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Envoys walk out of UN after Libya Holocaust remark
Western UN amabassadors walked out of a Security Council meeting after Libya's ambassador likened the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust, diplomats said.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:26 April 24, 2008
United Nations: Western UN amabassadors walked out of a Security Council meeting after Libya's ambassador likened the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the Holocaust, diplomats said.
Diplomats said the comments came in a speech on Wednesday by Libya's deputy permanent UN representative Ibrahim Dabbashi, who also holds the title of ambassador.
"The Libyan ambassador compared the situation in Gaza to the Nazi Holocaust," said a Western diplomat. "Afterwards, the Western envoys stood up and left the room in protest."
Among the chief diplomats who left were the US, French, British, Belgian and Costa Rican envoys, diplomats said. Some others remained.
The remark came during a discussion on a draft statement proposed by Libya and some other countries that would have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
South Africa's Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, currently president of the 15-nation council, closed the meeting after the walkout.
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