WCAR Final Communique refers to hostility against Arabs

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa Saturday said that the final communique of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) did not only refer to the anti-Semitic approaches but also to hostility against Arabs and Islam.

"The communique referred to all the feelings of hatred Arabs and Muslims were being exposed to, in clear reference to the statements by some Israeli ministers against Arabs," Moussa said. "The communique referred to the Palestinians' right of self-determination," he added.

"I cannot say we achieved all we hoped for in Durban, especially as regards the racist Israeli practices, but this is the way it is at international conferences. You take only some of what you want, but we were able to drop all indications to the Holocaust except one."

"We also made clear that there was hostility against Arabs and Islam," Moussa said.

All Arab countries were keen to render the conference a success, Moussa said, adding that he had to leave the conference only to prepare for the 116th meeting of the Arab League Council.

"The Arab-Islamic coordination in Durban was very important as well as the Arab-Arab consultations," Moussa said.

About Israeli accusations that he was the main reason behind the firm Arab stance at the conference, Moussa said with relish "this is an accusation I do not deny."

"Arabs have achieved a measure of success at the conference starting from the stance of the non-governmental organizations against the Israeli practices," he added.