NEW EMBASSY TRAVEL SCHEME PAYING OFF DESPITE SARG

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000479

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NEA/ELA
NSC FOR MARCHESE/SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2017
TAGS: ECON OTRA PGOV PROP PHUM SY
SUBJECT: NEW EMBASSY TRAVEL SCHEME PAYING OFF DESPITE SARG
SURVEILLANCE

REF: A. DAMASCUS 0232


B. DAMASCUS 0401

Classified By: A/DCM William Roebuck, for reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) Summary. A recent weekend working trip to Aleppo by
the Charge and other Embassy officers illustrated that the
SARG continues to watch us closely and seeks to hamper our
access to contacts, especially outside Damascus, further
underscoring the importance of a revised approach to regional
travel begun earlier this year (ref A). Despite the SARG's
interference, the Charge participated in the 30th anniversary
of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the
Dry Areas (ICARDA),an NGO to which the USG is the largest
donor. The Charge also visited a Palestinian refugee camp
(which also receives USG funding) and met wardens and members
of Aleppo's civil society. End Summary.


2. (C) The Charge's recent weekend working trip to Aleppo
illustrated that the SARG continues to watch us closely and
seeks to hamper our access to contacts (ref B). Charge,
Pol/Econ Chief, PAO, Cairo-based Regional Agricultural
Counselor and our LES Agricultural Specialist attended 30th
Anniversary activities May 4-5 at ICARDA. They also visited
the UNRWA camp for Palestinian refugees, Neirab, which is
currently undergoing a large rehabilitation that is
substantially funded by the USG. Meetings with area wardens
and civil society contacts were also on the agenda. While
Post did not send a diplomatic note to notify the SARG in
advance of the trip, many of our stops were in response to
formal invitations or prearranged with contacts. Longtime
business contacts in Aleppo still turned us down for
meetings, but security was not more aggressive than in the
past.


3. (C) Our local staff and contacts, as usual, bore the brunt
of SARG efforts to gather details about the trip. For
example, security officials aggressively sought information
about the smallest details of the Aleppo trip. The Embassy
driver for our Agricultural Specialist and Regional
Agricultural Counselor complained about being approached by
security in the ICARDA parking lot during an official event.
Details such as passenger identification and complete travel
schedule, including all appointments, were demanded, although
the Embassy now refrains from providing drivers with such
information so as to protect them and to keep as much
information on travel/visits out of SARG security forces'
hands. The driver was then upbraided for not informing
security of Embassy travel plans. Separately, during a May 5
ICARDA reception, the Agricultural Specialist was approached
by Dr. Yahiah Bakour, a wealthy and well-established
businessman with close ties to the Ba,ath Party, though he
himself claims "only" to be the Secretary General of the Arab
Agriculturists Union. (Note: In any case, such a position is
almost certainly controlled by the Ba'ath Party. End Note.)
Bakour told the Ag Specialist that he had been approached by
security and &scolded8 for meeting with EmbOffs in December

2006. According to Bakour, he told security he had followed
their instructions to keep the Americans away from the
business community and to avoid discussing current events.


4. (C) Comment: It is clear that the SARG remains very
nervous about foreign diplomatic activity involving travel
and contact work - especially ours - in Syria. It also
underscores the importance of our redoubled efforts to travel
to other cities to try and capture aspects of life outside
the capital.
CORBIN