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Splits Threaten to Push Racism Conference Through the Night
DURBAN, South Africa, Sept 5 (News Agencies) - Delegates to an embittered global conference on racism were heading for all-night talks Wednesday after failing to reconcile positions on the Middle East so divergent they are threatening to scuttle the meeting, news agencies reported.
Europeans and Africans remained far apart on slavery reparations, with the Africans demanding an unambiguous apology as well as reparations, and the Europeans - fearful of opening the doors to lawsuits - offering expressions of "regret", "sorrow", "deep remorse" or "abhorrence", sources close to the talks told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
European countries, through Belgium, which holds the EU presidency, were engaged in talks with South Africa, Norway, Namibia and a Palestinian representative in a bid to agree on a fresh text on the Middle East.
The move follows Monday's walkout by the United States and Israel over "offensive" language on the Jewish state's treatment of Palestinians.
"Very serious discussions are under way to try to reach a consensus," Belgian foreign ministry spokesman Koen Vervaeke told AFP in Durban.
"The European Union remains united," he added.
As the evening wore on, sources close to the talks said the negotiators were prepared to go through to 6 a.m. Thursday (11 p.m. Wednesday EST).
One source said the Arab group "is complicating the discussions by wanting to make insertions" to the new draft, presented by South Africa.
"We do not find the Europeans flexible and we don't need them to give us lessons in how to behave," retorted Suleyman al-Herfi, a member of the Palestinian delegation and the Palestinian Authority's permanent representative in South Africa.
In Paris, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said his country and the rest of the European Union would leave the conference if delegates were determined to equate Zionism with racism.
"If the final resolution continues to assimilate Zionism and racism, France and the European Union delegation will consider leaving the conference following consultations with our European partners," the prime minister's spokesman, Jean-Jack Queyranne, told journalists.
Queyranne said a decision on whether the French and EU delegations would withdraw could be made within hours.
In Durban, a European source noted that while Jospin was repeating policy - the "Zionism equals racism" formula was dismissed before the conference began on August 31st - the prime minister was sending a shot across the Arabs' bows.
A European walkout - the 15 EU countries are backed by the 13 candidate-countries - would likely be followed by such countries as Australia, leaving a rump conference composed entirely of developing nations.
Meanwhile, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) submitted their controversial final declaration to the U.N. conference as the number of NGOs disassociating themselves from it rose to 82, on top of Jewish NGOs, which quit the forum before the voting by around 4,000 organizations.
The declaration, hammered out over five days of deliberations, accuses Israel of genocide against the Palestinians and of being an apartheid state.
It was rejected by 77 NGOs from 37 countries in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia as well as by five prominent human rights groups.
The NGO declaration and a plan of action will be included as a matter of procedural routine in the final conference declaration, together with the declaration of a youth summit, which also met on the sidelines of the U.N. conference.
U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson, who is secretary general of the U.N. conference, said Tuesday she had been "distressed and disturbed" by "inappropriate content in the NGO forum" documents.
"I cannot accept some of the language in it, particularly the reference to genocide. That is unacceptable, hurtful language which should not have appeared in any document coming out of Durban," she told reporters.
"It's sad for me that for the first time I can't recommend to delegates [at the U.N. talks] that they pay close attention to the NGO declaration," she added.
Seventy of the NGOs that rejected the declaration issued a statement in which they said procedures were "neither transparent nor democratic".
They added: "On top of all the troubles of the NGO forum, at the closing ceremony, the delegates had to listen for over two hours to a speech by [Cuban President] Fidel Castro. We are offended by the fact that one of the worst dictators in the contemporary world, particularly notorious for gross violations of human rights, was invited to address this world gathering."
In Dakar, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade suggested that Africa take an initiative on the Middle East with the aim of obtaining a "ceasefire" between Israelis and Palestinians.
"I suggest that the Africans, led by [South African President] Thabo Mbeki propose an initiative on the Palestinian question, a sort of African Camp David where the two sides would be invited for discussions," Wade said in an interview with AFP.
Camp David is the U.S. presidential retreat where then-president Jimmy Carter in 1979 achieved a breakthrough on the Middle East, setting the groundwork for a future independent Palestinian state.
The United States and Israel boycotted both previous U.N. racism conferences, in 1978 and 1983, also over the Middle East.
More than 160 countries are taking part in the conference.
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