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