A UN conference on racism already marred by bitter disputes over Israel's treatment of Palestinians is under way Friday in Durban, as thousands of protesters demonstrate outside, reported AFP.
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and President Fidel Castro of Cuba arrived Thursday; twelve other foreign heads of state are due to attend, along with South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, but all are from poor countries.
In Jerusalem, public radio reported Thursday evening that an Israeli delegation had left for Durban despite uncertainty until the last minute over whether the country would attend, said the agency
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, described by the BBC as the most powerful black man in the world, is boycotting the conference because preparatory meetings retained "offensive" language on Israel in draft declarations, although rejecting any equation of Zionism with racism.
The BBC said that Arafat wants the conference to condemn the Israeli racist and fascist treatment of the Palestinians.
It added that 16,000 delegations are to attend the event but the headlines concentrated on the “few absentees.”
A team of mid-level US diplomats arrived in Durban Thursday on a last-ditch mission to water down the language on Israel even more.
If successful, its leader, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations Michael Southwick, is likely to head a US delegation; if not, the US boycott will be complete, as it was at the last two UN racism conferences, in 1978 and 1983, said AFP.
Arguments over Israel led to confrontations -- some broken up by police -- between Jews and Palestinians at a sidelines forum of non-governmental organizations which started Tuesday.
The other main disputes there -- expected to be echoed at the UN conference -- were over demands for reparations for slavery and the plight of low-caste Dalits in India and other Asian countries.
According to the TV station, the meeting will discuss if the US and Europe should pay compensation to African countries over their involvement in salve trade.
The demonstrators outside will be demanding action on everything from land redistribution through gender discrimination to the plight of indigenous peoples.
The police presence round the march will be heavy, and police are patrolling the Indian Ocean city on foot, on horseback, on motorbikes, on bicycles, and in armored vehicles, according to the agency.
On Friday afternoon, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was to open a round table of all the heads of state and Arafat.
The event will last for seven days – Albawaba.com
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