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