SARG PREVENTING DISTRIBUTION OF WFP RICE;

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000792

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/I, PRM/ANE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2018
TAGS: PHUM PREF PGOV IZ SY
SUBJECT: SARG PREVENTING DISTRIBUTION OF WFP RICE;
PRM-FUNDED SHIPMENT CAUGHT UP

REF: EMAIL TO NEA/ELA 19 OCTOBER 2007

Classified By: A/DCM Tim Pounds for reasons 1.5 b and d.


1. (C) SUMMARY: SARG officials at the Syrian port of
Lattakiya are holding a portion of a World Food Program (WFP)
shipment of Indian rice, purchased with PRM funds and
intended for distribution to Iraqi refugees in Syria. The
Syrian government claims the rice is contaminated with small
rocks and rodent feces. WFP is working with the rice
distributor to replace the damaged portion of the shipment
and to re-test the shipment for contamination. According to
WFP, the SARG appears wholly unaware that this shipment is
USG-funded. The SARG has also blocked distribution of a
second 8,000 Metric Ton rice shipment from Vietnam funded by
the Italian government because it exceeds the allowable
percentage of cracked kernels. WFP has raised the issue with
the Syrian MFA and is considering whether to engage WFP Rome.
A third 9,000 MT shipment of rice is due to arrive in Syria
November 26, but WFP warns the ship will not attempt to land
unless the current disputes are resolved. End Summary


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PRM-Funded U.S. Rice Partially Off Loaded
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2. (C) According to WFP Syria Director Pippa Bradford, WFP
has managed to facilitate off-loading and distribution of
approximately one half (3,000 metric tons) of the 6,000
metric tons of the U.S.-source rice in question. An initial
sample from the shipment taken and tested by SARG authorities
from the Ministry of Economy returned a one part per 300
contamination level, rocks and feces combined. (Note:
Industry standard is one part per 1000.) A second shipment
sample taken in the presence of the rice distributor (who
flew in from London),WFP and Ministry of Economy officials
turned up a contamination of one part per 100,000.
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Economy (responsible for
testing) and the Ministry of Finance (responsible for Customs
administration) refuse to accept the second sample results.
Nor have they accepted the results from a third sample, which
also turned up a one part per 100,000 contamination level.


3. (C) Bradford received a November 5 letter from the
Ministry of Economy stating the shipment was being rejected
on the grounds of the first sample results. She told the
Charge that approximately $5 million worth of PRM-funded rice
was presently being held in port. Bradford had been unable
to determine who is really behind blockage of this shipment.
Despite ongoing contacts with Deputy Foreign Minister Miqdad,
Bradford said she had been unsuccessful in resolving the
issue.

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SARG Blocks Unloading of Second Shipment
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4. (C) On November 6, the WFP received a new shipment of
8,000 metric tons of rice at the port of Lattakia, donated by
the Italian government originating from Vietnam. Bradford
judged that off loading and distribution of rice from this
shipment was time critical, as WFP distribution warehouses
were out of rice due to problems with the PRM-funded
shipment. Bradford told us she had organized a
middle-of-the-night off-loading and distribution mission for
this reason. As the off loading and distribution mission was
underway, the SARG officials from the Ministry of Economy
arrived on site. (By Bradford's account, this occurred just
after midnight on November 7.) Syrian officials alleged the
Italian shipment of Vietnamese rice contained 12-14 percent
cracked kernels and ordered WFP warehouses sealed. (Note:
The Syrian standard is 10 percent cracked kernels per
shipment.) They directed loaded trucks back to the port with
instructions to re-load the rice back onto the ship. The
rice is presently sitting in port, at a cost to WFP of
$10,000 per day. According to Bradford, the SARG Deputy
Minister of the Economy later visited the sealed warehouses
with media in tow, though only one news item on the seizure
has appeared in the Syrian news media to date.


5. (C) Bradford told us the Italian shipment contains

first-quality rice with a cracked kernel content of no more
than ten percent. She said that WFP normally purchases rice
with a 25 percent cracked kernel content, as the Deputy Prime
Minister had previously issued WFP with a blanket waiver of
the Syrian cracked kernel regulations. (Note: Kernel quality
has little to do with the nutritional value of the rice,
which is how WFP was able to secure written guarantees from
the SARG to import rice below Syrian quality standards.)
Nevertheless, WFP had ordered rice with only ten percent
cracked kernel for this shipment, and implied that she has
the paperwork to prove it. On November 9, Bradford received
word from the Ministry of Economy that the SARG stood by its
estimate that the Italian shipment contains an unacceptable
percentage of cracked kernel and that the previous waiver
"does not apply."


6. (C) Bradford said she was "mystified" by the
"incomprehensible" SARG actions. A political motive was not
clear, she explained, as the SARG remained unaware the first
shipment was USG-funded, and the second shipment came from
the Italians. She speculated the SARG might be upset by the
UN's muted response to the alleged October 26 U.S. incursion
into Syrian territory.


7. (C) Another theory, according to Bradford, was that
Syrian rice distributors may be unhappy with the amount of
rice coming into Syria, even though it was destined for
distribution to Iraqi refugees. However, the amount of rice
imported by WFP into Syria represented "a drop in the bucket"
of total Syrian rice imports. She mentioned WFP had been
asked for a $500 bribe to facilitate the off-loading of the
PRM-funded rice shipment and had declined to pay. However,
she did not think this alone could have prompted the SARG's
rejection. One possible player, she said, was the
Syrian-Arab Red Crescent (SARC),a quasi-governmental body in
Syria. She noted that the SARC leadership was "not great
friends" with WFP at the moment, and that they were "trying
to block" the WFP voucher program. She said that she
"probably angered" the SARC by taking the voucher issue to a
high level.


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Third Rice Shipment Due November 26
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8. (C) A third, 9,000 metric ton shipment of rice is due to
arrive in Lattakia on November 26. Bradford said this was a
multi-donor shipment that included contributions from the
United Kingdom, Canada and the UN. She said that she would
not allow the ship to dock unless outstanding issues with the
two previous shipments had been cleared. Bradford said she
was ready to ask the WFP in Rome to raise the issue to a
higher level, indicating this could happen as early as
November 10.


9. (C) In the interim, WFP is distributing vouchers for rice
to refugees. Bradford said several warehouses would begin
distributing food boxes without rice to refugees on November

10.


10. (C) Comment: Given multiple layers of SARG bureaucracy,
corruption, and incompetence involved in regulating food
shipments, we are not yet ready to conclude the SARG's
hold-up is part of a SARG coordinated political response.
WFP has approached us previously on SARG claims of
contaminated food meant for Iraqi refugees, and in at least
one case the Ministry of Agriculture did not back down
(reftel). As in the past, already weary donors will probably
react negatively to SARG behavior and be even less likely to
make future contributions if Syria is unwilling to accept
food donations. Additionally, the obstruction of critical
aid undercuts Syrian complaints that the international
community is doing too little to support Iraqi refugees in
Syria.
CONNELLY