ABBAS VISITS MALAYSIA, PM ABDULLAH WELCOMES CHANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001551

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS MY
SUBJECT: ABBAS VISITS MALAYSIA, PM ABDULLAH WELCOMES CHANCE
TO JOIN PEACE TALKS

REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 417


B. KUALA LUMPUR 467

Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b
, d)


1. (C) Summary: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited
Kuala Lumpur October 20 - 21, accompanied by Information
Minister Riyad al Maliki and two other senior Palestinian
officials as part of a tour of Muslim countries to seek
support ahead of the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace
conference next month. While in Kuala Lumpur, Abbas met with
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and Foreign Minister
Syed Hamid Albar. In a much publicized press conference, PM
Abdullah urged the Palestinian President to solve the
differences between Fatah and Hamas and to present a united
position in their negotiations for peace. Abbas called on
Hamas to end their "coup" in Gaza and pledged that only
afterwards the two sides could talk. Abdullah stated during
the Abbas visit that he had been invited as OIC Chair to
participate in the Annapolis peace conference, and the Prime
Minister promised to fully support the Palestinian cause of
statehood during the peace talks. Abdullah's possible
participation in peace talks would match Malaysia's desire to
have role in Middle East peacemaking and would pay domestic
political dividends for Abdullah given ethnic Malays'
fixation on the Palestine issue. Action request: Embassy
requests Department information on the invitation for Prime
Minister Abdullah to join the Annapolis peace conference.
End Summary.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Kuala Lumpur
-------------- --------------


2. (U) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Kuala
Lumpur October 20 - 21, accompanied by Information Minister
Riyad al Maliki and two other senior Palestinian officials as
part of a tour of Muslim countries to seek support ahead of
the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace conference next month.
The Palestinian President held bilateral talks with Prime
Minister Abdullah Badawi who is also the current OIC Chair.
This was Abbas' first working visit to Malaysia since being
elected President in January 2005. At a joint press
conference on October 20, Abbas stated that his discussions
with Abdullah focused on important issues including bilateral
ties and on the conference scheduled to be held in Annapolis,
Maryland. He added, "We discussed in particular the details
of the meeting that will take place between Palestine and
Israel and between my country and the U.S. administration."
He added that they discussed the need to coordinate efforts
to achieve a peaceful, lasting and just resolution to the
conflict. The Palestinian President explained that Palestine
was looking for the right coordinating mechanism to achieve
the best outcome. He announced that Malaysia was invited to
the conference as the Chair of the 57-member OIC, and "we
seek help to coordinate efforts in order to achieve a
peaceful resolution" and wanted to achieve, "a united
position about the conference" with other countries including
Malaysia. He also thanked Abdullah and the Malaysian people
"for the continuous support towards the Palestinian
struggle."

Malaysia to back Palestine
--------------


3. (U) At the same press conference, Abdullah stated that
his discussions with Abbas were a continuation of their talks
at the UN General Assembly last month. He added that
"several indications" were made that Malaysia would be
invited to the conference even though the dates have yet to
be fixed. (Note: State News Agency Bernama reported October
20 that Abdullah had received the invitation and quoted the
PM, "I am thankful for the invitation to participate in the
conference." End note.) He added, "There is a good support
for Malaysia's participation" and reiterated Malaysia's
support for the Palestinian cause. He told the Palestinian
President, "Our commitment to support the struggle of the
Palestinian people remains as strong as ever. When we go
there (Annapolis),we will fully support your cause." The
Prime Minister also pointed out that Israel and the
Palestinians must be brought together to accept any peace
settlement. He added, "It is more important that Palestine
is recognized as one state" and that "resolutions are
solutions for peace in the Middle East."


4. (U) Abdullah reiterated his position that, "The
Palestinian issue stands as one of the root causes of Muslim
states' instability and tension. It is a problem that has

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affected the East and West as well as the relationship
between the Christians and Muslims." "Some of the problems
can be resolved if a peaceful resolution is achieved," he
said.


5. (U) On the animosity between the Abbas' government in the
West Bank and Hamas authorities in Gaza, Abdullah stressed
that the Palestinians themselves should address it.
Describing the problems as an internal matter "that have
cropped up between brothers," Abdullah stated that such
internal problems were not for anyone else to solve or
interfere in. However, Abdullah also stated that he had
stressed to Abbas the importance of Palestine taking a stand
as one, undivided country at any peace negotiation. He said,
"We do not want anyone to say or make reference that
Palestine is not united. The problems faced are internal,
between its people, between brothers and parties." Abbas
responding to a similar question and on how Israel and the US
view the inclusion of Hamas in a future Palestinian state
retorted October 21, "This is none of their business, it is
an internal Palestinian matter."

Peace with Israel Possible
--------------


6. (U) Speaking to local news editors prior to his departure
to Jakarta on October 21, Abbas stated that the Palestinians
are ready to implement the "road map" for peace with Israel
and are now preparing the documents to be presented at the
Middle East conference next month. Abbas added that
documents will be based on the peace plan first outlined by
President George Bush in 2002 calling for the creation of an
independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel
in peace. The Palestinian document will also be based on the
Arab Peace Initiative which calls for normalization of
relations between Arab countries and Israel "if and it's a
big IF Israel withdraws from Arab and Palestinian land it has
occupied since 1967."


7. (U) Elaborating on the documents to be presented at the
conference, Abbas stated that both Palestine and Israel had
established their own terms to draft them based on six major
issues namely the status of Jerusalem, the return of
Palestinian refugees, Israel observing pre-1967 borders,
water, settlements and security. He reiterated that East
Jerusalem "is part of the Palestinian territories but was
occupied since 1967 and it should be returned to the
Palestinian state" adding that the Palestinian people would
not accept anything short of this. Abbas explained that both
sides are working intensively to reach agreement on all these
issues, adding that both sides would work on the details
after the conference for about six months before concluding a
treaty. National news agency Bernama reported Abbas as
stating that the objective was to conclude a peace treaty
between Palestine and Israel before President Bush ends his
term as US President in January 2009.


8. (U) Responding to a question on whether he was confident
that the conference would achieve the desired outcome, Abbas
replied that he did not expect the solutions to come easily.
He stated, "There should be obstacles. If there are no
obstacles, it means that we can solve the problem easily"
adding that the fact the conflict had dragged on for decades
showed that it was difficult to resolve. However, he pointed
out that now is the opportunity "not only for the
Palestinians but also for the Israelis to attain peace and
stability."


9. (U) On the dispute between his Fatah faction and Hamas,
where Abdullah had also expressed concern to the Palestinian
President, Abbas stated that he wanted Hamas to be in the
fold and not out in the opposition. He stated, "we know they
won the election, unfortunately they staged a coup d'etat in
Gaza." He added, "It's very difficult but either directly or
indirectly through a third party, we are telling Hamas to
revoke their coup then we will talk with them."

Taking a dig at Hamas
--------------


10. (U) Abbas also commented on the tendency of the
international media to label him as "secularist" (Muslim but
not Islamist leader) as compared to his rival, Hamas leader
Ismail Haniyeh. Abbas dismissed the "secularist" description
as simplistic. He stated, "I am not a secularist. I am a
religious person and a good Muslim" and taking a dig at
Hamas, he added, "I don't have to be with Hamas to be a good
Muslim. Even if you're in Hamas you're not necessarily a

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good Muslim." He added his struggle for Palestinian
nationalism and liberation does not contradict Islam.

Comment
--------------


11. (C) Despite Malaysia's friendly public reception of Hamas
earlier this year (see refs A and B on Hamas' March 2007
visit to Kuala Lumpur),Malaysia has continued to side with
Fatah over Hamas, embraced Abbas' leadership role in
Palestine, quietly condemned Hamas' coup in Gaza, and
privately expressed concern over Hamas' growing influence.
While it is unclear Malaysia has much to offer in terms of
facilitating a realization of a peace settlement, Malaysia's
positive reaction to the possibility of its inclusion in the
Annapolis conference matches its desire to have a role in
Middle East peacemaking. Earlier this year, Malaysia jumped
at the chance of joining the short-lived Pakistan-led
initiative on Middle East peace, which brought in other
non-Arab Muslim-majority states. Abdullah has long held that
peace in Palestine is the key to peace between Islam and the
West, and joined others calling for a role for non-Arab
Muslim leaders in solving this issue critical to the broader
Muslim world. Palestine is a major and emotional issue in
domestic Malaysian politics with the key Malay-Muslim
majority of voters. If Abdullah were able to sit at a peace
conference table, this would represent a strong boost to his
UMNO party in the run-up to Malaysia's national elections.
As a matter of longstanding policy, Malaysia has made it
clear that it will not consider diplomatic relations with
Israel until there is a comprehensive peace agreement between
Israel and the Palestinians. Embassy will pursue meetings
with the Foreign Ministry on the subject of the Abbas visit
and Abdullah's comments regarding Annapolis.


12. (SBU) Action request: Embassy requests Department
information on the invitation for Prime Minister Abdullah to
join the Annapolis peace conference.
KEITH