Damascus Media Reaction: EU Human Rights Statement,

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 02393 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: EU Human Rights Statement, Syria/Palestinians, Syria/Kuwait, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Territories (5/23) ¶1. Summary: Syrian papers continued their strong criticism of European countries, against the background of a statement from the EU Presidency criticizing the recent arrest of human rights activists in Syria. Papers also featured Information Minister Dr. Mohsen Bilal's meetings with Ambassadors of Denmark and Serbia in Damascus, in which he said that "Syria has been careful about the right of its citizens," and reiterated the importance of boosting dialogue among all states and peoples on various parliamentary, information and media levels. Hasan Yusuf, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, opposed the detention of Syrian intellectuals who signed the Beirut- Damascus Declaration, although he does not agree with them. He called for their release "to silence the evil tongues" at home and abroad. On Syrian-Palestinian relations, papers reported the visit to Damascus of Palestinian Interior Minister Said Seyam and his meeting with Syrian Interior Minister Major General Bassam Abdul Majid. They discussed Syria's arrangements to allow Palestinians to visit Syria with passports issued by the Palestinian Authority, to ease their communication with their relatives and families living in Syria and to alleviate their suffering due to the unfair siege imposed against them by the Israeli forces of occupation. End of summary. ¶2. Selected Headlines: "Information Minister Bilal confers with Ambassadors of Denmark and Serbia and MonteNegro, criticizing the European statement on human rights: The EU statement ignored human rights in Iraq and Palestine" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) "Minister of Interior of Abdul Majed discusses with Palestinian Minister of Interior Seyam facilitation for Palestinians to enter Syria with passports issued by the Palestinian Authority" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) "Syrian Chief of Staff Brigadier General Habib discusses with a Kuwaiti military delegation cooperation between the Syrian and Kuwaiti armies" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) "As condemnations of UNSC Resolution 1680 continue, Lebanon celebrates the anniversary of liberating South Lebanon, emphasizing the importance of national resistance. Former Lebanese Prime Minister al-Hoss and senior officials express support for Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawar, 5/23) "In a statement to Lebanese daily As-Safir, Yemeni Prime Minister: The Lebanese people are enemies of themselves and are committing mistakes against Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) "Inter-Palestinian clashes precede resumption of the National Palestinian dialogue" Government-owned Tishreen, 5/23) "Israel escalates aggression against Palestinians. US President Bush discusses with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert the disengagement plan for the West Bank" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 5/23) "Iraqi Prime Minister al-Malki expects that Iraqi forces are to be handed security missions by the end of 2006" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) "Will Blair's visit to Baghdad save his deteriorating popularity? An American soldier and scores of Iraqis killed in Anbbar, Baqouba and Baghdad" (government-owned Tishreen, 5/23) Editorial Block Quotes: -------------- "Europe Yearns for Colonialism" -------------- Abdul-Fattah al-Awad, Chief Editor of government-owned Al- Thawra, commented (5/23): "Europe is yearning for its colonialist past.... Europe, especially some of its influential countries, has a strong desire to put on 'modern' colonialist attire. Not only does it want to offer 'advice' with or without reason, but it also sees the region as part of its property. It is interfering in details, disregarding countries' sovereignty and right to manage their own affairs.... "What makes the EU countries concerned over human rights in Syria when they were unable to do anything when seeing and hearing human right scandals on their own territories in the form of flying and non-flying prisons...? Europe remains silent when it comes to the United States and Israel. Indeed, it contributes to the siege against the Palestinians only because they chose, through democratic elections, leaders whom Israel does not like.... "Europe compensates for its weakness in the face of the United States and Israel by meddling in the affairs of the countries that broke free from its colonialism.... "The statement of the EU presidency is part of the pressure on Syria and suggests that Europe seeks to play a role that pleases the American master.... When the [Syrian-EU] association agreement was initialed [in October 2004] we expected the final signing to take place within three months. But some influential EU members fell under the pressure of the United States..." -------------- "Sorry, European Master" -------------- Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote (5/23): "There is no excuse for Europe, or some of its influential countries, to harm Syria and its people and history in this blatant manner.... We do not think they are more concerned than us about democracy, human rights, and international agreements. If they were really concerned about human rights, they would not mobilize all their resources to impose a siege on defenseless Palestinian people, who are under aggression and whose land is under occupation, and to prevent the arrival of food and medicine to them.... "Sorry, selfish, lurking European master: Syria does not need your interference. It knows you and it knows what you want through these shameful acts. It also knows how to safeguard its national unity and how to defend the interests of its people. The day will come when you will apologize to the Syrian people for what you have done and for the services you have rendered to Israel, the enemy of Syria, Lebanon, and all Arabs. And definitely you will be disappointed this time too. Syria will not bargain over its interests and national and pan-Arab principles. Nor will it relinquish an iota of its occupied soil. Hardships only increase its power and strength...." -------------- "The Way to Silence Evil Tongues" -------------- Hasan M. Yusuf, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, commented (5/23): "Syria is targeted these days by a strong media campaign due to the arrest of researcher Michel Kilo and a number of his colleagues who signed the Damascus-Beirut Declaration. As an independent writer working in the state-owned Tishreen newspaper, I find myself obliged to clarify my position. It is true that I was not invited to sign that declaration, but if I were, I wouldn't sign it, although I believe in the need to correct relations between the two fraternal countries as soon as possible. I believe the declaration is unbalanced, adopting assumptions that the investigation has not proved. But at the same time I find myself obliged to say that I am against the arrest of Michel Kilo and the others who were detained because of the declaration. When you disagree with ideas and visions you should respond by offering other ideas and visions. Differences of the pen must be settled on paper. "What is worrying in this issue is that many local, regional, and international parties have taken advantage of researcher Kilo's case and begun to attack Syria ferociously, playing into the hands of the neoconservatives and their spearhead -- the Zionist entity that usurps Palestine. "Hypocrisy has reached a level that really gets on one's nerves. The day before yesterday the EU leveled an unprecedented criticism against Syria. It said that 'the EU expresses its deep concern about the recent widespread harassment of human rights defenders, their families, and peaceful political activists, in particular arbitrary arrests and repeated incommunicado detention.' "I admit that the above-quoted EU sentence has indeed provoked me. It sees the wrong only where it pleases Europeans and serves their allies. "The EU sees in the arrest of a number of individuals a 'widespread' violation, but it keeps silent on the systematic assassination that the Zionist entity is practicing against the living and resisting forces among our Palestinian people. It also remains silent about starving the Palestinian people only because they exercised the democratic choice that was desired for them but did not elect people acceptable to Bush, Blair, and Chirac! "I believe Europeans are not concerned about the freedom of thinker Kilo or any of his colleagues, just as they are not concerned about the pains of the Palestinian people. Their only objective is to pour salt on our wounds! "The European hypocrisy is nothing new. When Ahmadinezhad called for transferring Israel to Europe, his statement was considered a threat to annihilate Israel, and all hell broke loose. But when Shim'on Peres threatened to wipe Iran off the face of the earth, the Europeans kept silent, as if he had said nothing. "I, therefore, whisper in the ears of those who are concerned with Syria's interest: Gentlemen, release Michel Kilo and his colleagues and silence the evil tongues. This is a time for addition, not subtraction." JOHNSON-CASARES