TFLE01: SITREP ON TUNISIAN SOLIDARITY WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TUNIS 001988

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG (MHARRIS)
NEA/PPD (AFERNANDEZ)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAO TS
SUBJECT: TFLE01: SITREP ON TUNISIAN SOLIDARITY WITH
"LEBANESE RESISTANCE"

REF: A. TUNIS 1922


B. TUNIS 1943

C. TUNIS 1939

D. BEIRUT 2534


1. (C) Summary. Media reports and anecdotal information from
the past week suggest that Tunisians increasingly are viewing
Hizballah as the underdog freedom fighter successfully
standing up against the Israeli bully. The Qana attack
stoked a round of news-driven anger against Israel. U.S.
support for Israel in the current crisis is having a negative
effect on public perceptions of the United States and is
deepening local suspicions about U.S. goals in the region.
Washington should take tangible steps to reaffirm U.S.
concern for the suffering of innocent Lebanese civilians.
One such measure would be the quick, limited re-opening of
Beirut International Airport, as suggested by Embassy Beirut
(reftel D, para 12). Active U.S. involvement in reopening
the airport and getting life in Lebanon back to normal would
be a clear demonstration of our support for the GOL and
should also help stem negative Tunisian (and Arab) feelings
towards the United States. End summary.


2. (SBU) The following are this week's reactions from the
GOT, the press, political parties, and civil society groups
on the situation in Lebanon.


GOT REACTION
--------------

-- (U) The GOT organized a national blood drive August 1-3 in
support of the Lebanese people.

-- (U) The GOT canceled local performing arts exhibitions
during a three-day mourning period after the Israeli attack
on Qana. Six singers who were scheduled to appear the
Carthage International Music Festival canceled their
performances. One of them called on other singers to set up
"humanitarian assistance" convoys for Lebanon.

-- (SBU) A Tunisian employee of the Foreign Investment
Promotion Agency (FIPA) sent a harangue against U.S. policy
and actions in an e-mail to the Embassy's Office of Public
Affairs and asked to be removed from any listserv
distributing information on the United States. It was not
clear if she was acting on her own initiative or that of
FIPA's.


POLITICAL PARTY REACTION
--------------

-- (SBU) Post received a fax August 2 from Secretary General
of the People's Unity Party Mohammed Bouchiha condemning "the
savage attacks" Israel is conducting in Lebanon and
Palestine. Bouchiha demanded that the U.S. immediately stop
the "blood bath that Israel has caused," and added that the
U.S. Government is "totally responsible" for "this war of
fire."

-- (SBU) The embassy received other faxes along similar
lines. One of them described that Israeli military activity
in Lebanon is actually a U.S. attack on Lebanon. Another fax
indicated that a Tunisian youth, described as a "political
prisoner" from the An Nahdha Movement and the General
Tunisian Students Union, was on a hunger strike because of
U.S. policy in the region.

MEDIA REACTION
--------------

-- (U) The government-run "La Presse" printed three
statements by Ismail Boulahia of the Social Democratic
Movement (MDS),Mondher Thabet of the Social Liberal Party
(PSL),and Mohammed Bouchiha of the People's Unity Party
praising President Ben Ali for condemning the Israeli
offensive. The PSL asked the U.S. administration to adjust
its policy toward the Arab world, whereas the MDS stated it
will hold another demonstration in Tunis on August 4. The
editorial from Bouchiha reiterated the points made in his
letter, accusing the U.S. of being "politically and morally
responsible" for the situation.

-- (U) The stridently anti-American "As-Shourouq" newspaper
(circulation 80,000) continues its sensationalist coverage.
Its reporting is typically accompanied by graphic photos of
dead Lebanese civilians, pro-Hizballah headlines, and
political cartoons portraying both Israel and the U.S. as

TUNIS 00001988 002 OF 003


aggressors. The political cartoon in the Aug. 3 depicted IAF
jets bombing and strafing a bullet-ridden Statue of Liberty.
It also carried the same photo of Hizballah leader Nasrallah
11 times. An article quoted Lebanese Communist Party leader
Khaled Haddadah (sic) as saying that Israeli military action
in Lebanon "is a war by agency" for the United States, which
seeks to impose its project for a "new Middle East" on the
region. Other recent headlines cheer on Hizballah, such as
the August 3 front-page story reading "Hizballah missiles
strike 5,000 Israeli homes."

-- (U) "Al-Mawqif", the eight-page weekly bulletin published
by the Progressive Democratic Party opposition, gives
front-page coverage in its current edition of a demonstration
in Tunis that took place on August 1 in protest of the
Israeli attack on Qana. With labor union leaders at the
head, an estimated five thousand citizens reportedly took
part in the protest. A placard that reads "Death to Israel"
is clearly visible in the photo of the demonstration
illustrating the lead story.

-- (U) A sidebar in "Le Temps" commented on Mel Gibson's
recent statement that "the Jews have started all wars." The
author, agreeing with the quote, commended Gibson for saying
"what three-quarters of the planet already thinks." He went
on to say that the Bible and the Koran share Gibson's view.


IRANIAN EMBASSY
--------------

-- (U) The Iranian Embassy in Tunis released a statement on
Aug. 2 condemning the Qana attack. The statement said that
"the malice of this wrathful entity (Israel)" is drawing out
"popular anger in a number of countries" because of "this
crime which the Zionist entity perpetrated." The statement
was carried by several Tunisian newspapers.


CIVIL SOCIETY
--------------

-- (SBU) Our informal soundings of coffee-shop opinion
indicate that many Tunisians believe that Americans are
ignorant of Middle East issues and that they blindly support
U.S. policy in the region. Some express surprise when they
find out that there is a diversity of views in the U.S. about
the direction of U.S. policy. Such an outlook has long been
commonplace, and supports the assessment held by many
outsiders that Tunisians derive their opinions about the U.S.
from narrowly focused, biased, and repetitive sources of
information.

-- (U) The Secretary General of the Tunisian Labor Union
(UGTT) Abdesselem Jerad traveled last week to the
Lebanon-Syrian border to give out humanitarian aid to the
Lebanese. Members of the UGTT agreed to send their union
premiums for two months to the Lebanese people.

-- (C) Five individuals representing different civil society
groups in Tunisia met with us on Aug. 4 to voice their
criticism of US policy towards Lebanon and to deliver a
letter addressed to "the Ambassador". The letter condemned
"American support for Israeli aggression and war crimes" and
disapproved of "America's efforts to block a UNSC resolution
condemning Israel and demanding an immediate cease-fire."
Among those present were representatives of the Tunisian
Association of Democratic Women (ATFD),the Tunisian League
of Human Rights (LTDH),the Bar Association of Tunis, the
Tunisian National Council on Liberties (CNLT),and the
Tunisian Chapter of Amnesty International. The individuals
told Charge at the meeting that they had appreciated the
U.S.'s outspoken support and help for their organizations
against harassment by the GOT. They are, however, fervently
against the U.S. stance in the Lebanon situation.


COMMENT
--------------


3. (C) Comment: We detect a not-so-subtle shift in local
media reporting about Lebanon in the past week, with the
government-controlled press increasingly portraying Hizballah
as the underdog freedom fighter fending off unjustifiable
attacks by the "Israeli aggressor". Nasrallah himself tends
to come off as an able war-time leader and defender of
Lebanese and Arab rights. The GOT's firm support of "its
Lebanese and Palestinian brothers" remains unwavering (Refs A
and B). The Government tightly controls public gatherings and

TUNIS 00001988 003 OF 003


any future display of public anger at Israel -- or even the
U.S. -- will no doubt be under watchful security eyes, and
even with GOT support. To many Tunisians, U.S. support for
Israel in the current crisis has deepened suspicions here
about U.S. interests in the Middle East. Even our announced
desire to usher in a "new Middle East" in the aftermath of
the current hostilities is viewed by many Tunisians as code
for U.S. and Israeli domination.


4. (C) At this juncture, it is perhaps too early to tell how
the Lebanon hostilities have affected US democracy and public
diplomacy goals in the region. However, we believe that
Washington should take tangible steps to counter any rising
tide of negativity directed against the U.S., and to reaffirm
our concern for the suffering of innocent Lebanese civilians.
One such concrete measure would be the quick re-opening of
Beirut International Airport to commercial air service.
Reftel D para 12 has suggested this as a possible next step
in the post-cease fire environment. We urge Washington to
examine this proposal. We defer to others as to the security
aspects of the idea, but from our vantage point in Tunis
active U.S. involvement in getting the airport re-opened, and
getting life in Lebanon back to normal, would be a welcome
antidote to the recent wave of sensationalist and biased news
reporting, and the negative effect that has had on Tunisian
perceptions of the U.S. It would also be a concrete
demonstration of our support for the Siniora government.
BALLARD