Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Palestinian Authority,

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 002636

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/Palestinian Authority,
Syria/Yemen, Syria/Ukraine, Terrorism in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq,
Iran, (6/6)



1. Summary: Syrian papers today reported the visit to Damascus
of Ahmad Qurei', Special Envoy of the President of the
Palestinian National Authorit, who conferred with President Asad
and conveyed a message from President Mahmoud Abbas about the
latest developments in the Palestinian arena and the ongoing
inter-Palestinian dialogue. President Asad emphasized the
importance of enhancing Palestinian national unity, stressing
Syria's support of the Palestinian people in the face of current
challenges. For his part, Qurei underscored Syria's key role in
the region, hailing her supportive positions for the
Palestinians and on Arab issues in general. Qurei also conferred
with Vice President Shara, who repeated Syria's keenness to
boost Palestinian national unity on the basis of the Palestinian
people's choices and firm national principles. Shara said:
"These choices are the main guarantee to achieve the Palestinian
people's legitimate ambitions to return home and establish their
independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, as well as to
reject all endeavors to sow seeds of discord among them."
Subsequent to his talks in Damascus, Qurei made a press
statement expressing the Palestinian people's high appreciation
for Syria's principled, firm stances and its support on the
Palestinian issue. Mr. Qurei pointed out that during the
meetings he talked about the policy of isolation and segregation
being practiced by the Israeli occupation authorities, Israel's
policy of settlement expansion, the building of the racial
segregation wall, and Israel's persistence in pursuing a
unilateral solution.

Papers also reported Vice President Shara's visit to Yemen and
his meetings with Yemeni Vice President Abdo Rabo Mansour Hadi
and Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Qurabi. Talks tackled the
latest regional and international developments, the challenges
facing the Arab nation and the importance of activating common
Arab action in the interest of the Arab nation.

On Lebanon, papers reported a statement by Hasan Nasrallah,
SecGen of Hizbollah, stressing the importance of establishing the
best of relations between Syria and Lebanon. In a press
conference, Nasrallah rejected the discourse of escalation
towards Syria launched by the so-called February 14 forces,
saying that geographical and historical facts, as well as the
political situation, require establishing excellent relations
with Syria, which, in the first place, is in the interest of
Lebanon. "All plots and campaigns targeting the Lebanese national
resistance will not affect the firm will and the national
commitment to the resistance, and he who thinks he can besiege
resistance through discourse and behavior is mistaken," Nasrallah
added.

Headlines featured a statement by "The Beirut Homeland Assembly"
stressing the necessity of adhering to constant national and
pan-Arab principles based on strategic relations with Syria,
commitment to resistance to liberate the occupied territories and
rejecting foreign interference in Lebanese internal affairs. "The
Lebanese people reject foreign mandate," the Assembly statement
said, stressing that "Beirut is the homeland and it is not an
abandoned country for whoever dreams to cancel its role and
confiscate its rights." The statement also called for keeping the
identity of Beirut as an Arab capital by improving relations with
brotherly Arab countries, warning against the danger of the plots
being hatched against Lebanon and the region. A member of the
Political Bureau of the Syrian Social National Party, Hafez al-
Saygh, stressed the necessity of establishing distinguished
relations with Syria. He called on the Lebanese people to commit
to national resistance to face the continued Israeli aggressions
on Lebanon. For his part, Zaher al-Khatib, Secretary General of
the Lebanese Federation of Workers, expressed commitment to the
national resistance to confront the American-Zionist scheme.

End of summary.


2. Selected Headlines:

"President Asad receives a message from Mahmoud Abbas, President
of the Palestinian Authority, on latest developments in the
Palestinian arena. President Asad reviews with Qurei, Envoy of
the Palestinian President, mutual cooperation and means of
boosting Palestinian national unity. Qurei: We appreciate Syria's
firm support of Palestinians and all Arab causes" (Government-
owned Al-Thawra, 6/6)

"Vice President Shara reviews latest regional and international
developments and activation of common Arab action with Yemeni
Vice President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 6/6)

"Hasan Nasrallah, SecGen of Hizbollah, confirms spontaneity of
popular anger about LBC TV Program that mocked him in person,
holds LBC responsible for popular unrest, and responds to the
February 14 powers: It is in the interest of Lebanon to establish
excellent relations with Syria.... Nothing will weaken the
resistance" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/6)

"First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Stanislav Stashevsky
arrives in Damascus on an official visit to Syria to co-chair the
4th Session of the Syrian-Ukrainian Committee for Economic
Cooperation. Stashevsky stresses importance of existing relations
with Syria, particularly the volume of trade, that totaled USD
700 million last year" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/6)

"Mass demonstrations in Baghdad and Basra call for ending
occupation of Iraq. Khalilzad [US Ambassador to Iraq]: Our
mistakes are multiple, our choices are limited" (Government-owned
Al-Ba'th, 6/6)

"Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and
Security Policy and Secretary-General of the Council of the
European Union, visits Tehran to deliver nuclear suggestions.
Asefi [Spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry]: The Boushahr
nuclear station poses no threat" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 6/6)


3. Editorial Block Quotes:

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"Syria's Sleepless Eyes"


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Muhammad Khair al-Jammali, an editorialist in government-owned
Al-Thawra, commented (6/6): "Syria is coming under pressure and
threats from rancorous forces because of its honorable national
and pan-Arab positions.... The aim is to force Syria to abandon
these positions and consequently facilitate the implementation
of the hostile plans against the Arab region....

"When foreign conspiracies fail to break Syria's will and firm
rejection of the plans that seek to violate Arab territory and
confiscate the Arabs' freedom and legitimate ambitions to
liberate their occupied lands and ensure their independence and
stability, these forces work to destabilize Syria through the
use of deviant and misguided people whose hatred has blinded
them to the right path and who, consequently, agreed to serve as
cheap tools in the hands of these forces, practicing terrorism
upon foreign orders, since terrorism is the shortest way and the
easiest and most malicious method to harm Syria's stability and
its rejection of the policies of occupation, hegemony, and
blackmail....

"The acts of terror that take place in Syria from time to time
embody the ugliest forms of this plotting, which is planned
abroad and implemented by agent puppets supported by vengeful
forces in the neighborhood.... These terrorist acts coincide
with the intensifying crisis of the forces of the neocolonialist
scheme that seek to tighten Zionist-American control on the
region....

"This shows that the forces that stand behind these terrorist
acts are the forces that are facing the crisis that is foiling
their Middle East Scheme, from Iraq to Palestine to Lebanon to
Sudan, and with them, naturally, the forces that collude with
them in the region.

"Syria, through its national cohesion, will foil these plans and
maintain its stability and security...."

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"Well-Trained and Disciplined!"

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

Mohamed Zein, an editorialist in government-owned Syria Times,
commented (6/6): "Recent massacres committed in cold blood by US
occupation troops against Iraqi civilians in Haditha and Ishaqi
and earlier in al-Qaem, Samurra, Falluja and Mosel are
additional crimes perpetrated in the war-torn Arab country.

"Some US officials 'deplored' the deliberate killing of children
and women as a 'technical mistake,' while others say the US
troops are 'well-trained and disciplined' and carry out their
national duty with dignity in defense of freedom and democracy.

"The outrageous officials also said that while the
'professional' troops were tailing 'terrorists,' they came
across some civilians and had no choice except to follow the
'mission' and kill those civilians, lest they should be
converted later into 'terrorists.' Such a mistake should not
overwhelm great endeavors made by US marines who came to defend
America's honor in Iraq, they added.

"Some other US officials, who acquitted the killers, confirmed
that there are no 'clean wars' and promised that the troops need
some new culture in adopting legal and moralistic principles in
battlefields.

"Past and recent experiences show that US wars launched against
various nations have never been clean, but dirty and totally
unjustifiable. Throughout those wars, the US army has certainly
had ample training, discipline and professionalism. But aren't
these experiences, manifested through killing, destruction,
torture, oppression and human right violations,in sum, the
professionalism of the invading US armies? With very few
exceptions, such doctrines and practices are undoubtedly what
the army has always been told to carry out during its
'missions.'

"People are fed up with US occupation, aggression, intervention
and threats that have claimed thousands of innocent lives, and
they no longer tolerate Washington's lies about freedom,
democracy and protection of human rights.

"The time is now right for US decision-makers, more than ever
before, to stop the flagrant policy and to give up tyranny and
arrogance before the US image is further distorted and US
credibility is further undermined by the ruling neo-conservative
junta.

"In the interests of Americans and nations across the world,
will things be put on the right course before it is too late?"

Seche