David Irving's Action Report On-line

Posted Saturday, March 24, 2001

Beirut conference cancelled:

Traditional Enemies notch up Victory over Free Speech

THE California based Institute of Historical Review announced Friday, March 23, 2001 that the organised had cancelled the planned Beirut conference on "Revisionism and Zionism".

Mark Weber, director of the IHR, posted details of the decision on the "Beirut 2001" section of the IHR web site, and sent details by e-mail to supporters. The Swiss group Vérité et Justice called off the function after the Lebanese Prime Minster announced Thursday that his government would not permit the four-day meeting to take place. The announcement followed weeks of intense pressure from major American and international human rights organisations.

"As newspapers have reported," states Mr Weber, "the Lebanese government decision was made following demands by major Jewish organizations, and pressure from the United States and other foreign governments, to prohibit the peaceful, privately-organized conference."

He called the ban "an outrageous assault against freedom of speech and expression." The Lebanese people, he suggested, should be ashamed of their government. "People everywhere should have the right to investigate and make up their own minds about twentieth century history free of censorship and intimidation."

The ban underscored the need for such a conference, he pointed out. It showed once again how Zionist groups feared open debate on what they call "the Holocaust," an episode in history which is a major weapon in their arsenal.

In a separate statement Vérité et Justice, the European organisers, recalled that for decades independent researchers had been diligently endeavouring to separate historical facts from legends. From the beginning, they had been subject to harassment and persecution, and this had become ever more ferocious in recent years. Revisionists have been sentenced to prison terms and fines; others have had their professional careers shattered, or driven into exile.

An ever-growing number of people is becoming familiar with the results of their scholarly work.

The conference in Beirut, to be attended by thirty scholars from all over the world, was the first of its kind in the Arab and Islamic world.

"The conference on Revisionism and Zionism will definitely take place," promise the organisers. "It will be held in a country that will not yield to threats and blackmail."