Syria/Iran, Syria/Brazil, Mashaal, Nahr al-Bared,

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000532 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/Iran, Syria/Brazil, Mashaal, Nahr al-Bared, Al-Hariri Tribunal (6/1-3) ¶1. Summary: Syrian papers on June 1 focused on the visit to Syria by Iranian FM Manuchehr Mottaki and his meeting with President Asad on May 31, which focused on bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region, particularly in Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon. Mottaki also met separately with VP Farouk al-Shara, Speaker of the People's Assembly Mahmoud al-Abrash and FM Walid Moallem. Papers on June 2 featured the press conference held jointly by Mottaki and Mouallem on June 1. Mouallem confirmed that Syria will not cooperate with the UN tribunal being created to try suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, saying that UN Resolution 1757, adopted on Wednesday by the Security Council, "has no bearing on Syria, and we have informed the Security Council that we will not cooperate." "The issue of the tribunal concerns Lebanon alone, and Syria will not concede its sovereignty to any party, no matter who that party is," he said. Mouallem said the move "infringes on Lebanese sovereignty," and he deplored "the speed with which the Security Council decided on a tribunal without unanimity either on an international or Lebanese level." "It would have been better to have a consensus among the Lebanese on the tribunal. We hope that the Lebanese use dialogue to reach an agreement that will end divisions and guarantee security and stability," Mouallem added. For his part, Mottaki said that Iran will only hold fresh talks with the United States on stabilizing Iraq if Washington changes its policies there. "We are examining the results of those discussions and if there is a real willingness on the part of the US administration to change ..., we will continue them," he said. "The lack of security in Iraq and the continuation of the occupation are the root causes of the crisis," Mottaki added. "Iran is one of the countries that could help resolve the crisis," Mottaki said. On Syrian-Brazilian relations, papers on June 1 reported the visit to Damascus by Ricardo Brozini, Chairman of the Brazilian Labor Party, and his meetings with President Asad and FM Mouallem on May 31 on boosting bilateral relations. FM Mouallem reiterated the importance of the role that Brazil is playing in South America and the Non-Aligned Movement to support issues of developing countries. Brozini noted Syria's important role in achieving security and stability in the region. In a statement to reporters following his meeting with Mouallem, Brozini stressed that Syria and Brazil are working together to cement peace in the Middle East, confirming his country's rejection of any project to impose domination on the region. Government-owned Al-Thawra on June 1, reported the meeting of the Chairman of the Hamas Politburo, Khaled Meshaal, with Vice President Farouk Shara on May 31, focusing on the situation in the Palestinian arena, Palestinians' sufferings under the Israeli siege, and attempts to overthrow the national unity government. In a statement to reporters following the meeting, Mashaal objected to the Lebanese army's bombardment of Nahr al-Bared refugee camp after clashes with Fateh El-Islam militants and called for a peaceful solution to the crisis. Mashaal told reporters that "Hamas is against Palestinian interference in Lebanese affairs and against targeting any Lebanese soldier, but we also don't accept the bombardment of the camp or punishment of our people, in Nahr El-Bared or elsewhere." Mashaal stressed that Hamas is not a part of the problem and called on Lebanese officials to "deal peacefully" with the problem. Government-owned Al-Thawra featured a statement by Nasser Kindeel, Head of the Orient Center for Strategic Studies, and former Lebanese MP, that Lebanon has become vulnerable to all security and political possibilities following the establishment of the International Tribunal. Kindeel charged that "the governing team in Lebanon has become unable to move after Lebanon has become mortgaged to US will." End of summary. ¶2. Selected Headlines: "President Asad confers with Iranian FM Mottaki. Syrian and Iranian points of view were identical on confronting pressures and continuing mutual coordination and cooperation regarding the issues of the region" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) "At the conclusion of Syrian-Iranian talks, Foreign Minister Mouallem: Our relations contribute to security and stability in the region. The International Tribunal is a Lebanese issue.... Syria supports all that the Lebanese agree upon. Iranian FM Mottaki: Iran supports Syria by all possible means" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/2) "Detainees from 'Fatah al-Islam' confirm sponsorship of their group by the Future Block. Lebanese figures warn against putting Lebanon under US tutelage. Omar Karami on the anniversary of martyrdom of Rashid Karami: The governing team is gambling" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/2) "A hot day in Nahr al-Bared. Montreal News Bulletin: Al-Hariri coordinates with Israel on political and security issues. Hizbollah warns against an ambush against the Lebanese army" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/3) "Lucien Bitterlin, Chairman of the Syrian-French Friendship Association, warns against the negative repercussions of ratifying the International Tribunal at the Security Council" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/3) "Former Lebanese MP Kindeel: Endorsement of the International Tribunal is a flagrant violation of the UN Charter" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) "Deputy FM Miqdad: Endorsement of the International Tribunal has no international legitimacy" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) "Syrian-Brazilian talks. Brozini: The meeting with President Asad was positive and historic" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) "After meeting Khaled Mashaal, Chairman of Hamas Politburo, Shara: Attempts to target Palestinian national unity must be foiled" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) ¶3. Editorial Block Quotes: -------------- "Al-Hariri Case" -------------- Isam Dari, Chief Editor of government-owned Tishreen, wrote (6/2): "The Security Council resolution on the establishment of the International Tribunal under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter lacked the most basic rules of logic and indeed contained inaccurate references. "The resolution talks about 'an agreement between the United Nations and Lebanon.' But is this really the case? If yes, where are the roles of the Lebanese president and the role of parliament speaker in this resolution? "What is more surprising, however, is that the resolution says that 'the Lebanese people' were the party that asked for discovery of the criminals. While acknowledging that all the Lebanese and all Arabs want to know who killed Al-Hariri, the Lebanese people did not ask the United States or its allies or the United Nations to set up an international court with such haste and based on Chapter Seven and before the end of the investigations and even before suspects were named.... "There are vindictive intentions and political objectives behind the resolution, serving intentions and objectives that are hostile not only to Lebanon but also to the Arab nation, and that serve Israel and its neoconservative protectors overseas.... "Those who have practiced killing, terrorism, wars, and destruction, and those who adopt the theories of creative instability and preemptive wars, have no right to talk about justice, for they are the first to violate it. "Chapter Seven of the UN charter appears to have been created specifically against Arabs. Resort to this chapter has become a major farce, showing the nature of the world in which we live, a world were rights of peoples and nations are denied, were countries are violated, and where humans are massacred, while the warmongers grant themselves and their armies and terrorists full immunity, even when they are caught red-handed committing crimes against humanity. "Although the Security Council resolution concerns only Lebanon, which is witnessing sharp divisions as a result of foreign interference, we are saying this only as a protest against those who installed themselves as the adversary and the arbiter and who want to exploit every event to implement their anti-Arab plans and take revenge against the Arab resistance and the policy of opposition and rejection to these plans. Arabs need to be highly alert, as all of them are targeted." -------------- "Proxy Wars" -------------- Ali Qasim, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote (6/1): "Seymour Hersh was not the first to point to the US role in practicing terrorism, or the first to publish documents on the US involvement in breeding terrorist organizations. But his reference to this issue in the past was very important, as he revealed with categorical evidence the details of the US vision for the region and the prepared scenarios, which matched what happened later. "His reference a few months ago to the issue of the US role in arming fundamentalist groups in different areas and countries, including Lebanon, acquires special importance, especially when coupled with a series of projections associated with it and with the state of pre-emption in the dissemination of information and documents. "Strikingly enough, Americans did not deny this role in the past, as they do not deny it today. The US justification was gradually shifting to the point of an implicit admission, but by marketing pretexts that change according to changing circumstances. "Many do not believe it unlikely that what is happening today is a repetition of the same scenario, with some additions that increase the risks inherent in that role. Perhaps the US rush to provide Lebanon with ammunition and establish an airlift reflects to a large extent an immediate interpretation of that reality. But this time, it was so clear and interesting, that many Lebanese have found in that US generosity reason for suspicions and doubts about the real objectives.... "What is, however, more dangerous than this is what Americans are trying to establish through ideas and proposals that talk about their having intentionally specified the battlefield and the most appropriate venue for waging the battle outside US territory. They admitted beforehand to their role in choosing the parties and tools that will fight this battle on their behalf. "There are actual experiences and examples on the ground. The US justification, in the words of President Bush himself, perhaps discloses the details of that US vision. Facts, however, are more meaningful and more visible, and the Lebanese have enough [evidence] to realize the scope of the US role in making and breeding terrorism." Corbin