DURBAN, South Africa, (AFP) -A UN conference on racism already marred by bitter disputes over Israel's treatment of Palestinians was to get under way Friday in Durban, as thousands of protesters demonstrate outside. (Read photo caption below)
Palestinian leader 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.
It appeared unlikely that Israel would attend, and US Secretary of State Colin Powell is boycotting the conference because preparatory meetings retained "offensive" language on Israel in draft declarations, although rejecting any equation of Zionism with racism.
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.
Arguements over Israel led to confrontations -- some broken up by police -- between Jews and Palestinians at a sidelines forum of non-governmental organisations 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.
The demonstrators outside will be demanding action on everything from land redstribution 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 armoured vehicles.
Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete declared recently: "Everybody is welcome but we don't want spoilers and we don't want hooligans."
Added police spokesman Bala Naidoo: "People will behave ... because no one wants to go to jail in Africa."
Some 150 countries are attending the conference, but with most developed countries' delegations headed by relatively junior ministers.
On Friday afternoon, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was to open a round table of all the heads of state and Arafat.
PHOTO CAPTION:
A Palestinian supporter holds a photo placard of a Palestinian child throwing a stone at an armored vehicle during a demonstration in Durban, South Africa Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001 on the eve of the UN racism conference. The Middle East conflict is expected to be one of the top issues during the seven-day conference. (AP Photo/Obed Zilwa)