Please forgive me for allowing the Iraq crisis to raise its ugly head again on yet another thread, but I thought this would be amusing if the situation weren't so tragic! AND PLEASE this is not an invitation to discuss the war on another thread!
Anyway I just saw this on Reuters. There's a more in-depth piece on the New York Times website.
UN Cover-Up: Guernica Hidden as U.S. Speaks on Iraq
Wed February 5, 2003 11:35 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - In a bold cover-up, the United Nations on Wednesday concealed behind a blue cloth and a row of flags the world body's treasured tapestry of "Guernica," the celebrated Picasso anti-war masterpiece.
The tapestry hangs outside the U.N. Security Council, where Secretary of State Colin Powell was presenting the U.S. case that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction and war may be needed to make sure it disarms.
But U.N. officials insisted no symbolism was intended in the decision to hide the tapestry.
The cover and flags were meant only to provide a strong visual clue to television cameras filming diplomats in the corridor, the officials said.
Picasso's Guernica commemorates a small Basque village in northern Spain that was used by Germany for bombing practice for more than three hours on April 27, 1937.
The raid killed or wounded some 1,600 civilians and left the village in flames for three days.
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