Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06DAMASCUS2163
2006-05-09 12:31:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Iraq, Lebanon, Iraq,

Tags:  KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHDM #2163/01 1291231
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091231Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8866
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5932
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3801
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2312
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7007
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0962
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4382
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0602
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6746
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002163 

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/Iraq, Lebanon, Iraq,
Palestinian Territories (5/9)


UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002163

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/Iraq, Lebanon, Iraq,
Palestinian Territories (5/9)



1. Summary: Syrian papers reported that Vice President Shara
received Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi, Secretary General of the Iraqi
National Foundation Congress (INFC); at their meeting Shara
reiterated Syria's condemnation of terrorist attacks that target
innocent civilians and sow seeds of partition among the Iraqi
people.

Papers also reported that Juergen Cain Kuelbel, German
researcher and criminologist and author of "Hariri's
Assassination: Hidden Evidence," held a press conference at the
Omayyad Hotel in which he confirmed that Syria is innocent of
the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri and
other killings in Lebanon. Mr. Kuelbel stated that assassination
crimes in Lebanon date back to the civil war period and the
crimes committed under the Israeli occupation. He added that the
Israeli intelligence services and their proxies stood behind the
assassination of Hariri, as the jamming equipment used by the
Hariri motorcade had stopped working an hour before the
assassination. The German criminologist indicated that such
sophisticated jamming cannot be done without a central control
network, adding that these capabilities can only be possessed by
Israel. He pointed out that the assassination had been exploited
to target Syria and pressure it into abandoning its national and
pan-Arab stances.

Papers also reported that Israeli warplanes on Monday renewed
violation of Lebanese airspace and flew over the Tyre, Bint
Jubayl and Marjouyun areas then turned left above the town of
Alma towards the occupied Palestinian territories."

End of summary.


2. Selected Headlines:

"Vice-President al-Shara discusses with Sheikh Jawad al-Khalisi,
Secretary General of the Iraqi National Foundation Congress

SIPDIS
(INFC),latest developments in the Iraqi arena, reiterating the
importance of maintaining Iraq's national unity. Shara reiterates
Syria's condemnation of terrorist attacks that target innocent
civilians and sow seeds of partition among the Iraqi people"

(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/9)

"Hanieh confirms sacredness of Palestinian blood: We do not allow
civil strife. Olmert pledges a state with a Jewish majority to
fulfill Hertzel's dream" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/9)

"Lebanese rejection of foreign intervention expands. Nasrallah:
US aggression will fail as Israel aggression failed"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/8)

"Ministry of Petroleum & Mineral Resources signs a contract with
US Marathon Oil Company to invest in petroleum and gas in
northern Homs" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/9)

"Blair: Britain might reduce forces in Iraq soon. Two US soldiers
and scores of Iraqis killed in Baghdad, Tal Afar and Ba'quoba"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 5/9)


3. Editorial Block Quotes:

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

"Roots of Terrorism"

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

Shawkat Abu-Fakhr, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Ba'th,
said (5/9): "Israel has escalated its air raids against Gaza....
The new Israeli Prime Minister inaugurated his term in office
with appalling massacres against Palestinians and promised to
proceed with the war of liquidation and assassinations to
tighten the noose on the Palestinian people and their
government....

"The new Israeli government will apparently continue to practice
aggression and killing in order to implement its unilateral

plans and to force the Palestinian Authority to embark on
negotiations based on the Israeli agenda....

"We warn of a humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian
territories with consequences that no one will be able to
control.... Arabs must step up their support for
Palestinians.... Unfortunately some Arabs are trying to woo
Olmert or count on him.... This will only lead to an escalation
of the campaign against Palestinians and Arabs...."

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

"Isn't it Time for them to Be Ashamed of Themselves?"

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

Omar Jaftali, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen,
commented (5/9) "Isn't it high time for the Western world to be
ashamed of its political hypocrisy and bias toward Israel?

"Despite the tragic situation in the Palestinian territories, no
one in the Western countries wants to respect human law and
facilitate the delivery of aid to Palestinians. Instead, they
continue to blackmail Palestinians and to bargain with them over
sovereign and legal issues, with flagrant interference in their
national affairs....

"It is now time for Western countries to be ashamed of
themselves and to say a fair and just word about the Palestinian
question...."

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

"But It Is the UN"

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

As'ad Abbud, a columnist in government-owned Al-Thawra,
maintained (5/9): "The UN is serving US interests and
agendas.... It does not represent the international
community.... Yet countries of the South have an interest in
maintaining the international organization and must continue to
deal with it....

"For the foreseeable future, we will not have any alternative to
confront American hegemony in the United Nations and over
international decisions. The international organization will
continue to be very busy with Iran's nuclear file, but
definitely not with Israel's arsenal of nuclear weapons. It will
continue to be busy with what is happening in Darfur, but
definitely not with the racial separation wall in the
Palestinian territories and the daily slaughter of the
Palestinians. It will also continue to be busy with the Syrian-
Lebanese border....

"There has never been a border problem between Syria and
Lebanon.... And, to the disappointment of everyone, there will
be no border problem between Syria and Lebanon. When Lebanon is
led by its sincere Arab sons, without games, lies, falsehoods,
and allegations, there will be no problem between the two
countries over two inches of land....

"We must deal in full courage with the United Nations and what
it wants. And it is very dangerous to trust everything that
comes out of it."

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

"May 5, 2006, a Historical Day"

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

Buthaina Sha'ban, Minister of Expatriate Affairs, commented
(5/9): "Friday, May 5, is a historical day, on which the results
of the British local elections were announced and the Amnesty
International report on American abuse of prisoners was

published....

"Millions of Britons demonstrated against the Iraq war in 2003,
many of them carrying children on their shoulders "to draw the
attention of the government to the fact that the war was against
innocence, childhood, and the human life that God granted us."

"I could not believe at the time that the demonstrations that
expressed a living human conscience failed to change the
government's determination to support an unjust war against a
peaceful people and a historical nation at the heart of human
civilization.

"The war on Iraq has brought disasters.... It has also given
Israel a free hand to confiscate Palestinian lands, kill and
displace Palestinians, and liquidate a genuine people who have
been living on their land for thousands of years."

"Between that time and May 5, 2006, the Spanish people said
their word against that unjust war. The Spanish Prime Minister
kept his promise and withdrew Spanish forces from Iraq
immediately after his victory. The Italian people also said
their word and voted for the opponents of the war. And here are
the British people saying their loud and escalating word against
the war and against pain and evil. The American people are also
saying their word through successive demonstrations and fair
commentaries that some writers are trying to convey to the world
conscience. The resignation of Karl Rove and CIA Director Porter
Goss are timid steps to address a deteriorating crisis in the
United States, represented by the American people's growing
awareness of the massive damage this war is causing to American
and Iraqi families....

"Amnesty International's report on prisoner abuse shows the
weakness that has afflicted American 'democracy', as it now uses
Stalin-style methods against freedoms and rights.... There are
always tyrants, warmongers, and criminals sanctioning torture
and genocide and using attractive language to justify it, but
ultimately peoples prevail in their defense of freedoms,
dignities, and rights....

"Arabs and Muslims must look at Evo Morales, Chavez, and Lula da
Silva, who are returning their countries' resources to their
peoples and preserving the dignity of these peoples against a
ferocious campaign while the tyrants are falling one after the
other."

Seche