Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Performance tactics

I am now at a panel on UNESCO's International Coalition of Cities against Racism. About 10 minutes ago, loud commotion started in the hall outside our own meeting room (and most other rooms where side events are taking place): a large number of young protesters wearing clown masks and wigs (like the ones used yesterday during Ahmadinejad's speech) were shouting "Durban-2, mascarade," and the police are still having a hard time keeping them in check (I can still hear shouting), especially since many people poured out of the meeting rooms to find out what was happening.
I'm not entirely sure who they are, but given their youth (they look like 18-year-olds) and French pronunciation, they are probably locals who got day passes for the building rather than accredited NGO representatives, although a member of a European Jewish organization I met on the plane from Berlin told me that his association was sending students there specifically to boost numbers.

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