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Annan Faces Racism Meeting Mired in Dispute
A United Nations racism conference was mired in dispute on Wednesday over Middle East politics and the threat of a U.S. boycott if Israel is singled out as a racist state.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) arrived in South Africa to open the official World Racism Conference on Friday, but it was still unclear if Washington would send a delegation to the Indian Ocean port city of Durban.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Wednesday that Washington would send a middle-ranking official to Durban to try to amend the language on Israel, but would not necessarily take its seat at the opening plenary.
President Bush (news - web sites) said last week that the United States would take no part if the conference ``picks on'' or denigrates Israel for its treatment of Palestinians.
Washington fears Arab nations will use the conference to equate Zionism and Israel with racism and apartheid.
Annan did not speak to reporters on Wednesday, but his spokesman Fred Eckhard told Reuters: ``There is not a nation or society in the world that does not suffer from racial discrimination or some form of racism.
``This conference has to lay down what governments must do to eliminate racism in the future.''
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