[National Review] Anne Bayefsky - The first substantive session of the Preparatory Committee for the Durban II Conference opened in Geneva on Monday. Three quarters of the opening day was spent on an Iranian-driven attempt to deny accreditation to the NGO called the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy. Algeria was concerned about Jewish money, or "their sources of funding." The Palestinian observer complained the NGO supported Israeli settlements and no NGO supporting an illegal activity could be involved in Durban II. Libya acted as the meeting's chair, Iran as a vice chair, and Cuba as rapporteur. Iran outlined Durban II's agenda: "The emerging of new forms of racism in the aftermath of the Durban [2001] Conference, particularly after 9/11 and under the pretext of the so-called war on terror, reflects the visible rise of the contemporary forms of racism throughout the world and especially against Muslims." In other words, Durban II is an Islamic offensive to define Muslims as the preeminent victims of racism, at the hands of Western colonizers acting under the pretense of ending terrorism. The writer is senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
2008-04-24 10:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive