BERLIN – A diplomat at the Polish Embassy in Germany’s capital told The
Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that the Polish government will not attend the
UN-sponsored Durban III anti-racism conference on Thursday in New York because
the event could be used to promote racism, anti-Semitism and
xenophobia.
Jacek Biegala, a spokesman for the Polish Embassy in Berlin,
told the Post that Poland’s government “will definitively not participate in
Durban III,” adding that “we fear that the 10-year commemoration event will be
used to foster opinions and positions that are the opposite of fighting racism
and intolerance.”
RELATED:
France, New Zealand pull out of Durban III over racism
Poland not sending official delegation to Durban III
He said that the fight against racism contains efforts
to combat anti-Semitism. Biegala said that Poland will continue to oppose racism
and intolerance abroad and domestically through its activities and
NGOs.
Poland’s decision to boycott the UN parley follows France’s
decision over the weekend to skip the Durban III event, making Poland the the
14th country to pull the plug on its participation. The other countries who have
announced they plan to stay away from Durban III are Britain, Bulgaria,
Australia, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Canada, the Czech Republic, Israel,
Italy, Netherlands, and the United States.
Poland left the Durban II
conference in 2009 because of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s diatribe
against Israel and his denial of the Holocaust at the Geneva
event.
Meanwhile, Gabriela Butu, a spokeswoman for the Romanian Embassy
in Berlin, told the Post on Monday that Romania still plans to participate in
Durban III. When asked why their governments are slated to take part in a
conference tainted by charges of anti-Semitism and racism, according to the
foreign ministries in France and England, the governments of Denmark, Hungary,
Finland and Greece did not immediately respond to Post e-mail queries