Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07DAMASCUS543
2007-06-05 12:56:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:
Syria/Italy, Nahr al-Bared, International Tribunal, Golan,
how-toVZCZCXYZ0002 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHDM #0543/01 1561256 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 051256Z JUN 07 FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3609 RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6849 RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4564 RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3204 RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7707 RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1790 RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5123 RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1327 RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA// INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7450
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000543
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/Italy, Nahr al-Bared, International Tribunal, Golan,
Iraq (6/5)
UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000543
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/Italy, Nahr al-Bared, International Tribunal, Golan,
Iraq (6/5)
1. Summary: Syrian papers on June 5 reported the June 4 arrival in
Damascus of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Massimo D'Alema who will hold talks with senior Syrian officials on
bilateral relations and regional issues.
As for developments in Lebanon, papers reported continuing fierce
clashes in Nahr al-Bared, tension in the refugee camp of Ein
el-Hilweh in Sidon, southern Lebanon, and the explosion that took
place in Sad al-Bushiriyeh in northeastern Beirut. Papers also
reported that Lebanese MP Mustafa Hussein has withdrawn from
al-Mustaqbal Bloc in rejection of the US plots against Lebanon.
End of summary.
2. Selected Headlines:
"Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Masimo Dalima
arrives in Damascus. Dalima: Syria plays a positive role in the
region; we maintain excellent relations with Syria"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 6/5)
"Tension prevails in Nahr al-Bared and Ein el-Hilweh refugee camps.
An explosion in Sad al-Bushiriyeh in northeastern Beirut. Former
Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss: AMERICA prevents accord
among the Lebanese people" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/5)
"Lebanese MP Mustafa Hussein withdraws from al-Mustaqbal Bloc in
rejection of the US plots against Lebanon" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 6/5)
"Amnesty International: Israel drowns Palestinians in poverty and
misery" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/5)
"Cheney created mercenaries in Iraq" (Government-owned Tishreen,
6/5)
3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"Modern Setbacks"
--------------
Abd-al-Fattah al-Awad, Chief Editor of government-owned Al-Thawra,
wrote (6/5): "Why is Syria the target of hatred...? The fact is
that Syria has not accepted the roles that others designed for it.
It has always been eager to have its own role, a Syrian role that
helps formulate other roles, not only play them. The Syrian
decision-maker, furthermore, never allowed the sovereignty and
dignity of Syria -- people and country -- to be harmed.
"Within this context we can explain the political whoredom and
attempts to bargain over Syria's role and to usurp Syria's right to
preserve its dignity and sovereignty....
"Despite offers to give the Golan back to Syria in return for
Syria's abandonment of its role in supporting the Palestinian cause
and regaining Arab rights, and despite the 'stabs' that Syria has
received secretly and in the dark, it has insisted that the return
of the Golan in full be a Syrian right not open for bargaining or
deal-making. Forty years after the occupation of the Golan, we find
ourselves more determined to regain it in full.
"Syria has announced its readiness for peace, but we are completely
sure that Israel is neither willing nor able to achieve it...."
--------------
"Anti-Syria Media"
--------------
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
wrote (6/5): "The so-called 'moderate' Arab media outlets lack
credibility and adopt Israeli concepts, terminology, and
interpretations....
"For example, these outlets try to absolve Israel of the systematic
killing of Palestinians when they claim that Palestinians never stop
firing missiles at Israeli towns, although the fact is that
Palestinians are trying to defend themselves by using the most basic
means available to them....
"These Arab media outlets sometimes talk about Arab resistance and
opposition with a kind of disdain, focusing on Syria, which refuses
to surrender to the American-Israeli plan in the region, and on
Lebanon's Hizbollah, which liberated most of south Lebanon from the
Israeli occupation and inflicted a solid defeat on the Israeli
occupation army in the July/August 2006 aggression.
"When these cheap and subservient media outlets talk about Syria,
the timing is often mean, the words provocative, and the objective
closely linked to what is happening on the ground, from Palestine to
Iraq to Lebanon....
"But these media outlets, which receive enormous funding to play
this subversive role, cannot harm Damascus and its status.
"Syria has remarkable Arab, regional, and international support.
Everyone returns to it on every matter related to the region.
Superpowers have tried to isolate Syria to please Israel but have
failed and have returned to talk with it on equal footing....
"Let them say what they will. The day will come when their words,
falsehoods, and poison backfire."
--------------
"What Comes After Chapter Seven?"
--------------
Ibrahim Darraji, an editorialist in independent al-Watan, wrote
(6/5): "There are a number of scenarios regarding the results of
investigations into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and the work of the International Tribunal
that will be formed under Security Council Resolution 1757. One of
the possibilities is to politicize the case fully and accuse
official Syrian figures of involvement in the assassination. In
this case, Syria must handle the matter calmly and wisely and not
feel content with mere rejection and denial.
"Syria, in this case, must decide to try the suspects before the
Syrian judiciary.... The Charter of the International Criminal Court
as well as Paragraph 2 of Article 6 of Al-Hariri Tribunal itself
allow this, provided that the national trial is fair....
"Syria will have no problem here as long as we are confident that we
are innocent. Then we commit ourselves to holding trials based on
international judicial standards and leave it to our national
judiciary to decide on conviction or acquittal.... This way Syria
will be carrying out its duty and not giving others an excuse to
target it on the pretext of lack of cooperation. Such a Syrian step
would also help our friends at the Security Council defend our
position and underline our commitment, especially since the
imposition of penalties on the pretext of lack of cooperation would
require a return to the Security Council for a new vote."
--------------
"The Inevitable End"
--------------
Muhammad Khayr al-Jammali, an editorialist in government-owned
Al-Thawra, wrote (6/5): "President Bush's administration does not
appear willing to put an end to the mad, bloody, destructive war it
is waging in Iraq, despite the mounting American losses and the talk
about reducing the troops by 50 percent and conducting a review in
September....
"President Bush wants to continue the war until complete defeat and
to the last American soldier in Iraq.... The increasing American
losses mean that the defeat of the American Army will be the
inevitable end of the hateful occupation unless a miracle happens
and saves what is left of this army through a speedy withdrawal or
based on a short timetable."
Corbin
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/Italy, Nahr al-Bared, International Tribunal, Golan,
Iraq (6/5)
1. Summary: Syrian papers on June 5 reported the June 4 arrival in
Damascus of Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
Massimo D'Alema who will hold talks with senior Syrian officials on
bilateral relations and regional issues.
As for developments in Lebanon, papers reported continuing fierce
clashes in Nahr al-Bared, tension in the refugee camp of Ein
el-Hilweh in Sidon, southern Lebanon, and the explosion that took
place in Sad al-Bushiriyeh in northeastern Beirut. Papers also
reported that Lebanese MP Mustafa Hussein has withdrawn from
al-Mustaqbal Bloc in rejection of the US plots against Lebanon.
End of summary.
2. Selected Headlines:
"Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Masimo Dalima
arrives in Damascus. Dalima: Syria plays a positive role in the
region; we maintain excellent relations with Syria"
(Government-owned Tishreen, 6/5)
"Tension prevails in Nahr al-Bared and Ein el-Hilweh refugee camps.
An explosion in Sad al-Bushiriyeh in northeastern Beirut. Former
Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss: AMERICA prevents accord
among the Lebanese people" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/5)
"Lebanese MP Mustafa Hussein withdraws from al-Mustaqbal Bloc in
rejection of the US plots against Lebanon" (Government-owned
Tishreen, 6/5)
"Amnesty International: Israel drowns Palestinians in poverty and
misery" (Government-owned Tishreen, 6/5)
"Cheney created mercenaries in Iraq" (Government-owned Tishreen,
6/5)
3. Editorial Block Quotes:
--------------
"Modern Setbacks"
--------------
Abd-al-Fattah al-Awad, Chief Editor of government-owned Al-Thawra,
wrote (6/5): "Why is Syria the target of hatred...? The fact is
that Syria has not accepted the roles that others designed for it.
It has always been eager to have its own role, a Syrian role that
helps formulate other roles, not only play them. The Syrian
decision-maker, furthermore, never allowed the sovereignty and
dignity of Syria -- people and country -- to be harmed.
"Within this context we can explain the political whoredom and
attempts to bargain over Syria's role and to usurp Syria's right to
preserve its dignity and sovereignty....
"Despite offers to give the Golan back to Syria in return for
Syria's abandonment of its role in supporting the Palestinian cause
and regaining Arab rights, and despite the 'stabs' that Syria has
received secretly and in the dark, it has insisted that the return
of the Golan in full be a Syrian right not open for bargaining or
deal-making. Forty years after the occupation of the Golan, we find
ourselves more determined to regain it in full.
"Syria has announced its readiness for peace, but we are completely
sure that Israel is neither willing nor able to achieve it...."
--------------
"Anti-Syria Media"
--------------
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned Tishreen,
wrote (6/5): "The so-called 'moderate' Arab media outlets lack
credibility and adopt Israeli concepts, terminology, and
interpretations....
"For example, these outlets try to absolve Israel of the systematic
killing of Palestinians when they claim that Palestinians never stop
firing missiles at Israeli towns, although the fact is that
Palestinians are trying to defend themselves by using the most basic
means available to them....
"These Arab media outlets sometimes talk about Arab resistance and
opposition with a kind of disdain, focusing on Syria, which refuses
to surrender to the American-Israeli plan in the region, and on
Lebanon's Hizbollah, which liberated most of south Lebanon from the
Israeli occupation and inflicted a solid defeat on the Israeli
occupation army in the July/August 2006 aggression.
"When these cheap and subservient media outlets talk about Syria,
the timing is often mean, the words provocative, and the objective
closely linked to what is happening on the ground, from Palestine to
Iraq to Lebanon....
"But these media outlets, which receive enormous funding to play
this subversive role, cannot harm Damascus and its status.
"Syria has remarkable Arab, regional, and international support.
Everyone returns to it on every matter related to the region.
Superpowers have tried to isolate Syria to please Israel but have
failed and have returned to talk with it on equal footing....
"Let them say what they will. The day will come when their words,
falsehoods, and poison backfire."
--------------
"What Comes After Chapter Seven?"
--------------
Ibrahim Darraji, an editorialist in independent al-Watan, wrote
(6/5): "There are a number of scenarios regarding the results of
investigations into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and the work of the International Tribunal
that will be formed under Security Council Resolution 1757. One of
the possibilities is to politicize the case fully and accuse
official Syrian figures of involvement in the assassination. In
this case, Syria must handle the matter calmly and wisely and not
feel content with mere rejection and denial.
"Syria, in this case, must decide to try the suspects before the
Syrian judiciary.... The Charter of the International Criminal Court
as well as Paragraph 2 of Article 6 of Al-Hariri Tribunal itself
allow this, provided that the national trial is fair....
"Syria will have no problem here as long as we are confident that we
are innocent. Then we commit ourselves to holding trials based on
international judicial standards and leave it to our national
judiciary to decide on conviction or acquittal.... This way Syria
will be carrying out its duty and not giving others an excuse to
target it on the pretext of lack of cooperation. Such a Syrian step
would also help our friends at the Security Council defend our
position and underline our commitment, especially since the
imposition of penalties on the pretext of lack of cooperation would
require a return to the Security Council for a new vote."
--------------
"The Inevitable End"
--------------
Muhammad Khayr al-Jammali, an editorialist in government-owned
Al-Thawra, wrote (6/5): "President Bush's administration does not
appear willing to put an end to the mad, bloody, destructive war it
is waging in Iraq, despite the mounting American losses and the talk
about reducing the troops by 50 percent and conducting a review in
September....
"President Bush wants to continue the war until complete defeat and
to the last American soldier in Iraq.... The increasing American
losses mean that the defeat of the American Army will be the
inevitable end of the hateful occupation unless a miracle happens
and saves what is left of this army through a speedy withdrawal or
based on a short timetable."
Corbin