PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION BY AUSTRALIAN SYRIAN COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SYDNEY 000254 DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP, DS/ITA POST FOR RSO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC AS SUBJECT: PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION BY AUSTRALIAN SYRIAN COMMUNITY REF: DS SPOT REPORT DATED: 11/17/2008 ¶1. (U) On Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 1600, there was a peaceful demonstration by a group calling itself the "Australian - Syrian Community" directed against the United States Government. According to local authorities, the group had intended to rally at the Sydney Town Hall before proceeding approximately one kilometer to the U.S. Consulate General Sydney located within the MLC Building at Martin Place and had hoped to draw several hundred participants. The group did not march to Martin Place as planned and only drew approximately 20 participants. The group remained in the area of the Sydney Town Hall for approximately 30 minutes handing out leaflets before dispersing without incident. New South Wales Police and the Australian Federal Police were present for the demonstration. ¶2. (U) Demonstrators distributed leaflets containing two pictures of bloodied bodies followed by the following text: BEGIN VERBATIM TEXT !!! U.S. military helicopters attacked an area along Syria's border with Iraq Killing eight people, Syrian Arab News Agency said the attack was on the Sukkariyeh Farm near the town of Abu Kamal, five miles inside the Syrian border. Four helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction, firing on the workers inside, shortly before sundown. The eyewitness accounts said that four helicopters were involved in the operation, with two of the helicopters landing in the town and eight American soldiers disembarking. The eyewitnesses said that the seven killed men were supposedly construction workers. Doctors in the town of Al-Sukkariya, some eight Kilometers from the Iraqi border, said seven corpses And four wounded had been delivered to a nearby Clinic after Ask your self do you want this to happen to you? Send a letter condemning to the American embassy or email on usrsaustralia@state.gov END VERBATIM TEXT ¶3. (U) If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this report, please contact RSO Sydney: David Shamber; Mobile: 61-434-316-465. FERGIN