Australia threatens withdrawal from Durban 2

From The ABC, 12/3/09:

The Australian Government has threatened to pull out of a United Nations anti-racism conference because of its anti-semitic overtones.

Israel and Canada have already pulled out of the Durban Review Conference, and the US and Italy say they will not attend unless there are major improvements.

A working group is making changes to the conference's draft outcomes, in an effort to prevent other nations from withdrawing.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says Australia will only participate if there is a marked improvement.

"The Australian Government will give very careful consideration to what, if any, changes are made to the text to see whether it is appropriate for Australia to participate in the conference," he said.

"If we form the view that the text is going to lead to nothing more than an anti-Jewish, anti-Semitic harangue and anti-Jewish propaganda exercise, then Australia will not be in attendance."