FM TAKES CREDIT FOR "SOFTENED" LATAM-ARAB

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 000834

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/FO, NEA/FO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON EFIN EC BR
SUBJECT: FM TAKES CREDIT FOR "SOFTENED" LATAM-ARAB
DECLARATION


1. In a burst of braggadocio, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister
Patricio Zuquilanda informed the Ambassador March 31 that the
"USG had me to thank" for watering down the inflammatory
declaration that would emerge from the May 10-11 summit of
South American and Arab state leaders. The original draft,
which Zuquilanda and other chancellors debated days earlier
in Morocco, was heavily anti-Israel and anti-U.S., the FM
asserted. The revised declaration, while still wavering from
the summit's initial intent -- promoting economic and
cultural ties between blocs -- looked far more balanced.


2. Zuquilanda's office April 14 forwarded the Embassy a copy
of the declaration, annotated "Rev. 11 Col.0213/(o4/10)04-GA
corr 11(0473)," which we in turn faxed to WHA and NEA front
offices. Having not seen earlier versions, we cannot verify
the FM's claim that this draft represents an improvement.
Yet it does appear less problematic than the version Miami
Herald analyst Andres Oppenheimer disparaged in a January 6
column. Oppenheimer wrote that Declaration Section 2.9
called for "a UN conference 'to study' terrorism and define
the terrorist crime, distinguishing terrorism from the
legitimate right of peoples to resist foreign occupation with
a view to reach national independence."


3. The revised document still calls for a UN conference to
define terrorism. The paragraph asserting the right to
oppose occupying forces has been bracketed, however, perhaps
for revision or removal. Further, Section 2.9 begins
positively, "Emphasizing the importance of combating
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations through active
and efficient international cooperation" and concludes with a
call for greater sharing of C-T information and expertise.


4. By no means do the United States and Israel get off easy.
Anti-American digs include:

-- Reaffirming the necessity of resolving all conflicts
non-violently;

-- Emphasizing the importance of respecting the unity,
sovereignty, and independence of Iraq, and not interfering in
its internal processes;

-- Commiting to implementing all UN resolutions
non-selectively;

-- Expressing profound worries over the unilateral sanctions
the United States imposed on Syria;

-- Recognizing the need for protection of intellectual
property, but not when it affects national development,
especially in terms of national health policies;

-- Emphasizing the need to eliminate distortions (subsidies)
in agriculture, which impede developed nations from
exploiting comparative advantages;

-- Welcoming the recent entry into force of the Kyoto
Agreement, and calling on the international community to
better protect the global climate.


5. While "Israel" appears infrequently in the text,
anti-Israeli sentiment abounds:

-- Reaffirming that Middle East security depends on the
region being free of nuclear arms and other WMD;

-- Emphasizing the need that Israeli forces withdraw from
Arab territories occupied since June 1967;

-- Strongly considering the opinions noted in the
International Court of Justice's 2004 report on the "Legal
Consequences of Constructing a Security Wall in Occupied
Palestinian Territory."


6. (SBU) COMMENT: We leave to the experts to determine if
this text betters past versions. On Zuquilanda's bombast
that he saved the day, we won't be so hesitant with our
opinions. Ecuador's foreign minister regularly claims he is
Washington's best friend in the region, yet rarely backs word
with deed. Similarly, we are hard-pressed to remember a
pro-Palestinian or anti-Israeli motion MFA diplomats did not
support. The bottom line? We doubt Zuquilanda left the
sidelines in Marrakech, but believe he saw in the revised
declaration an opportunity to curry USG favor. END COMMENT.
KENNEY