CAIRO: Culture Minister Farouk Hosni accused the UNESCO of having a political agenda, saying that the United Nations had "a scheme to prevent him from winning the [director general] post, he told the local press upon arriving in Cairo. According to Hosni, the UN's plan to prevent him from winning the elections was "cooked during the UN general assembly meeting that took place in New York earlier this week. "The north always has to control the south, said Hosni, in comments that echoed disputes at UNESCO in the 1980s when the US accused the organization of serving as a platform for Communist and developing states to attack the West. "The organization has become politicized, he said. "Two votes were taken away. Two votes that were considered... a betrayal, Hosni said about the fact that he dropped from 29 votes in the fourth round of the election to 27 in the final one. Hosni said he was a clear winner since he received 22 votes in the first round, and the runner-up received only eight. "Then the Jewish game started by the US and big nations that claim democracy, and transparency. They all conspired against me, he added. "It was clear by the end of the competition that there was a conspiracy against me.There are a group of the world's Jews who had a major influence on the elections and who saw a serious threat in Egypt taking this position, he said. Hosni also accused the American ambassador at the UNESCO specifically of working against him. Hosni also lamented that he had had the Western press and "Zionist pressures against him every day. The culture minister said he received a conciliatory phone call from President Hosni Mubarak after the results were announced. "The president was following up on the situation moment by moment and we have spoken together more than once and he too acknowledges the conspiracy against me that was cooked in New York, Hosni said. Hosni refuted allegations that Egypt will withdraw from the UNESCO or that he will resign from his post as Egypt's Minister of Culture, which he has held for more than 20 years.
