TFLE01: MORE PEACEFUL PROTESTS; WADE CALLS FOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 001857

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/ES, R, AF, NEA, AF/W AND AF/PDPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PINS PREL CASC ASEC MOPS LE IS PU SG
SUBJECT: TFLE01: MORE PEACEFUL PROTESTS; WADE CALLS FOR
OIC INVOLVEMENT; MORE SENEGALESE ARRIVE FROM LEBANON

REF: A. DAKAR 1760 (NOTAL)


B. DAKAR 1744 (NOTAL)


1. SUMMARY: President Wade reiterated his call for an
immediate Middle East ceasefire. Almost 450 Senegalese
have now fled Lebanon, with Morocco and France evacuating
more than half. Senegalese, Bissau-Guineans and Lebanese
in Bissau and Dakar staged peaceful demonstrations on July
31 and August 1, respectively. Over the past week
Senegalese media have given ample voice to a range of anti-
American and anti-Semitic views in reaction to the current
conflict, and we countered with a strong op-ed. END
SUMMARY.

WADE CALLS FOR UN AND OIC ACTION
--------------

2. As Senegal was coordinating the departure of its
citizens from Lebanon, President Abdoulaye Wade repeated
his call for the UN Security Council and the Organization
of the Islamic Conferences (OIC) to support an immediate
ceasefire.

450 SENEGALESE FLEE
--------------

3. Of the 450 Senegalese nationals who have sought
assistance departing Lebanon, 86 arrived in Rabat via a
Moroccan military aircraft on July 30. A Senegalese
charter had brought 142 Senegalese from Damascus to Dakar
on July 28. Morocco had previously evacuated 150
Senegalese and France 12.

PEACEFUL PROTESTS IN DAKAR AND BISSAU
--------------

4. The Lebanese community gathered in Dakar on August 1
for a religious ceremony in front of the Lebanese Embassy,
where hundreds lit candles in memory of the 800 Lebanese
who have died in the Middle East conflict. The Lebanese
Embassy is just two doors down from the U.S. Embassy.


5. The Lebanese community in Guinea-Bissau staged a July
31 protest against Israeli attacks in Lebanon and
submitted a petition to the local UN headquarters
demanding an immediate ceasefire. According to media
reports, the crowd of mostly young and middle-aged
Lebanese men who work as retailers in the capital,
displayed a massive photograph of Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah and shouted "Viva Nasrallah. Death to Israel."
"What Israel is doing to children and old people in the
south of Lebanon is a crime. The Lebanese do not want war
-- they do not even have weapons. Israel is using planes
and even illegal bombs to kill our people," said Chakib
Zaidan, President of the Lebanese association in Guinea-
Bissau.

SENEGALESE MEDIA AMPLIFY ANTI-U.S. SENTIMENT
--------------

6. In a country where hot-button issues such as Iraq, Abu
Ghraib and Guantanamo have traditionally received scant
coverage, over the past week Senegalese media have given
ample voice to a range of anti-American and anti-Semitic
views in reaction to the current conflict.

EMBASSY-DAKAR COUNTERS WITH OP-ED
--------------

7. On July 27, Embassy-Dakar placed an op-ed by
Ambassador Jacobs with the leading daily "Walfadjri." In
the op-ed, the Ambassador acknowledged deep concerns in
Senegal over the Middle East crisis while cautioning
against rhetoric that could fuel the self-fulfilling
prophecy of a "clash of civilizations." The piece notes
the importance of a sustainable cease-fire addressing the
root causes of the extremism that led to the crisis and
notes the U.S. pledge of USD 30 million in immediate
humanitarian assistance to meet the basic medical needs of
10,000 people for a three-month period.

BUT ANTI-U.S. SENTIMENT IN MEDIA PERSISTS
--------------

8. On July 29, a major daily editorialized that Secretary
Rice is "crushing all nascent peace initiatives with her
insistence on avoiding any return to the status quo ante
in the Middle East crisis. The Israelis have read the
message loud and clear, intensifying their systematic
bombardment of targets associated with Hezbollah. Lebanon

DAKAR 00001857 002 OF 002


has thus become a convenient proving ground for President
Bush's oft-stated desire to bring about a 'new order' in
the region, where his Administration is using
'constructive chaos' to mold a neo-conservative vision of
a 'Greater Middle East.'"


9. A number of major daily newspapers gave prominent
coverage to the Iranian Ambassador to Senegal's August 1
Dakar press conference. The Iranian was quoted as saying
that "the Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon is part of a
crusade against Islam declared by the United States in the
wake of September 11" and that the U.S. instigated the
"cartoon controversy" caused by published caricatures of
the Prophet Mohammed. He was also cited as saying, "What
is happening is Lebanon is an act of barbarism. And the
Americans, for whom democracy means massacre, bear sole
responsibility."


10. Also on August 1, two major dailies published an
incendiary op-ed by Abu Jafer Kane, a member of the
"Senegalese Committee of Intellectuals," who says "With
this war, George Bush's bellicose America wants to realize
its theory of a Greater Middle East spanning from
Mauritania to Pakistan. ... President Bush has confirmed
the engagement of a country commonly known as 'The Great
Satan' by guaranteeing Israel's military superiority over
its neighbors with the delivery of more than 500 laser-
guided bombs to more effectively destroy Lebanon and
Palestine. Arab leaders, wake up! What will you do for
Palestine and Lebanon?"

JACOBS