iranian government – and found this: that no translation of this particular question and answer ever came out on the site! Imagine, censorship of even the official stance of the president!
According to IGLHRC, apparently, the English version contains the transcript of the q-and-a. The Persian language version, on the other hand, doesn’t include its translation! Now, isn’t that odd?
Was it because it’s actually true, there’s no such thing as gay men over there, and therefore, they don’t even have a Persian word for the love that dares not speak its name? Hmmm. A bit unlikely. After all, there’s that criminal law of theirs that dangles over the heads of people who give head. So, that theory’s out.
Was it because they didn’t want non-English speakers to realize how incredible the response of their chosen leader was? More likely. Damage control, as they say.
Too bad. Perhaps, if he had been more forthcoming, maybe the president could have been engaged in meaningful dialogue. This answer, however, sweeps all the arguments into the closet, and lets them die a dark, dreary death.
As Columbia U’s president said so aptly, “I feel the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for.”