Alliance asks Germany to skip U.N. event

BERLIN, March 13 (UPI) -- Germany should not participate in the upcoming United Nations Conference on Racism in Geneva, Switzerland, an alliance says.

A group of non-profit organizations, journalists and former politicians calling itself Boycott Durban II has sent the German government a petition with 1,300 signatures calling for a boycott of the April 20-24 event, Der Spiegel said Friday.

The alliance is concerned that the event could be used by countries like Iran, Libya and Cuba as a forum to attack Israel.

"A boycott should be a matter of course," journalist Alex Feuerhardt, who helped create the alliance, said.

"One does not speak with anti-Semites," he added.

Klaus Faber, a member of the German parliament, has joined the alliance amid concerns the conference's agenda does not include human rights topics.

"It is hard to believe. No word about the mass murders in Darfur, nothing about genital mutilation, stonings or racist terrorism," he said.

Der Speigel said the United States, Canada and Italy have already announced they will not take part in the U.N. conference.