Damascus Media Reaction: Khaddam's Statements to Al-

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000063

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: Khaddam's Statements to Al-
Arabiya, Al-Ghajar village, Palestinian Territories, Iraq (1/4)



1. Summary: Al-Ba'th reported a statement issued by the Khaddam
family in the Syrian region of Banias expressing "rejection and
denunciation" of Abdul-Halim Khaddam's statements to Al-Arabiya
and saying that the former VP expressed his personal views only.
The statement says the family members stand on the side of their
people against "the campaign of pressure and fabrications that
target Syria as a result of its firm and principled positions in
defending the nation's dignity and rights."
Papers also reported President Mubarak's visit to Jeddah to meet
King Abdullah for talks on the situation in Syria in light of the
UN commission's request to interview President
Bashar Asad and FM Sharaa, after former Syrian VP Khaddam's TV
interview last week in which he alleged that Asad had threatened
Hariri several months before his assassination.

Syrian papers also reported that Israel is planning to build a
wall between the two halves of al-Ghajar village, a divided
village on the Syrian-Lebanese border under Israeli occupation.
Israel is planning to evacuate some of the inhabitants from their
houses. It is inhabited mainly by Alawites, most of whom have
obtained Israeli citizenship, even though they consider
themselves Syrians. In Beirut, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud
urged Foreign Minister Fawzi Salukh to "move rapidly to oppose
this new Israeli plan, which forms part of Israel's repeated
aggressions against the sovereignty of Lebanon". Hundreds of al-
Ghajar residents demonstrated in their village, calling on the
Lebanese government and Hizbollah to prevent Israel form building
the separation wall. Al-Ghajar witnessed fierce fighting in late
November when three members of Lebanon's Shiite militia Hizbollah
were killed after they launched an attack on Israeli troops in
the village, in an apparent bid to kidnap soldiers. Israeli jets
subsequently fired missiles on three suspected Hizbollah
positions, on the outskirts of al-Ghajar. The village is an
extension of the Syrian Golan Heights plateau, which Israel
occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and then annexed in

1981.

End summary.


2. Selected Headlines:
"PM Ottri: Khaddam was against democracy and the march of reform"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 1/4)
"Lebanese and Iranian newspapers: Khaddam's statements serve
Israel and America" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 1/4)
"King Abdullah and President Mubarak discuss current developments
in the Arab arena" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 1/4)
"The Syrian people of al-Ghajar village demonstrate against
dividing their village and demolishing their houses and address a
message to UN SecGen Annan: The Israeli decision contradicts
international law and the Geneva Convention.... We are not
settlers, but Syrian Arabs.... We will not give up one iota of
our land" (Government-owned Tishreen, 1/4)
"President Lahoud of Lebanon calls for confronting the Israeli
plot in al-Ghajar. Former PM Al-Hoss denounces Lebanese voices
rushing to acquit Israel [of crimes perpetrated in Lebanon]"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 1/4)
"Over 14 Iraqis killed in a US raid against Beiji, including
children. Sister of the Iraqi Interior Minister is kidnapped. Two
US marines killed in a helicopter crash near Baquba. The
electoral commission acknowledges forgery in elections"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 1/4)
"Palestinian warnings against the danger of the Israeli
excavations under al-Aqsa Mosque" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th,
1/4)

3. Editorial Block Quotes:
-------------- --------------
"The Story of General Petain and General de Gaulle"
-------------- --------------
Isam Dari, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
commented (1/4) on former Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam's
statements to Al-Arabiya TV: "Are the chapters of the major
conspiracy against Syria being finalized...?
"There are cascades of dollars pouring on the heads of all the
individuals and groups that have agreed to play preset roles in
this conspiracy.... The truth will one day come out and expose
those who have worked to fabricate lies against Syria and
conclude suspicious deals to betray it....




and saying that the former VP expressed his personal views only.
The statement says the family members stand on the side of their
people against "the campaign of pressure and fabrications that
target Syria as a result of its firm and principled positions in
defending the nation's dignity and rights."
Papers also reported President Mubarak's visit to Jeddah to meet
King Abdullah for talks on the situation in Syria in light of the
UN commission's request to interview President
Bashar Asad and FM Sharaa, after former Syrian VP Khaddam's TV
interview last week in which he alleged that Asad had threatened
Hariri several months before his assassination.

"It was no surprise to see a person without identity or
affiliation coming out from the ranks to try to stab Syria in the
back to serve the American-Zionist plan in return for dollars,
instant 'privileges', and post-dated promises.... The homeland
remains bigger than those individuals who race to harm Syria....
"Let's recall the story of French General Henri-Philippe Petain,
who went down in history as a traitor for selling out his country
to the Nazis in World War II, and General de Gaulle, who
struggled for French freedom and reaped the fruit of victory....
There is a lesson in this story that should be considered...."
--------------
"Dwarfs at the Time of Resistance"
--------------
Omar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(1/4): "What hurts our people most is to see a known corrupt
person discussing corruption, shirking his responsibilities, and
claiming innocence, transparency, and chastity -- traits that he
never enjoyed....
"The timing of Khaddam's statements is incomprehensible....
Khaddam's statements coincided with the appointment of a new
chief for the IIC -- which has lost a lot of its credibility --
and with meetings that took place between Khaddam and Israeli FM
Shallom in Paris and with officials from international
intelligence services, including Mossad agents....
"Will retaliation for a position or privileges come at the
expense of people and homeland? The Syrian people will not
forgive those who have harmed Syria -- homeland and people -- and
worked with parties hostile to it...."
--------------
"A Debased Commodity Shows its True Character"
--------------
Dr. Turki Saqr, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, wrote
(1/4): "I laughed when I heard the hypocrite Khaddam saying he
used to call for public freedoms and political pluralism in the
Syrian leadership meetings.
"I knew Khaddam for more than 25 years as an official who
practiced repression and destructive guidance to kill public
liberties in general and press freedoms in particular.
"Khaddam went mad when I and other journalists wrote in Al-Ba'th
newspaper about a number of corruption cases, some involving his
sons, in the early nineties.... Khaddam applied much pressure and
used threats against me and other editors of the Al-Ba'th
newspaper. In the Ninth Ba'th Party congress Khaddam did not
allow me to discuss freedom of the press and expression and
restrictions on the Syrian journalists. When I started talking he
stopped me and uttered expressions that reflected a despotic
mentality that completely disregards other voices and views.
"Khaddam was also the one who hindered the implementation of the
Al-Ta'if agreement in Lebanon, as this served his personal
interests...."
Seche