Washington | Thursday
ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon huddled with South African President Thabo Mbeki here on Wednesday to discuss the Middle East crisis and the UN conference on racism set for late August in South Africa.
”We need to see what we can contribute to facilitate peace in the Middle East,” Mbeki told reporters ahead of the meeting. ”We are fortunate that both sides in the conflict speak quite openly to us.”
”What everybody wants to see is an end to violence,” the South African leader said, adding that the Palestinians should be allowed to participate in normal economic life and receive a transfer of funds from Israel.
He also urged Israeli authorities to allow freer movement for Palestinians and to reopen airports and roads on the West Bank.
Sharon, meanwhile, asked Mbeki to encourage countries in the Non-Aligned Movement to use their influence to bring about an end to Israeli-Palestinian violence, which has been raging since September, a senior Israeli official said on condition of anonymity.
Sharon also asked Mbeki to ensure that the Durban conference, which is to open on August 31, addresses human rights in general and avoids politicising the issue, the official added.
Concerns about racism and Zionism are so entrenched in the plans for the UN conference that US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned last week that mentions of slavery reparations and condemnations of Zionism could derail the gathering.
Britain, France and Germany join the United States in overtly opposing reparations for slavery, and Israel also supports the US position that Zionism should not be up for discussion in Durban.
Asked about the Zionism issue, Mbeki said that, ”as a government, we would not agree with the proposition, Zionism = racism.”
Bilateral political issues were also raised at the Mbeki-Sharon meeting, which took place at the hotel where the Israeli leader stayed during his visit to Washington. – AFP
ZA*NOW:
US media lays into Mbeki June 27 2001
USA to help Africa turn the corner June 27 2001
Mbeki, Bush hunker down June 26 2001
Mbeki MAPS out African recovery plan June 8 2001
FEATURES:
Out of America or Africa? June 5, 2001
A ‘less is more’ policy for Africa April 23 2001