Syria/Macedonia, Syria/US, Terrorism, Iraq, Palestinian

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000347

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC
CENTCOM FOR CCPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Syria/Macedonia, Syria/US, Terrorism, Iraq, Palestinian
Territories (4/11)


1. Summary: Syrian papers on Apr. 11 reported President Asad's and
VP Shara's meetings on Apr. 10 with Macedonian Foreign Minister
Antonio Milososki. Talks dealt with bilateral relations and the
latest developments in the Balkans and the Middle East.

Papers also featured a statement by Tom Lantos, Chairman of Foreign
Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, that he wants
to visit Syria again and "will not bow to the Bush Administration'
s
policy, which denies contacts with those who disagree in opinion
with it."

Papers also cited statements by two members of the US House of
Representatives who accompanied Speaker Pelosi on her visit to
Syria, emphasizing the importance of the visit in opening channels
of dialogue which can lead to understanding and solutions to the
problems in the region. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota,
told reporters following his return to Washington that it is
important to keep channels of dialogue open with Syria and that the
US delegation's visit to the Middle East was useful and exploratory
and sent the message that the United States wants to cooperate with
the peoples of the Middle East. Another Democrat, Louise Slaughter,
from New York, said that that the US delegation's visit to Syria
aimed at holding talks with Syrian officials on how the United
States can contribute to improving the situation there. She
indicated that although President Bush runs US foreign policy, the
US Congress finances it, hence the importance of the visit to the
Middle East. She pointed out that the visits of 14 congressmen to
Syria in the past few months have helped curb White House criticism
of such visits.

Papers also reported the inauguration of a conference on
"International Law and Challenges in the 21st Century" at Damascus
University on Apr. 10, organized by the Orient Center for Economic
and International Studies, in cooperation with the UK Embassy in
Damascus. "The conference sheds light on some challenges facing
international law, particularly after 9/11, which resulted in a
group of new legal concepts, starting with adoption of UNSC
Resolution 1373, which defined terrorism as a threat to
international peace and security," said Ghassan Obeid, Director of
International Relations at the Syrian Foreign Ministry. He added:
"The US exploited this resolution, considering the 9/11 events as an
armed attack, making it a pretext to use force against other
countries, in a way that is a violation of international law." "It
is not acceptable for any state, on the pretext that its national
security is threatened, to commit violations against human rights,
including the rights of life, liberty and freedom from torture." A
Professor of International Law at Damascus University, Aboud Saraj,
stressed that Syria was one of the first countries to combat
terrorism and called in 1986 for an international conference to
define terrorism. "While the UN was able to take a courageous
stance against US preparations to attack Iraq in 2003, it has failed
to solve a lot of conflicts and issues, particularly the
Arab-Israeli conflict, which has continued for decades," Dr. Saraj
said. British Ambassador in Damascus John Jenkins expressed hope
that the conference would be a turning point that could find active
solutions to a number of threats and challenges facing international
law. The Director of the Orient Center, Samir al-Taki, charged that
US and Israeli circles try to use international law as a tool to
justify aggression, reinforce the concept of preemptive wars and
intervene in internal affairs of sovereign countries. The 2-day
conference will discuss the role of civil societies in avoiding
conflicts and accountability in the international community.

End of summary.


2. Selected Headlines:

"International Crisis Group: Israel has to return to negotiations
with Syria" (Independent al-Watan, 4/11)

"President Asad reviews the latest developments in the region and
Syrian-Macedonian relations, with Macedonian Foreign Minister
Antonio Milososki" (Government-owned Tishreen, 4/11)

"Democratic Member of the US House of Representatives and Chairman
of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs Tom Lantos:

President Asad strongly encourages continuation of the
Syrian-American dialogue. Congressmen who accompanied Pelosi
express satisfaction with the outcome of visit to Damascus"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 4/11)

"European Union Ambassador to Damascus: We seek an important
association agreement with Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawra,
4/11)

"Lebanese national opposition: The US Embassy in Beirut is an
operation room to stir up sedition in Lebanon" (Government-owned
Al-Thawra, 4/11)

"US Newspaper 'Washington Post': Israeli settlements are worse than
racial discrimination" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 4/11)

"Conference of 'International Law and Challenges in the 21st
Century' inaugurated at Damascus University. AMERICA endeavors to
reinforce the concept of preemptive wars" (Government-owned
Al-Thawra, 4/11)

"The US Congress excludes forces of Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas from financial siege. Hanieh: Releasing Shalit
depends on responding to our demands" (Government-owned Tishreen,
4/11)


3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"The Right Thing"
--------------
Umar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishrin, wrote
(4/11): "When some American politicians say that US House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi did the right thing when she visited Damascus and that
Condoleezza Rice must do the same thing because dialogue with Syria
is very important, this means that some Americans outside the circle
of the neoconservatives now realize the big flaw in their country's
foreign policy and the need to correct the accumulated mistakes that
resulted from the use of crooked methods to address the issues of
the region, methods that do not befit a superpower with the
responsibility of serving justice and implementing international law
and UN resolutions....
"The US politicians who visited Syria found out that Syria's picture
is different from the one painted by neoconservatives, which
entailed unfairness, preconceptions, and forging of facts....
"There must a constructive dialogue between Damascus and Washington
to reach common denominators that will help resolve the existing
crisis, which has become complicated due to the mistakes of US
policy, whether in Iraq or in the occupied Arab territories...."
--------------
"Correcting Mistakes"
--------------
Adnan Ali, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawrah, wrote
(4/11): "Pelosi's visit gave another signal that the policy of
isolation and siege that the Bush administration has adopted toward
Syria is crumbling....
"Any policy ignoring Syria's role in the region is necessarily
wrong.... Dialogue between Damascus and Washington should proceed
from an acknowledgement of a fact that Democrats in the United
States are loudly announcing, namely, that the policies of Bush's
administration in Iraq have failed because they are based on force
and arrogance and because of the mistaken decision to invade Iraq
without a logical reason."
--------------
"Even after a While"
--------------
Ali Qasim, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawrah, wrote
(4/11): "Remarks by British magazine The Economist that Syria
managed, through President Asad's intelligence, patience, and firm
positions, to overcome circumstances and the pressure it came under,
are fair....

"A number of the members of the US House of Representatives who
accompanied the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy
Pelosi, on her visit to Syria, emphasized the importance of the
visit in opening channels of dialogue which would lead to
understanding and finding solutions to the problems in the

region....
"Many of those who wagered on isolating Syria found themselves
ultimately isolated from issues of the region, and those who deluded
themselves into thinking that pressure could force Syria to change
its positions and principles collided with the fact that everyone
now can see, namely, that others were forced to change their
positions...."
--------------
"An Authoritative Administration"
--------------
Ahmad Dawwa, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawrah, wrote
(4/11): "If the US Administration really believes in democracy,
then it must listen to the American people who are calling for
withdrawal from Iraq and to the Iraqi people who demonstrated
against US occupation on its fourth anniversary of the fall of
Baghdad....
"President Bush still wagers on time and promises to achieve some
success on the ground, despite the absence of any political or
operational factors to give him a glimpse of hope. This proves his
despotism in decision-making and, consequently, his indifference to
the lives of US soldiers and the reputation of the United States in
the world...."
Corbin