MFA STEERS DIPLOMATS TO SHELL SCHOOL: "YOUR

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000134


E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/16/2019
TAGS: PREL AMGT SY
SUBJECT: MFA STEERS DIPLOMATS TO SHELL SCHOOL: "YOUR
CHILDREN ARE OUR CHILDREN"

REF: DAMASCUS 108

Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. During a February 12 meeting with concerned
diplomats, SARG MFA Deputy FM Abd al-Fatta Ammura said he
believed that the Ministry of Education would not object to
the expansion of a Royal Dutch Shell-operated school to
include the children of diplomats. Outlining a series of
steps that would start with an "agreement in principle,"
Ammura suggested the Ministry of Education would turn a blind
eye to the presence of diplomats' children at the Shell
school pending a necessary cabinet decision to allow it.
Ammura indicated that the MFA's long-term solution to the
lack of an Anglophone international school was to look to the
private sector, acknowledging, however, that a change would
have to be made to Syrian law. Asked about the letter
addressed to FM Muallim seeking clarification regarding the
promise made by President Asad to former President Carter,
Ammura said the letter had been sent to "those who closed"
the Damascus Community School and provided no further
information. End Summary.

EXPAND THE SHELL SCHOOL


2. (C) SARG MFA Deputy FM Abd al-Fatta Ammura told diplomats
February 12 that the MFA sought to facilitate the enrollment
of diplomats' children in the soon-to-be reopened school
operated by Royal Dutch Shell. Acknowledging that
Aleppo-based ICARDA had declined to open a branch school in
Damascus for expatriates (reftel),Ammura said the MFA wanted
to be as helpful as possible to the diplomatic community;
"your children are our children," he said. Ammura ran
through his understanding of the procedures that will convert
the current Shell "learning hub" into a licensed school,
noting that the Shell school's previous license would soon be
re-activated. That license would permit Shell to enroll only
the children of its expatriate employees, he observed, but
there were only 16 children in that category. Ammura said he
thought a case could be made to the SARG Minister of
Education that a school for only 16 pupils would not be
feasible and that the diplomatic children could be added even
in advance of the cabinet decision necessary to convert the
Shell-only license into one that would include diplomats'
children as well. Ammura estimated that Shell would be able
to admit as many as 100 students for grades K-6 (Note: Per
reftel, Shell itself says it can handle 50-60 but these
capacity estimates may depend on the size of the premises to
which the school relocates. End Note).


3. (C) Ammura thought that there was a logical argument to
put to the Minister of Education: Shell needed to acquire
premises for future estimated enrollment, not just the 16
Shell pupils, so Shell would need the Minister's "acceptance
in principle" now that the license would be broadened.
Ammura also suggested that the Minister would turn a blind
eye to the presence of the diplomats' children during the
conversion process from hub to school.

ULTIMATE SOLUTION: PRIVATE-SECTOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL


4. (C) Reaction from the diplomats was generally positive,
with the Argentinean Ambassador offering to provide to the
MFA a list of children of diplomats whose parents seek to
enroll them at the Shell school. The Canadian Ambassador,
after confirming the MFA was aware of ICARDA's negative
decision, asked if Ammura was aware of any other options,
including commercial ventures. Ammura indicated that he and
FM Walid al-Muallim believed that ultimately the solution to
establishing an international school in Damascus would
require a private sector initiative but he noted that Syrian
law would require an amendment to make such a project
possible. Other heads of mission attending were the Czech,
Dutch, Italian, and Hungarian ambassadors as well as the
German and U.S. Charges d'Affaires. (Note: Although we had
been included at all preparatory and follow-up meetings, this
meeting marks the first time we participated in a meeting at
the MFA on this topic. End Note)

NO RESPONSE TO U.S. LETTER


5. (C) In response to Ammura's review of possible options,
Charge asked Ammura if he had seen a copy of the letter sent
to FM Muallim to ask for clarifications regarding the promise
provided to former President Carter by SARG President Bashar
al-Asad regarding the opening or re-opening of (an/the)
American school" after the inauguration. Ammura responded
that he had seen the letter and that it had been "passed to
those who had closed the school (Damascus Community School)
for them to decide if they wanted to take any action." He
provided no further details.


6. (C) Comment: Ammura, probably faithfully reflecting
Muallim's views, tried to steer the group of diplomats into
accepting an interim solution represented by an expanded
Shell school with a longer-term option for a private-sector
international school. He seemed confident the Minister of
Education would be amenable to expanding the Shell school to
include the children of diplomats, claiming to have consulted
with the Minister immediately prior to the February 12
meeting. While Ammura obviously did not want to engage on
the question of reopening the Damascus Community School,
ambassadors routinely raise the issue in their calls on SARG
ministers, including the Minister of Education. In a meeting
with the Norwegian Ambassador during the week of February 8,
the Minister of Education reportedly responded to the
Norwegian's inquiry by observing that the Damascus Community
School had been closed but its license had not been
withdrawn, leading the Norwegian to wonder whether the
Minister was re-thinking the matter. Our reading of the
situation is that the school, like other operational issues
in the bilateral relationship, is now on the SARG's
negotiating agenda and that the SARG will seek to receive
something in return for a decision to reopen the school.
Should the SARG agree to reopen the school, however, it is
likely to do so with the same restrictions in place (no
Syrian students) that were attached to the license, casting
strong doubt on the financial feasibility of a reopened
school.


CONNELLY