Damascus Media Reaction: Syria/Qatar, Syria/Egypt,

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 004091 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/Qatar, Syria/Egypt, Lebanon, Syria/Iran, Iraq, Palestinian Territories (8/21) ¶1. Summary: All Syrian papers today reported that Shaykh Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, will pay a working visit to Syria today during which he will hold talks with President Asad that will focus on bilateral relations and current developments in the region. Papers also featured a statement by Syria's Information Minister, Dr. Muhsen Bilal, to the Egyptian Middle East News Agency MENA on Sunday, in which he depicted Syrian-Egyptian relations as "strategic and based on a strong fraternal base." Bilal said that "consultations between Syria and Egypt have not stopped", pointing out the fraternal ties linking President Asad and President Mubarak and their regular meetings in Damascus and Cairo. "What President Asad said at the Journalists' conference about Arab stances towards the aggression against Lebanon was within the framework of constructive criticism of Arab brothers within one Arab family for not adopting more decisive stances to halt the 33-day Israeli aggression on Lebanon," Bilal indicated. "Differences in political viewpoints would never affect the deep- rooted relations between the two brotherly peoples and countries." The Minister expressed astonishment at articles published in some Egyptian newspapers, confirming that they do not serve joint interests or fraternal ties between the two countries. Papers reported a TV interview broadcast by Al-Jazeera on August 20 with Lebanese MP Michel Aoun, Head of the "Change and Reform Block" at the Lebanese Parliament, during which Aoun confirmed that resistance is the only choice for facing the Israeli enemy, and that the country will "either win together or loose together." "Hizbollah is not an armed group but is the whole people, who have chosen resistance." Aoun said that those who are spreading rumors about the resistance are in fact trying to frighten the Lebanese people. "For sure they did not expect that the resistance would defeat the Israeli enemy despite full U.S. support for Israel," he said. Mr. Aoun pointed out the importance of saving the victory which has unified all the Lebanese. "It's astonishing that some Lebanese neglect the Israeli massacres against civilians in Lebanon and hold Hezbollah responsible for the Israeli aggression against their country; the aggression was definitely premeditated," he added. He said Israel committed violations of the cease-fire by bombarding Lebanese areas, stressing that this "shows the Israeli intention to continue its aggression against Lebanon." "If the United Nations keeps silent about Israeli practices, then it will be considered its partner in assassinating Lebanon," Aoun warned. He expressed fear that Israel might commit more violations and aggression to make the Lebanese army's mission in the South a failure. Papers reported that Syria's Grand Mufti Ahmad Bader Eddin Hassoun arrived in Tehran to take part in the 19th International Conference of Islamic Unity. Hassoun reiterated the importance of Islamic countries taking a united stance, in light of the challenges that the region and the Islamic world are facing, particularly the continued US-Israeli aggression against it. Upon his arrival in Tehran, the Mufti hailed the importance of the 19th International Conference of Islamic Unity, which is being held at a critical stage, requiring unity of all Muslims and dialogue with others. He stressed the significance of Syria's role as a center of human civilizations and a site where all Islamic and religious spectrums meet. More than 150 Islamic personalities from all over the world are participating in the three-day conference to discuss many issues related to the latest accelerating regional developments following the victory of the Lebanese Resistance, and the necessity for Islamic countries to close ranks to face expected challenges to Islamic unity. End of summary. ¶2. Selected Headlines: "President Asad holds talks with Emir of Qatar in Damascus today" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) "Information Minister Bilal: Different points of view will never affect Syrian-Egyptian relations" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) "Israel violates UN Resolution 1701. President Lahoud: The violation is caused by American support. Aoun: Hizbollah is the whole people, who have chosen the Resistance. Arab Foreign Ministers hail the resistance and refer the peace file to the UNSC" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) "Lahoud emphasizes neutrality of countries nominated for participation in the expanded UNFIL forces: Time is inappropriate to discuss the arms of the resistance; deployment of the Lebanese army depends on stopping violations of the cease- fire" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 8/21) "Two Palestinians martyred in Nablus and Rafah. Israeli authorities arrest Secretary of the Palestinian Legislative Council" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) "International Socialists call for dialogue with Hamas and Hizbollah" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 8/21) "Hassoun in Tehran: The Islamic world must be united in the face of challenges" (Government-owned Tishreen, 8/21) "Twenty Iraqis killed, 300 injured in terrorist attacks in Baghdad despite strict security measures" (Government-owned Tishreen, 8/21) ¶3. Editorial Block Quotes: -------------- "Stop the Hypocrisy and Croaking" -------------- Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote (8/21): "The March 14 group in Lebanon could not hide the political and psychological shock it suffered as a result of the sweeping victory that the Lebanese national Resistance achieved over the Israeli aggression.... This group wagered on a swift Israeli victory that would end the Resistance and give it a chance to implement its plans of subservience to Israel and the United States.... "Leaders of this group cannot deny this fact, as their statements in the first days of the war clearly laid the blame on Hizbollah. Signs of nervousness, despair, and frustration were clear on the faces of the two heads of the March 14 group [in reference to Saad al-Hariri and Walid Junblatt] in their press conferences on August 17. One of them [Al-Hariri] hurriedly summoned the workers in his establishments, including members of Parliament, to give a speech that was reckless in word and meaning and not convincing to a single member of the audience. The other [Junblatt] tried hard to present himself as a statesman knowledgeable of the ins and outs of things, but he remained as he actually is, and as everyone knows him: small in size, weight, and stature.... "President Bush, who does not know the names and locations of many world capitals, knows their names by heart and mentions these names in his speeches and press conferences without stuttering. He never stops praising what they have achieved and what they want to achieve. Israelis, for their part, do not hide their concern for them. They refer to them as definite allies. They did not disturb them even with the noise of airplanes throughout the days of the aggression.... "How could the allies of the Americans and the Israelis be concerned about Lebanon and its resistance....?" -------------- "Reactions to Victory" -------------- Sa'dallah Barakat, a commentator in government-owned Al-Ba'th, wrote (8/21): "Those in Lebanon who wagered on Israel's success in defeating and disarming Hizbollah have lost their bet. Those people went too far from the position of the Lebanese people and their nationalist leaders, ignoring the fact that the Israeli danger remains looming and that Israel does not respect global legitimacy or its resolutions unless they fully serve its interests.... "July 12, the day on which Hizbollah captured the two Israeli soldiers, marked the end of the era of the specter of Israel's hegemony in the region and its neighborhood and the beginning of a new age of Arab victories." -------------- "Beatifying Israel's Defeat" -------------- Maha Sultan, an editor at government-owned Tishreen, wrote (8/21): "President Bush said that Lebanon and the world need time to understand Hizbollah's defeat.... Bush appears to be the one who needs a long time -- certainly longer than the time left for him in office -- to understand not only Israel's defeat but also the defeat of his administration in the region and the fall of its plans to draw a new Middle East.... "Bush has so far failed to beautify Israel's defeat. His talk about the promotion of democracy and the combat of terrorism has become sterile for the simple reason that Bush refuses to realize that the equation in the region has changed, and that what sets the new rules in the region is will -- the will to resist and to live in dignity -- not the weapons with which Israel is fully armed. This was underscored by the war between Israel and the Lebanese Resistance. But Bush cannot accept this, and he insists on the old equation in his approach to the region and its peoples...." -------------- "Bush Is Not Yet Convinced" -------------- Muhyi-al-Din al-Muhammad, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote (8/21): "The US Administration, which dreams of a new Middle East baptized with the blood of innocent children, women, and the elderly, still does not believe that Israel was defeated in Lebanon.... President Bush's comments on the result of the Lebanon war reflect disappointment.... The US Administration believed that the excessive use of force, the American support for Israel, and the slackening in the call for a cease-fire would be sufficient to crush the Lebanese Resistance or to crush the will of the Lebanese people.... "The US Administration could not tolerate the defeat of Israel and the defeat of the American plan for a new Middle East in which traitors, plotters, and political traders thrived and the Resistance men lay down their weapons and raised the flags of surrender.... "The US Administration is entitled to its dreams, but it certainly cannot grant Israel a victory it did not achieve or inflict on the victorious resistance a defeat that Israel suffered...." Corbin