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Powell Announced US Walkout From UN Racism Conference
US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Monday said that the United States was walking out of a UN conference on racism in order to protest the anti-Israel language in meeting documents.
In a statement released by the State Department, Powell said that he had taken the decision with "regret", because of the importance of the international fight against racism and the contribution that the conference could have made to it.
"But following discussions today by our team in Durban and others who are working for a successful conference, I am convinced that will not be possible," Powell said.
"I know that you do not combat racism by conferences that produce declarations containing hateful language, some of which is a throwback to the days of 'Zionism equals racism' or supports the idea that we have made too much of the Holocaust; or suggests that apartheid exists in Israel," he said.
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