Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS1821
2006-04-20 13:34:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

Damascus Media Reaction: Palestinian Territories, Iraq,

Tags:  KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY 
pdf how-to read a cable
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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #1821/01 1101334
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201334Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8467
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5890
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3764
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2265
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 6972
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0911
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4345
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0567
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6711
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 001821 

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: Palestinian Territories, Iraq,
Lebanon, Iran (4/20)

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 001821

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: Palestinian Territories, Iraq,
Lebanon, Iran (4/20)


1. Summary: Syrian papers today reported that the Syrian
Popular Committee to Support the Palestinian People opened
special accounts at the Real-Estate Bank of Syria and the
branches of the Commercial Bank of Syria in Damascus, Hama, Homs,
Lattakia, Aleppo, Tartus, Daraa, Swieda, Der-Ezzor, Kamishli,
Hasaka and Idleb for donations in support of the Palestinian
people. The Committee called on Syrian citizens to make
donations.

Papers also reported that the US Communist Party sent a message
of solidarity with Syria on the occasion of the 10th Conference
of the Syrian Communist Party, currently in session in Damascus.
"The term 'war against terrorism' led by Washington and its ally
London is being used to block democracy and justify the
occupation of Iraq," the US Communist Party's message said.
"The US Communist Party stands against all forms of occupation
and military bases on foreign lands and against the provocative
policy of Israel in the Arab region," it added.
The US Party expressed desire for "a better and deepened
cooperation based on building a new world free of greed and
racism." "The Communist Party Conference is being held during a
critical stage where the Arab nation, particularly Syria, faces
big threats that target her steadfastness and struggle for the
Arab interests," Suleiman Qaddah [Vice Chairman of the National
Progressive Front] added.

End of summary.


2. Selected Headlines:

"FM Al-Moualem [to Al-Jazeera TV]: Borders cannot be demarcated
in occupied land; recognition of sovereignty is not exclusively
linked to the presence of embassies" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th,
4/20)

"Al-Moualem calls for respecting Iraq's sovereignty and
territorial integrity: Israel is the sole threat to Arabs"
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 4/20)

"A special bank account is established to raise funds for
Palestinians" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 4/20)

"Moscow offers USD 10 million in aid to Palestinians. Arab
treasuries contribute USD 5 million. Hanieh confirms constant

principles. Palestinian factions reject foreign pressure"
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 4/20)

"Hamas denies storing weapons in Jordan. Canceling Al-Zahar's
visit is submission to foreign pressures" (Government-owned Al-
Thawra, 4/20)

"Saudi FM Al-Faisal emphasizes the importance of ridding the
Middle East of WMD. Straw: Israel should be included" (Government-
owned Al-Ba'th, 4/20)

"Lebanese factions confirm Lebanon's Arab identity and
distinguished relations with Syria, rejecting US aid coupled with
political diktat" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 4/20)

"Blair considers a military operation against Iran unlikely.
Moscow's international contacts fail to take any decision against
Iran" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 4/20)



3. Editorial Block Quotes:

-------------- --------------

"You Who Live in Glass Houses, Do not Throw Stones"

-------------- --------------

Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
commented (4/20): "The US and Europe have denounced the Tel Aviv
bombing and described it as 'a horrifying brutal act'.... while
they remain silent on Israel's terrorism....


"Why do the United States and the EU condemn what happened in
Tel Aviv, which is an individual act resulting from the
circumstances of coercion, repression, siege, and aggression
that the Palestinian people are experiencing, while they issue
no condemnation against the killings, destruction, terrorism,
and assassinations that Israel perpetrates even against children
and pregnant women...?"

--------------

"Weak Pretexts"

--------------

Omar Jaftali, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen,
commented (4/20): "The situation in the occupied Arab
territories after the Tel Aviv operation, which was carried out
by a Palestinian teenager, does not differ from the situation
that existed before the operation. For years now, Israeli
terrorism against the Palestinian people has been a daily
routine....

"We regret the blind and illogical international bias that
justifies Israeli terrorism and sees it as reaction to
Palestinian 'terrorism'....

"It is inconceivable to say that the occupier-killer is engaged
in self-defense while the victim of the aggression and
occupation is not allowed to react or even condemn.

"A Palestinian who lives under occupation and faces Zionist
crimes has nothing to use other than his body as a means to
reject injustice and respond to his executioners....

"The UN Security Council must shoulder its legal and ethical
responsibility and take the side of right and justice...."

--------------

"The Tenth Anniversary of the Qana Massacre"

--------------

Muhammad al-Khadir, an editorialist in government-owned Al-
Ba'th, commented (4/20): "Ten years ago more than 100 Lebanese
civilians, who had sought refuge at a UN base in Qana, were
killed by Israeli shelling during Operation Grapes of Wrath....

"The targeting of civilians under the UN flag in 1996 is being
repeated daily and in various forms by the Israeli occupation
without any deterrence or international action to end this
terrorist policy that gives no weight whatsoever to
international laws and norms. On the contrary, it appears that
the United States and the EU are in harmony with the Israeli
policy that seeks to starve out the Palestinians...."

--------------

"A US Threshing floor and Angry Harvesters"

--------------

Khalid al-Ashhab, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra,
commented (4/20): "The American war on Iraq has failed to bring
the claimed democracy to that country or help Iraqis live in
peace and security. But what is more important is that what at
first appeared to be a holy war on what was termed world terror
does not appear so today, especially after that holiness brought
a tremendous quantity of sins and crimes not only against Iraq
and the Iraqis, but also against Americans and their sons, as
more and more coffins return to the United States from a war
that they now know very well is the war of an obsessed ruling
group, not a holy war....

"The winds of change are blowing against the United States, and

the opposition to Rumsfeld's policies is in fact opposition to
the policies of President Bush and his team...."

-------------- -

"Do not Think, We Are Thinking on Your Behalf"

-------------- -

Ali Nasrallah, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra,
commented (4/20: "The West does not want Iran and the developing
world to advance scientifically and technologically.... The West
argues that oil-rich Iran has no need for nuclear energy....

"It is for Iran, not others, to decide whether it needs to
develop its energy sources. Through this, Iran is exercising a
right acknowledged by international law. The 'free democratic
world' should abandon its arrogance and stop its attempt to
fabricate a losing battle with Iran...."

Seche