Pablo Picasso’s anti-war painting “Guernica” has hung in the lobby of the U.N. since 1985. It serves as a sobering reminder of the horrors of war to those in the U.N. who may be faced with making decisions as to whether or not to sanction attacks against one country or another.
Unless, of course, it’s politically expedient not to remind them what war can do, in which case we’ll just cover it up.
Television cameras routinely pan the tapestry as diplomats enter and leave the council chambers, and its muted browns and taupes lend a poignant backdrop to the talking heads.
So it was a surprise for many of the envoys to arrive at U.N. headquarters last Monday for a Security Council briefing by chief weapons inspectors, only to find the searing work covered with a baby-blue banner and the U.N. logo.
The drapes were installed last Monday and Wednesday — the days the council discussed Iraq — and came down Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, when the subjects included Afghanistan and peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Western Sahara.
So when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell enters the council Wednesday to present evidence of Iraq’s acquisition of mobile biological weapons labs and terrorism ties, he will walk in front of flags that wouldn’t look out of place in the auditorium of a high school gymnasium.
(Via MeFi and BoingBoing)