DURBAN (Islamweb & News Agencies) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan added his voice Tuesday to those urging the United States to take part in a U.N. conference on racism, saying it was an issue affecting all countries.``I hope the U.S. will participate and that they will come and sit with other governments to move the process forward,'' Annan told a news conference during a visit to Austria.
The State Department said Monday Secretary of State Colin Powell would not attend the United Nations World Conference Against Racism because of ``offensive'' language about Israel in some texts, adding that the United States might boycott it altogether.
Washington fears that the conference -- due to begin in Durban, South Africa Friday -- will be used by Arab nations to equate Zionism and Israel with racism and apartheid. (Read photo caption below)
Canadian Foreign Minister John Manley, echoing the U.S. concerns over the criticism of Israel, told reporters in Ottawa Tuesday that he had not decided if he would attend.
``The text, such as it is that I've seen, goes much too far in singling out one country, in this case Israel, and I'm not sure whether that text can be improved enough,'' Manley said.
Annan said it was the sovereign right of every country to decide whether or not to attend, but stressed the conference's importance in confronting racism.
``No country is immune from racism and xenophobia,'' Annan said. ``I hope all governments will participate at the highest level possible.''
Earlier Tuesday, delegates to a racism forum organized in Durban by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said the threatened U.S. non-attendance showed it was failing to tackle racism.
``It's a clear political message that the Americans are insisting to show they are not on the side of human rights defenders. It will make the conference easier. Usually the Americans are the obstacle to a good agreement on human rights,'' Shaqi Issa, a spokesman for the Arab NGO bloc, told Reuters.
The racism conference takes place against a backdrop of escalating anti-Israeli occupation bloodshed in the Middle East.
Israeli occupation troops seized positions in Palestinian-ruled Beit Jala Tuesday and sent bulldozers into a refugee camp in southern Gaza only hours after Israel assassinated a top Palestinian leader.
A bloody weekend in which 11 people died in fighting has all but destroyed hopes for truce talks between the sides.
``FREE, FREE PALESTINE''
A crowd of around 7,000 delegates at the opening ceremony of the NGO race forum chanted ``Free, Free Palestine,'' while some Arab and Palestinian delegates carried posters saying: ''George W. Bush -- Palestinian blood is on your hands.''
South African President Thabo Mbeki opened the NGO forum by urging all nations to commit themselves to wiping out the legacy of racism, slavery and colonialism ``that condemns billions across the globe to poverty and despair.''
Mbeki did not comment on Powell's decision to stay home.
The United States has threatened a complete boycott of the Durban meeting, although U.S. black leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson said he would lead his own unofficial delegation.
``The exact nature and level of our representation, if any, is not clear,'' State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing in Washington Monday.
President Bush said Friday the United States would not go to the conference at all if the participants ``picked on'' or denigrated Israel.
PHOTO CAPTION:
An unidentified Palestinian man hangs an anti-Israeli poster in preparation for the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa Tuesday Aug. 28, 2001. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia)