Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS1667
2006-04-13 05:53:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:
Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Iran, Syria/Iraq,
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UNCLAS DAMASCUS 001667
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, DBENZE AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA RWINCHESTER
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Iran, Syria/Iraq,
Syria/HAMAS, Israel/Palestinians/EU Aid, Lebanon (4/12)
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 001667
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, DBENZE AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA RWINCHESTER
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Iran, Syria/Iraq,
Syria/HAMAS, Israel/Palestinians/EU Aid, Lebanon (4/12)
1. Summary: Syrian papers today reported that Ayatollah Ali
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Iranian Expediency
Council, will arrive in Damascus today on a formal visit of a few
days.
Papers also reported that President Asad chaired a cabinet
meeting during which he discussed mechanisms of cooperation
between the Ministries of Information and Foreign Affairs, and
holding annual meetings of Syrian ambassadors.
On Syrian-Iraqi relations, papers reported shipment of Syrian
humanitarian aid to the Iraqi capital as a gift from the Syrian
people, the Syrian Red Crescent and the Dutch Red Cross to the
Iraqi people. The caravan carried tents, medicine and other
required supplies. Chairman of the Syrian Red Crescent
Organization, Abdulrahman al-Attar, said that additional medicine
and medical equipment will be sent to Iraq next week, and that
1500 tons of aid will be sent in cooperation with the Greek
Friends Assembly during the next couple of weeks.
Papers also featured a meeting between Vice President Shara and
Khaled Meshal, Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau. Meshal briefed
Shara on the outcome of his tour to Arab and foreign countries,
which focused on the importance of respecting the Palestinian
people's choices and enhancing their national unity to realize
their legitimate aspirations of establishing a sovereign
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital and realizing their
legitimate right of return.
End of summary.
2. Selected Headlines:
"Vice President Shara reviews with Khaled Meshal, Head of Hamas
Political Bureau, recent developments in the Palestinian arena
and Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"A shipment of Syrian humanitarian aid is dispatched to Iraq"
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 4/12)
"Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of Iranian
Expediency Council, is to visit Syria today" (Government-owned Al-
Ba'th, 4/12)
"Iran ends Uranium enrichment work. Ahmadinejad: Iran joins the
club of countries possessing nuclear technology" (Government-
owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"Lebanese judiciary declares beginning of investigation of
terrorists who planned to assassinate Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah
SecGen. President Lahoud: We reject any attempt to harm the
Lebanese resistance. Karami: Nassrallah is on the front line to
defend Lebanon. Druze leaders in Lebanon: No to instability. Al-
Hoss stresses the importance of enhancing relations with Syria"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"Five US soldiers killed, one wounded in Iraq. Controversy over
prime minister position remains unsettled. An opinion poll shows
drastic decline in the popularity of President Bush and the
Republicans" (Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"After Rice, Powell acknowledges grave mistakes in Iraq. The
Ministerial meeting by Iraq's neighboring countries is due today.
Iraq boycotts the meeting" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 4/12)
"Prodi promises a quick withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq:
Peace and Europe are main points on the agenda of his forthcoming
cabinet" (Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"Who Stop Israeli Terrorism?"
--------------
Omar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
commented (4/12): "Europe has joined Israel as partner in the
collective punishment against Palestinians, through its decision
to halt financial aid to the Palestinians....
"Palestinians are facing unprecedented injustice.... The West in
general and Europe in particular are responsible for the human
disaster the Palestinian people are facing. They also bear the
historical responsibility for everything that has happened to
this people and their just cause in the past and present. It is
a shame for humanity that the Palestinian people remain the only
people on earth who are not enjoying their most basic
rights...."
--------------
"Satirical Chapters in Democracy"
--------------
Ali Qasim, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote
(4/12): "Israel has decided to boycott the Palestinian Authority
and every party that deals with it....
"When Israel's aggressive escalation failed to change the
equation, Israel turned to political escalation, relying on
American and European sanctions and usQg them as a basis for
its political approach toward other countries and forces. Yet we
heard no one protesting or objecting.
"Through their attempt to push the Palestinian people toward
starvation and deprivation as a punishment for their democracy,
Europe and the United States have launched a war on democracy
and are insisting on besieging and strangling it....
"In such an international situation there is a farce, a black
political comedy, a blind compliance with a logic that runs
contrary to everything, and a setback to human intellect...."
--------------
"From Jenin to Baghdad"
--------------
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(4/12): "In April 2002 the world witnessed in Jenin the ugliest
Israeli massacre committed against Palestinians.... One year
later the same scenario was repeated in the more appalling
massacre represented by the fall of Baghdad....
"The scenario of the Jenin massacre was a rehearsal for the
Baghdad massacre and the Iraq massacres. It is not surprising
that several reports indicated an Israeli role in planning,
training, and perhaps directly participating in the invasion and
destruction of Iraq and the looting of its wealth by today's
Tartars....
"The same scenario is repeated from Jenin to Baghdad while the
world turns a blind eye, describing the declared and
premeditated terrorism as self-defense or an effort to spread
democracy and using siege and starvation to punish a people for
their democratic choices....
"Arabs are not allowed to defend themselves, their territories,
or their rights. They are not allowed to resist. Israel and
Bush's administration, meanwhile, violate all the laws of earth
and heaven without anyone protesting, even if only to spare
themselves the blame. It is a twisted world that one cannot
describe because it is beyond description."
Seche
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, DBENZE AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA RWINCHESTER
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Iran, Syria/Iraq,
Syria/HAMAS, Israel/Palestinians/EU Aid, Lebanon (4/12)
1. Summary: Syrian papers today reported that Ayatollah Ali
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of the Iranian Expediency
Council, will arrive in Damascus today on a formal visit of a few
days.
Papers also reported that President Asad chaired a cabinet
meeting during which he discussed mechanisms of cooperation
between the Ministries of Information and Foreign Affairs, and
holding annual meetings of Syrian ambassadors.
On Syrian-Iraqi relations, papers reported shipment of Syrian
humanitarian aid to the Iraqi capital as a gift from the Syrian
people, the Syrian Red Crescent and the Dutch Red Cross to the
Iraqi people. The caravan carried tents, medicine and other
required supplies. Chairman of the Syrian Red Crescent
Organization, Abdulrahman al-Attar, said that additional medicine
and medical equipment will be sent to Iraq next week, and that
1500 tons of aid will be sent in cooperation with the Greek
Friends Assembly during the next couple of weeks.
Papers also featured a meeting between Vice President Shara and
Khaled Meshal, Chairman of Hamas Political Bureau. Meshal briefed
Shara on the outcome of his tour to Arab and foreign countries,
which focused on the importance of respecting the Palestinian
people's choices and enhancing their national unity to realize
their legitimate aspirations of establishing a sovereign
Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital and realizing their
legitimate right of return.
End of summary.
2. Selected Headlines:
"Vice President Shara reviews with Khaled Meshal, Head of Hamas
Political Bureau, recent developments in the Palestinian arena
and Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"A shipment of Syrian humanitarian aid is dispatched to Iraq"
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 4/12)
"Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Chairman of Iranian
Expediency Council, is to visit Syria today" (Government-owned Al-
Ba'th, 4/12)
"Iran ends Uranium enrichment work. Ahmadinejad: Iran joins the
club of countries possessing nuclear technology" (Government-
owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"Lebanese judiciary declares beginning of investigation of
terrorists who planned to assassinate Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah
SecGen. President Lahoud: We reject any attempt to harm the
Lebanese resistance. Karami: Nassrallah is on the front line to
defend Lebanon. Druze leaders in Lebanon: No to instability. Al-
Hoss stresses the importance of enhancing relations with Syria"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"Five US soldiers killed, one wounded in Iraq. Controversy over
prime minister position remains unsettled. An opinion poll shows
drastic decline in the popularity of President Bush and the
Republicans" (Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
"After Rice, Powell acknowledges grave mistakes in Iraq. The
Ministerial meeting by Iraq's neighboring countries is due today.
Iraq boycotts the meeting" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 4/12)
"Prodi promises a quick withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq:
Peace and Europe are main points on the agenda of his forthcoming
cabinet" (Government-owned Tishreen, 4/12)
3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"Who Stop Israeli Terrorism?"
--------------
Omar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
commented (4/12): "Europe has joined Israel as partner in the
collective punishment against Palestinians, through its decision
to halt financial aid to the Palestinians....
"Palestinians are facing unprecedented injustice.... The West in
general and Europe in particular are responsible for the human
disaster the Palestinian people are facing. They also bear the
historical responsibility for everything that has happened to
this people and their just cause in the past and present. It is
a shame for humanity that the Palestinian people remain the only
people on earth who are not enjoying their most basic
rights...."
--------------
"Satirical Chapters in Democracy"
--------------
Ali Qasim, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote
(4/12): "Israel has decided to boycott the Palestinian Authority
and every party that deals with it....
"When Israel's aggressive escalation failed to change the
equation, Israel turned to political escalation, relying on
American and European sanctions and usQg them as a basis for
its political approach toward other countries and forces. Yet we
heard no one protesting or objecting.
"Through their attempt to push the Palestinian people toward
starvation and deprivation as a punishment for their democracy,
Europe and the United States have launched a war on democracy
and are insisting on besieging and strangling it....
"In such an international situation there is a farce, a black
political comedy, a blind compliance with a logic that runs
contrary to everything, and a setback to human intellect...."
--------------
"From Jenin to Baghdad"
--------------
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(4/12): "In April 2002 the world witnessed in Jenin the ugliest
Israeli massacre committed against Palestinians.... One year
later the same scenario was repeated in the more appalling
massacre represented by the fall of Baghdad....
"The scenario of the Jenin massacre was a rehearsal for the
Baghdad massacre and the Iraq massacres. It is not surprising
that several reports indicated an Israeli role in planning,
training, and perhaps directly participating in the invasion and
destruction of Iraq and the looting of its wealth by today's
Tartars....
"The same scenario is repeated from Jenin to Baghdad while the
world turns a blind eye, describing the declared and
premeditated terrorism as self-defense or an effort to spread
democracy and using siege and starvation to punish a people for
their democratic choices....
"Arabs are not allowed to defend themselves, their territories,
or their rights. They are not allowed to resist. Israel and
Bush's administration, meanwhile, violate all the laws of earth
and heaven without anyone protesting, even if only to spare
themselves the blame. It is a twisted world that one cannot
describe because it is beyond description."
Seche