Anger as U.N. Race Summit Opens

J O H A N N E S B U R G, South Africa, Aug. 31 -- After weeks of acrimonious wrangling, a U.N. racism conference opened in South Africa today with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urging delegates from 150 countries to set aside their differences.

"If we leave here without agreement we shall give comfort tothe worst elements in every society," he told the openingsession of the World Conference Against Racism, RacialDiscrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in the South African city of Durban.

More than a century after the banning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the rancorous buildup to the eight-day conference has been seen as a sign that race continues to be a contentious issue.

Arab states have demanded the conference address what they believe is Israel's racist treatment of Palestinians, Jewish delegates have accused the conference of anti-Semitism, India has refused to include caste issues and Europe and the United States have refused to consider an apology for slavery.

The absence of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, arguably one of the world's most powerful black men, has cast a shadow over the conference, especially among African Americans delegates.

The United States and Canada have sent low-level delegations in a show of protest over what they believe was "offensive" language on Israel contained in the summit's draft declarations. The declaration has however dropped any equation between Zionism and racism.

Rainbow Nation

As nearly 6,000 delegates made their way to the summit, the venue for the historic conference was not lost on them.

Seven years after South Africa did away with apartheid, the "rainbow nation" has held two successful elections and has voted two black South Africans to power.

But in his inaugural speech, South African President Thabo Mbeki was pessimistic about the world's progress on racial issues. Quoting a blues song, Mbeki said, "If you're white you're alright; if you are brown, stick around; if you are black, oh brother! Get back, get back, get back."