OPTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO SARG ORDER TO CLOSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 000758 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR S/ES-O, M FOR ALFORD, NEA/FO, NEA/EX, NEA/ELA NSC FOR ABRAMS PARIS FOR WALLER LONDON FOR TSOU SOCOM FOR POLAD PIERCE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2018 TAGS: PREL ASEC APER AFIN PGOV SY SUBJECT: OPTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO SARG ORDER TO CLOSE AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER AND AMERICAN SCHOOL REF: A. DAMASCUS 741 ¶B. DAMASCUS 744 ¶C. DAMASCUS 745 ¶D. DAMASCUS 755 ¶E. DAMASCUS 756 Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.5 b and d. ¶1. (SBU) This is an action request, see para 11. ¶2. (C) Begin Summary: At 1500 local today, Post received official verbal notification from MFA Chief of Protocol Abdul Latif Dabbagh of the SARG's order to close the American Cultural Center (ACC) immediately and to close the American School (DCS) as of November 6. Dabbagh informed us there would be no written notification. We defer to L on the SARG's legal authority to take these steps and whether we have legal grounds to ignore or protest. The DCS School Board unanimously voted today to issue a statement notifying parents and staff of its decision to comply with the SARG's order to close its doors as of November 6. Diplomatic community reps (with other Embassies in the lead) and Syrian elites plan to push the SARG to reverse its decision (and at least to allow students to finish the semester.) Meanwhile, the DCS will be closed October 30 to avoid any spill-over of the planned protest in downtown Damascus. On ACC closure, we believe that we have a strong justification for Embassy personnel to work in the PD-Commercial-HR-Med-Ag building (otherwise known as the ACC or the PD-building located roughly 50 meters west of the main Embassy complex),so long as we limit or discontinue public or access to at least some "Cultural Center" activities. In the end, the SARG may force the closure of the American Language Center, which is located in a third facility directly adjacent to main Embassy compound. ALC closure would have significant legal and financial consequences. Embassy requests and appreciates Department guidance. End Summary -------------- MFA Protocol Formally Delivers SARG Response -------------- ¶2. (C) After initially canceling a meeting scheduled for 1330, MFA Protocol Chief Dabbagh convoked CDA (who was meeting with the French Ambassador) to appear at 1500. Fidgeting uncomfortably, Dabbagh delivered the MFA's notification of yesterday's Council of Minister's decision to order the closure of the American Cultural Center and Damascus Community School, known locally as the American school. The ACC's closure was effective immediately; out of recognition for the need of parents and students to find alternative education arrangements, the SARG gave the DCS until November 6 to comply. ¶3. (C) Charge asked whether the SARG would be transmitting the order in writing. "No," Dabbagh replied, "this is it." Charge responded that this practice seemed odd, given standard protocol practices and the SARG's insistence on receiving all diplomatic requests in writing. Dabbagh remained silent. ¶4. (C) Charge sought clarification on the SARG's definition of the "American Cultural Center." Straining, Dabbaugh asked, "well, isn't that what you call it?" Charge explained the ACC was part of the Embassy, staffed by diplomatically accredited U.S. personnel, and was comprised of several elements of which some were co-located with other Embassy offices, such as the Human Resources Section, the Medical Office, the Community Liaison Office, the Commercial Section, the Agricultural Department representative, and Political-Economic Section locally employed staff. The ACC functioned on a different legal basis than that of other cultural institutes because of the integration of the U.S. Information Service into the State Department. Closing the ACC would not be as easy as closing the Goethe Institute, for example. Was the SARG ordering the Embassy to close part of its diplomatic operations?. Did it believe it had the international legal authority to do so? asked CDA. DAMASCUS 00000758 002 OF 003 ¶5. (C) Those are your words, not mine, retorted Dabbaugh. The Council of Ministers had specified the closure of the American Cultural Center, and the U.S. Embassy "knew what this meant." CDA responded the MFA needed to clarify whether the SARG was ordering the U.S. to close part of its embassy. "This is the first I've heard of this," Dabbaugh replied. Charge explained the ACC is comprised of two facilities, one called the American Cultural Center, which includes Public Diplomacy, Commercial, Agricultural, Human Resources, Medical, and Pol-Econ offices. The other facility is the American Language Center, an English teaching program attend by 9,000 Syrians a year. This program is located adjacent to the main Embassy compound and falls under the supervision of the PAO, who is a fully accredited U.S. diplomat. ¶6. (C) Flummoxed, Dabbaugh excused himself to make a phone call. Five minutes later he returned. "The American Cultural Center is not considered part of the Embassy. It includes both the American Language School and the American Cultural Center." Cutting off Charge's follow-up, Dabbaugh said, "the decision is final." ¶7. (C) Charge then sought Dabbaugh's cooperation in facilitating an airport visa for the upcoming visit of the regional psychiatrist. "Send me a note verbale," requested Dabbaugh, who appeared to appreciate the irony of the remark. Charge also informed Dabbaugh the Embassy would be sending a note requesting the MFA's assurance of host country security support during the scheduled October 30 protest in downtown Damascus. "Of course," Dabbaugh replied. -------------- Assessing Options -------------- ¶8. (C) American School: The DCS School Board decided today without any dissent to issue a public statement expressing total compliance (and has done so.) The prevailing sense during discussion was that the SARG's willingness to give DCS until November 6 to comply was a direct reaction to the protests of the diplomatic reps during Deputy FM Miqdad's briefings to local ambassadors earlier in the day (ref f). International community and local Syrian elites with kids in the school also have lobbied against the cabinet's decision. While most board members judged SARG policy to be a reflection of genuine public outrage and believed the SARG had to respond, there was some hope that the SARG might be willing to exercise more flexibility after the current crisis settles. Board members plan another meeting November 2 to take stock and discuss how diplomats and Syrian parents can seek to overturn or at least mitigate the effects of the decision. There is a short period during which parents may wait to see what happens, but the school will lose students very quickly to other options. There is a virtual school program that may tide students over in the near-term, but we need to develop mid- and long-term options to control mounting anxiety for Embassy employees and their dependents and give due consideration to the financial consequences for the school. ¶9. (C) American Cultural Center: Deferring to L on legal considerations, the Country Team's view is that the ACC is part of the Mission. By virtue of its stand-alone location, the American Language Center represents the most obvious exception from the SARG's perspective. We see a range of progressively restrictive options to respond to the SARG's notification, from defiance to complete compliance: (a) Ignore or protest the order. Doing so could well prompt Syrian police to close the ALC facility and ACC building (which houses many other offices),or potentially encourage protesters to disrupt operations in both locations. (b) Since the SARG appears focused on the language program (ALC),we could shut down this program only. Closing the language program is legally and financially complex, since the ALC is administered under a $1.6 million cooperative DAMASCUS 00000758 003 OF 003 agreement between the Embassy and Amideast HQ in Washington. Limiting the Embassy's compliance to this step only may only irritate the SARG, however, because the other building (the ACC) is clearly marked as the American Cultural Center. (c) Close ALC and one or more of the cultural affairs-related offices located in the ACC. We could close, for example, the Information Resource Center (whose principal function is to provide internet access to the public). This option alone would not completely stop the flow of Syrian public traffic into the building, who include clients of the Education Advising and Testing office and other PD functions, such as the weekly movie night, occasional public lectures and presentations by visiting speakers, and special PD events (e.g., elections night.) (d) Close ALC and all PD activities that take place in the ACC. This option would suspend virtually all Syrian public access to the ACC building. It is possible the PD and other Embassy could continue to work in the ACC building, and but PD staff could continue to administer exchange programs. (e) Complete Compliance -- Close the ALC facility and entire ACC building. This would end all PD functions in the ACC, and force us to move Embassy staff (including Press, as well as MED, HR, CLO, Pol-Econ, and Commercial employees) elsewhere. We would be hard-pressed to find suitable alternative space on our already cramped main compound. ¶10. (C) Of these options, if we cannot select option (a) or (b) -- and in both cases, we need L's guidance -- then option (c) or (d) would preserve at least PD programming and continued used of the ACC building by other offices. Option (c) allows us some plausible deniability and might permit us to avoid option (e),in that the SARG does not appear to understand fully what our ACC does. Option (d) would be detrimental to PD outreach programs but the safest for our Syrian clientele. ¶11. (C) Action requests: (1) Embassy requests and appreciates timely Department guidance in developing a set of education options for Embassy employees whose dependents will lose the DCS on November 6; (2) We appreciate Department's assessment and guidance on options (a) through (e) above, as well as any other possibilities that might be worth consideration. CONNELLY