MEDIA REACTION: 9/11, ISRAEL, AND UNITED NATIONS REFORM

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001381 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD, NEA/P, AND INR/R/MR LONDON FOR TSOU PARIS FOR ZEYA USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KMDR OIIP MU SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: 9/11, ISRAEL, AND UNITED NATIONS REFORM -------------- Unhappy Anniversary -------------- ¶1. The privately owned Arabic daily "al-Watan" published an editorial entitled "Silence Followed By A Question" on September 12: "The whole world mourns the victims of 9/11 in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. However, after a respectful minute of silence, the world will want to raise questions about the post- 9/11 situation, including questions about counterterrorism and the clash of civilizations. Unfortunately, the Western media continues to connect the 9/11 anniversaries to the military operations in Iraq... The world is looking for voices that speak about peace, tolerance and dialogue. Let the 9/11 anniversaries be opportunities for communication, rather than occasions to increase animosity between peoples." -------------- Temple Tricks -------------- ¶2. Also on September 12, the government-owned Arabic daily "Oman" ran an editorial under the headline "Just An Excuse": "Israel has officially ended its thirty-eight-year-long occupation of Gaza Strip. But despite the end of its military presence, Tel Aviv decided to keep twenty-four temples in the destroyed settlements - in violation of a court decision authorizing their removal. The Palestinian Authority requested that the temples be removed to prevent future clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. This appears to be yet another procrastination by the Israeli government, which constantly looks for opportunities to delay the implementation of their obligations. If the Israeli government is serious about peace, they should fulfill their promises to the Palestinian Authority." -------------- The UN At Sixty -------------- ¶3. On September 11, "al-Watan" featured an editorial entitled "A Call To Reform? Or Giving In?": "Reforming the United Nations is logical, since sixty years have passed since the Charter was signed. This Charter was designed to protect the interests of the victorious nations after World War II, as demonstrated by the veto power held by the five permanent members of the Security Council. It is interesting that some of these same powers are against reforming the UN to include more voices. Indeed, these powers seek to be given the right to preemptively attack any country without warning under the excuse of `fighting terrorism' - even though nobody can define what terrorism actually is. The first step towards reform is equalizing the relations between the have-nots and the superpowers who want to control the world according to their whims." BALTIMORE