Thursday, May 29, 2008

But For Other UN Posts, This Might Be A Plus

Hosni shouldn't worry, maybe something is available in the UN Human Rights Council.
Egyptian's Bid for U.N. Post In Doubt Over 'Burn' Quip

Egypt's culture minister is a top candidate to head the United Nations's main intellectual body, but his declaration that he would burn books by Israeli authors has forced him to walk a fine line between appeasing extremists in his country and satisfying Western critics.

Several diplomats familiar with the selection process for director-general of the U.N. Education Scientific and Cultural Organization said yesterday that Farouk Hosni's candidacy could now be doomed, after he told the Egyptian parliament that if any Israeli books were found in Egyptian libraries, he would burn them.

...A Unesco spokeswoman, Sue Williams, declined to comment directly on the statement, but said: "Unesco does not condone book burning of any sort."
I'm sure we are all thankful to Ms. Williams for removing all doubt on that point. Still, considering the positions that Libya and the like have obtained within the UN, it's a pleasant surprise to see that Hosni would be turned down for his statement.

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