MEDIA REACTION MEP; HARARE

UNCLAS HARARE 002732 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA, AF/PDPA NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR GURNEY PARIS FOR NEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO KMDR ZI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION MEP; HARARE ¶1. Under headline "Solidarity with the people of Palestine" the pro-government weekly "The Sunday Mirror" dedicated its December 1 editorial to accusing the United States of throwing spanners into the Middle East peace process. "The main stumbling block seems to be the U. S. A., which has supported Israel unreservedly over the years. . .," the editorial observed. Excerpts: "On Friday 29 November 2002, Southern Africa joined the rest of the world to sadly mark the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The current situation in the occupied territories is really tragic, with towns reduced to rubble, with the Palestinian Authority and its head, Yasser Arafat, virtually under siege, with curfew and restrictions of movement for the Palestinian population. The destruction of property and the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives have been catastrophic and the whole region has been in crisis for over two years. Despite the more than 1000 U. N. resolutions demanding the end of hostilities and a creation of the State of Palestine, there has been little action to achieve the same. The main stumbling block seems to be the United States of America, which has supported Israel unreservedly over the years, and this has given the Jewish State the courage to occupy more Palestinian land and to treat Arabs as second-class citizens. Therefore, the repeated calls for peace in the Middle East should be preceded by even stronger calls for justice, for without reversing the unjust occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, it is futile to call for an end to hostilities. "The people of Palestine deserve a state of their own and we in Southern Africa lend our support to the Palestinian cause. . .Palestinians have the right to demand the establishment of the State of Palestine as spelled out in U. N. Security Council resolution 1397 of 2002. Although the U. N. has tried to effect a solution that addresses the needs of both Israel and Palestine, the truth is that, Israel and the U. S. A. have acted as bullies and they have done so with impunity. Unfortunately therefore, the U. N. pronunciations have not brought any peace to the region. It is important for Israel and the Americans to realize that peace in the Middle East depends on the establishment of a Palestinian state. All progressive forces should therefore work to lend more support to its establishment. . . ." SULLIVAN