Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/UAE, Syria/UK, South

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002424

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/UAE, Syria/UK, South
Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Territories (5/26-29)



1. Summary: Syrian papers reported the visit of Vice President
Shara to the United Arab Emirates and his meeting with Sheikh
Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nhayan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister, which
focused on recent developments in the region and bilateral
relations.
Papers also reported the visit to Damascus of Richard Spring,
Member of the British House of Commons and Member of the
Administrative Board of the British-Syrian Association. Headlines
reported Mr. Spring's meetings with Prime Minister Ottri, which
tackled bilateral relations and the role of the British-Syrian
Association in enhancing bilateral relations. During the meeting,
Prime Minister Ottri underlined Syria's desire for a just and
comprehensive peace in accordance with the land-for-peace formula
and the related international resolutions. For his part, MP
Spring said he appreciated Syria's position and active role to
establish security and stability in the region. MP Spring also
held talks with FM Mouallem, focusing on developments in Iraq,
and Minister of information Dr. Mohsen Bilal, focusing on means
of developing cooperation between Britain and Syria in all
fields.

Papers also reported the Israeli assault against south Lebanon
and featured a statement by President Lahoud stressing that "the
Israeli aggression against Lebanon is an attempt to undermine
security and stability in Lebanon; they want to bring us back to
the atmosphere of insecurity in Lebanon." President Lahoud said,
"the latest developments in Lebanon, starting from the
assassination of Mahmoud Majzoub to the latest Israeli aggression
against Lebanon, require full awareness and vigilance from all
Lebanese parties. We should not let Israel realize its aggressive
goals against us." Meanwhile, Speaker of the Lebanese parliament
Nabih Berri said that "Israel is the real enemy of Lebanon, the
Arab nation and all of humanity." He said that "Israel's
aggressive plots can be faced by sticking to resistance and
enhancing Lebanon's ties with the Arab countries, particularly
Syria."

End of summary.


2. Selected Headlines:

"Vice-President Shara discusses latest developments in the region
with His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nhayan, UAE Deputy
Prime Minister" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/29)

"Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Meqdad arrives in Kuala Lumpur
heading an official delegation to represent Syria at the
ministerial conference of the Non-Aligned Movement" (Government-
owned Tishreen, 5/29)

"Prime Minister Mohammed Ottri discusses cooperation ties between
Syria and the United Kingdom with Richard Spring, Member of the
British House of Commons and Member of the Administrative Board
of the British-Syrian Association. Mr. Spring: Syria has an
active role in establishing security and stability in the region"
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/29)

"Foreign Minister Walid Al-Mou'allem holds talks in Beijing on
latest developments in the region" (Government-owned Al-Thawra,
5/29)

"Minister of Information Dr. Mohsen Bilal discusses with a
delegation of the British-Syrian Association means of further
developing cooperation between Britain and Syria in all fields.
Bilal stresses that Syria has no problem with any country in the
world, adding that Israeli occupation of Arab lands is the reason
behind all the problems" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/28)

"Two Lebanese martyred, 6 wounded in an Israeli aggression
against south Lebanon and Bekaa. The Lebanese resistance responds
by a missile shelling, killing one Israeli soldier and injuring
several others. Olmert unleashes threats" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 5/29)

"Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese commemorate the anniversary of

liberating south Lebanon. Nasrallah Hizbollah SecGen thanks
Syria by saying: The day of liberation is written in blood; no
one can erase it.... Resorting to the UNSC and superpowers
complicates matters in Lebanon. Berri Lebanese Speaker:
Aggravating tension with Syria contradicts our interests"
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/26)

"Extensive Lebanese denunciation of the government cancellation
of the Liberation Day holiday. Calls for maintaining resistance
and enhancing relations with Syria" (Government-owned Tishreen,
5/27)

"The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) in Lebanon: UNSC
Resolution 1680 is a dangerous precedent that violates
sovereignty of countries" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/29)

"A US helicopter crashes in al-Anbar. Italy reduces its forces as
a prelude to withdrawal from Iraq" (Government-owned Al-Thawra,
5/28)

"Leader of the Islamic Jihad movement is assassinated in Sidon.
Israeli fingerprints on the crime" (Government-owned Tishreen,
5/27)

"Hamas approves 90% of the prisoners' initiative and dismantles
interior force. At least 4 martyrs in the Israeli bombardment of
Beit Lahia" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/27)

"Bush and Blair acknowledge mistakes in Iraq and reject
scheduling pullout. Scores of Iraqis killed and injured in
blasts, shootings in Baghdad" (Government-owned Tishreen, 5/27)

"Sessions of the Palestinian dialogue kick off. Hamas: The
Palestinian people will not make concessions" (Government-owned
Al-Thawra, 5/26)


3. Editorial Block Quotes:

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

"Why Did They Disappear?"

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

Ezzeddin Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
wrote (5/28): "Those Lebanese who say that Syria, not Israel, is
Lebanon's enemy have remained silent about the assassination of
the Islamic Jihad official in Sidon, southern Lebanon, so as to
avoid talking about Lebanon's real enemy, Israel....

"These Lebanese are Israeli tools.... While Israel violates
Lebanese sovereignty around the clock, these Lebanese see no
problem, and indeed call for disarming the resistance.... This
is not the first time that Israel has carried out an
assassination in Lebanon.... Every nationalist Lebanese figure
is a target for Israel, and every balanced Lebanese position is
a target for Israel....

"What happened in Sidon two days ago calls for full vigilance
and high alert. It requires that honorable Lebanese do
everything in their capacity to defend the national resistance
and denounce the discordant voices that call for disarming it.
Resistance means power and national sovereignty. It means defeat
for Israel, for its plans against Lebanon, and for those who
mortgage themselves to Israel's will in Lebanon, those who
claim, contrary to history and geography, that Syria, not
Israel, is Lebanon's enemy."

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

"Confessions Are Insufficient"

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

Ali Nasrallah, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra,
wrote (5/28): "US President George Bush and British Prime

Minister Tony Blair have acknowledged that they made mistakes in
Iraq.... The two leaders made the admission while they are in
their worst shape, as if they are asking for forgiveness and
hoping that their popularity rating, which dropped to
unprecedented lows, might improve....

"Blair these days is looking for anything that will save him
from a political fall and a resounding defeat and help him
regain his lost popularity....

"Admitting to making mistakes in the war, whether under the
pressure of politics or out of a genuine conviction, is
insufficient to improve the image of Bush and Blair and their
countries. If they really want reconciliation with themselves
and with the international community, then the natural
introduction is to withdraw immediately from Iraq, apologize to
the country, compensate Iraq and the Iraqis, stop interfering in
the affairs of sovereign states, and abide by international law
and the UN Charter. Otherwise, a fate similar to the fate of
Aznar and Berlusconi awaits Bush and Blair."

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

"No Alternative for the Palestinian National Dialogue"

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

Muhammad al-Khadr, a commentator in government-owned Al-Ba'th,
commented (5/28): "Palestinians have no option other than
national dialogue. Remaining differences will be natural as long
as everyone agrees on the need to preserve national unity and
maintain the resistance as long as the occupation continues....

"The challenge that Palestinians are currently facing, which
calls for an expanded domestic dialogue, is not linked to the
rivalry between Fatah and HAMAS after the latter's victory in
the legislative elections. Rather, the challenge proceeds from a
plan, on which countries and intelligence agencies are
constantly working, to place various obstacles in the way of the
elected Palestinian government, from economic siege and the
attempt to create a gulf between the Palestinians and their
elected government to the fabrication of infighting. Therefore,
the dialogue must produce clear results reaffirming Palestinian
national principles for the sake of which Palestinians have
offered thousands of martyrs...."

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

"Alliance of the Axis of Evil"

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

Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(5/27): "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and British Prime
Minister Tony Blair have visited Washington recently....
President Bush made pathetic and miserable statements during the
press conferences following his meetings with his strongest two
allies....

"Olmert obtained full American support for Israel and a
Congressional decision legitimizing the killing of Palestinians
through siege and starvation.... President Bush particularly
underlined the Jewish state and announced beyond any doubt that
he is an active preacher for Zionism.... This came as no
surprise, because Bush's conduct and policies prove this fact
and reveal the reasons behind his wars on the Arab and Islamic
nations, wars that he has described as crusades....

"As for the visit of British PM Blair, Bush's partner in the
aggression on Iraq and the Arab nation, Blair and Bush decided
to continue the occupation of Iraq and to level threats against
Iran....

"What concerns us in the two visits and the two press
conferences is that the governments of Bush, Blair, and Olmert
send fiery messages to Arabs and Muslims, showing more loyalty

to international Zionism and Israel than to the domestic and
national interests of the United States and Great Britain, and
glorifying wars, killing, bloodshed, and terrorism. People
already knew this, but they still needed additional proof that
this vicious trio is hostile and that the extremist rightist
fundamentalist ideologies have the same objectives against
humanity. This being the case, don't we have the right to call
this trio 'the alliance of the axis of evil'?"

Seche