The UN and the Iranian Mission in Geneva did not comment on why the change was made. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, however, said he had met with the Iranian president before his speech Monday and reminded him the UN had adopted resolutions "to revoke the equation of Zionism with racism and to reaffirm the historical facts of the Holocaust."
Ahmadinejad may have decided to drop the Holocaust phrase that was in his original text to deliver his condemnation of Israel in a more palatable fashion for many countries.
Still, Ahmadinejad´s accusation that the West used the Holocaust as a "pretext" for aggression against Palestinians still provoked walkouts by delegates including every European Union country in attendance. But others, including those from the Vatican, stayed in the room because they said he stopped short of denying the Holocaust.
The walkout came after Ahmadinejad accused Western nations of complicity in violence against Palestinians surrounding the foundation of Israel.
The original text of his speech said "following World War II, they resorted to military aggression to make an entire nation homeless on the pretext of Jewish sufferings and the ambiguous and dubious question of Holocaust."
UN spokeswoman Marie Heuze said UN officials had checked back with the interpreters and the Farsi recording of Ahmadinejad´s speech, and determined that the Iranian president had dropped the terms "ambiguous and dubious," referring instead in Farsi to "the abuse of the question of the Holocaust."
Adding to the confusion, the live English translation of the speech did not mention the word "Holocaust" at all, while the French stayed true to the spoken words of Ahmadinejad. The English translator apparently was following the prepared text and stopped speaking when the Iranian president changed the wording.
The meeting turned chaotic from the start when two protesters in rainbow wigs tossed red clown noses at Ahmadinejad as he began his speech with a Muslim prayer. A Jewish student group from France said it had been trying to convey "the masquerade that this conference represents."
Thirteen people who disrupted the speech were expelled from the conference Tuesday.
The United States and eight other Western countries had already boycotted the event that started on the eve of Israel´s Holocaust Remembrance Day, because of concerns Muslim countries would drown out all other issues with calls to denounce Israel and restrict free speech when it comes to criticizing Islam.
Over 100 other countries on Tuesday approved a 16-page declaration calling on the world to combat intolerance. The declaration did not mention Israel, but among dozens of other points, it reaffirms a 2001 statement issued after the UN´s first global racism meeting in South Africa that recognized the "plight of the Palestinians" while affirming the Jewish state´s right to security.
The latest declaration´s support of the 2001 document that named only one country, Israel, was cited by President Barack Obama´s administration as why it boycotted the Geneva meeting.
In Paris, France´s foreign minister criticized the US decision to stay away from an event featuring Ahmadinejad while declaring itself open for negotiations on Iran´s nuclear program.
"More than a paradox, it could really be a mistake," Bernard Kouchner said.
Most of Ahmadinejad´s rhetoric was not new but its timing and high profile could complicate US efforts to warm ties with the Islamic republic. Alejandro Wolff, the US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, denounced what he called "the Ahmadinejad spectacle."
In Tehran, some 200 people gathered at the airport to give Ahmadinejad a hero´s welcome and bunches of flowers as he returned home.
Iranian state TV described him as having defended Palestinian rights against a racist regime. The official IRNA news agency, which strongly supports Ahmadinejad, quoted lawmaker Mohammad Reza Bahonar as saying that Ahmadinejad´s speech in Geneva was a "great achievement for (Iran´s ruling) system."
State television also reported Tuesday that Iran´s parliament speaker has warned Israel against a possible attack on the country´s nuclear facilities.
Conference organizers in Geneva had sought desperately to avoid the problems that marred the 2001 Durban conference, which ended four days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The US and Israel walked out of that event over an attempt by Muslim countries to liken Zionism — the movement to establish a Jewish state in the Holy Land — to racism.
Even though the UN conference´s final document has no enforceable measures, it arouses great passion from all governments.
Many in the Muslim world had expressed disappointment prior to the conference for its failure to point the finger directly at Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. There were also strong disagreements between Muslim countries and the West over an attempt to ban all criticism of Islam and other religions.
The UN said it expelled 13 people from the conference, including members of Jewish and Iranian groups that disrupted Ahmadinejad´s speech. It first said 375 people had been tossed out, but later called it a mistake to bar individuals not directly linked to Monday´s disruptions.
"At the United Nations we demand that conferences and debates be held in a spirit of mutual respect and dignity," Heuze said.
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Associated Press writers Frank Jordans in Geneva and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.
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