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News Brief No. 26, Oct. 11, 2000
Bethlehem 2000 project regrets to announce the postponement of the Conference entitled 2000 Years, History of Architectural Heritage organized by the UNESCO in Partnership with Bethlehem 2000, that had been scheduled to take place between 16 and 20 October 2000. This comes as a result of the many cancellations that we received by main speakers at the Conference, who found it necessary to take such decisions as a result of the prevailing uncertainty in the security situation in Palestine. Heavy use of live ammunition, most of which are internationally banned, against Palestinian civilians, often children, has deprived Bethlehem of the opportunity to host a major cultural event that would have contributed to its development efforts. It has also deprived the Palestinians of the chance to host and actively participate in such a major cultural forum. A new date has tentatively been set for convening the conference between 22 and 25 January 2001, pending an alleviation of the military tension in Palestine. Bethlehem 2000 also regrets to announce the cancellation by the city of Chartres-France of its cultural week that was scheduled to take place between 28 October and 5 November. This cancellation comes again as a result of the recent and on-going Israeli armed escalation against the Palestinian people, which includes closures and restriction of movement form and into Palestine, as well as in between Palestinian cities and areas. Despite the deteriorating security situation, we believe that at least few activities may still be carried out, such as The Bethlehem Christmas Festival, which is an activity that we seek to establish as an annual event, as part of the efforts meant to achieve sustainable development in Bethlehem and the whole of Palestine. We sincerely hope for an improvement in the foreseen future that would allow for the resumption of our activities, and enable Bethlehem to continue to play its historical role as the cradle of love and peace for the World. |
