Arab League boycotts seminar on archives in occupied Jerusalem
Regional, Politics, 5/9/2000

The Arab states have rejected plans to hold an international seminar on archives in occupied Jerusalem.

The announcement was made by Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid in a message to a three-day conference on "the instruments of research in archives" held in Cairo May 6-8.

He said the Arab League has decided to boycott the seminar and will hold a similar seminar in Algeria at the same time.

The head of the regional section of the international council of archives, Abdelkarim Bihaja, said there was a clear deviation in the professional work of the council, which got engaged in political matters when some of its members agreed on holding the seminar in the occupied Jerusalem. This means a consecration of the occupation, he said.

Bihaja stressed the importance of helping the Arab League introduce Arabic as an official language at the international council besides English and French.

Participants in the Cairo conference discussed new techniques for using Arab archives and underlined the importance of Arab archives in preserving the Arab identity amidst attempts to distort Arab history.

They underscored need to use modern technology in Arab archives as the Arab heritage is rich of many treasures.

Previous Stories:
  Arab concerns at the Amman Inter-Parliamentary Union conference   (5/2/2000)
  Arab League to resume its session on Wednesday   (3/24/2000)
  AL rallies against inviting Israel to host archive conference in Jerusalem   (2/16/2000)

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