MEDIA REACTION: TRAFICKING IN PERSONS, ISRAEL CRIMES

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 001587

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, AND INR/R/MR
STATE PASS USTR FOR N. MOORJANI, J. BUNTIN
LONDON FOR TSOU
PARIS FOR ZEYA
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: TRAFICKING IN PERSONS, ISRAEL CRIMES
AMERICAN VITO AND US ELECTION RESULTS



1. SUMMARY: Government-owned daily "Oman" condemned the latest
Israeli assault against Palestinians and called for a strong action
by the Security Council to deter Israel. Private daily "Al-Watan"
believes that, condemnation or no condemnation, injustices against
the Palestinians will continue. Posters on discussion forum "Al
Sablah" opined that the American midterm elections matter little, as
the U.S. is unlikely to change it policies towards Arabs. END
SUMMARY.

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COVERAGE
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2. On November 9 and 10, "Oman" front-paged news of U.S. election
results. Private daily "Al-Watan" front-paged the Israeli attacks of
Bait Hanoon accompanied with photos of killed and injured women and
children. All dailies front-paged news of the U.S. Security
Council veto on November 12.

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BLOCK QUOTES: OMAN COMBATS TRAFFICKING
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4. On November 8, private Arabic daily "al-Watan" (circulation
42,000) praised Oman's efforts to fight human trafficking and its
commitment to the human rights according to the international laws:

"Trafficking in persons is a severe criminal human rights violation.
Despite the fact that the task of guarding the frontiers against
international criminal organizations committing trafficking is very
hard and cumbersome, the Sultanate has a bright record... In this
respect, the UN's Special Rapporteur praised the Sultanate's efforts
in protecting human rights and combating trafficking in persons."

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UN THE "LAST OPTION" TO DETER ISRAEL
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5. State Arabic daily "Oman" (circulation 38,000) used more than
usually acerbic language on November 10 to decry "the Israeli
entity" as an evil force in the region in an editorial, "The
Security Council and Deterring Israel":

"Under the shadow of continous Israeli crimes and the silence of the
world, the Security Council remains the last option to deter the
Israeli entity for continuing all these horrible crimes against the
Palestinian people. What Israel has done against women and children
in Palestine for more than half a century, disregarding all
international legitimate resolutions with American support and as a
result of Arab weakness, is a horrible and cruel crime. The world is
witnessing how a hateful entity is again proving itself to discount
the significance of human lives and how crime is rooted in their
behavior. This entity does not want peace, preferring instead to
swallow the rights of Palestinian people, dominate the region, and
use its resources."

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UNSC: ACKNOWLEDGING ISRAELI "WAR CRIME"
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6. "Al-Watan" also questioned the purpose of any UN condemnation of
Israeli action without implementation of its resolutions on November
11, asking "What is the benefit of Condemnation in the Absence of
Action?":

"At a time when members of the Security Council are discussing
whether or not to condemn Israeli massacres in Bait Hanoon, the
Israelis were continuing their assault against another house in Gaza
because, as they claim, it belongs to a member of the People's Front
in Jabaliya. This means any talk of condemnation does nothing for
the Palestinian reality in the face of Washington's veto. AMERICA
will not let any decision against Israel pass in the Security
Council, even just a condemnation. There is a need to protect
Palestinians and prepare for the resumption of the peace process...
The first step will be fulfilling Palestinian demands to consider
the Israeli attacks as war crime that should be accounted for."

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ONLINE: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE...
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7. This week members of "Al-Sablah," Oman's largest online

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discussion forum (www.omania.net),discussed the U.S. midterm
elections in terms of the expectation of new foreign policy towards
Arab and Middle East, generating a total 1,214 hits and 25 comments
over several threads. The response below is representative:

"The results of the U.S. elections will doubtless result in new
policies and resolutions in the region. The first step toward that
change was the resignation of Secretary Rumsfield, and that will
likely be followed by other strategies. There is a fear that Bush
might resort to opening a new front in the region. AMERICA will
witness a change in its defense and foreign policies, not because
Democrats won the elections, but because they are currently not
maintaining any progress but rather undermining internal security
and their own interests. In the end, however, it does not matter
who won the elections, Democrats or Republicans, because both are
enemies of the Arabs and all Muslims, and American strategies will
always work against us. I strongly agree that nothing will change
Americans policies towards us, and so we should not change our
resolve to resist AMERICA until we return Palestine and free Iraq.
There is also another question: will Rumsfeld and Bush be prosecuted
for their violations of human rights?"

GRAPPO