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. -------------- COVERAGE -------------- ¶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. -------------- BLOCK QUOTES: OMAN COMBATS TRAFFICKING -------------- ¶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." -------------- UN THE "LAST OPTION" TO DETER ISRAEL -------------- ¶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." -------------- UNSC: ACKNOWLEDGING ISRAELI "WAR CRIME" -------------- ¶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." -------------- ONLINE: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE... -------------- ¶7. This week members of "Al-Sablah," Oman's largest online MUSCAT 00001587 002 OF 002 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