OMAN MEDIA REACTION: CHAVEZ, IMPUNITY, AND PLOTS

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000047 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARP NEA/PPD NEA/PI INR/R/MR NEA/SA/EX/PMO LONDON FOR NEA WATCHER PARIS FOR NEA WATCHER FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR NEA WATCHER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU SUBJECT: OMAN MEDIA REACTION: CHAVEZ, IMPUNITY, AND PLOTS ¶1. SUMMARY: In this week's coverage of the Israel - Gaza war, private Arabic daily "Al Zaman" issued the strongest criticism yet of Arab governments, praising Hugo Chavez for taking a stronger stand than many Arab leaders. "Al Watan" said that Israel is changing the norms of warfare by not discriminating between military and civilian targets. Government Arabic daily "Oman" saw the Arab economic summit in Kuwait as taking place in the face of varied plots by world powers to subvert not only the Palestinians, but the Arab world more generally. END SUMMARY. -------------- "AN HONORABLE STAND LIKE CHAVEZ'S" -------------- ¶2. On January 14, private Arabic daily "Al Zaman" published an editorial praising Hugo Chavez for his stronger stance than many Arab leaders against the Gaza violence, asking "Is Chavez more Arab or Muslim than us?": "Why is Chavez defending the Palestinians while Mahmoud Abbas, the Israeli revolutionary leader and representative of the Zionists in Palestine, is blaming the brave resistance? Why are Arabs waiting to take an honorable stand like Chavez? Some Arabs brag about their acquisition of American companies and use of their products and slogans to support the Israelis in killing more Muslims. Isn't it time for the Arab leaders to take an honorable stand like Chavez's?" -------------- "FIGHTING THE VALUES SET BY THE WORLD" -------------- ¶3. Private Arabic daily "Al Watan" (circulation 42,000) wrote on January 16 that Israel's brutality and the world's silence has established a new kind of wartime morality. "Israel is Fighting Human Values" says: "After the Second World War, international powers created institutions that established codes of humanity to save civilians and non-combatants in times of war. What has been witnessed in Gaza in the twenty days of combat goes against all these codes. Apparently Israel is not only fighting the Palestinians, but also the values set by the world to protect vulnerable civilians. In these twenty days, Israel has bombarded (deliberately) relief and human rights organizations, international media buildings and hospitals that belong to the Red Crescent. Israel is laying down new rules of war which are indifferent to military or civilian targets as long as the world decides to stay silent. Israel has become a symbol of brutality, and every day passes without victory over the Palestinian resistance." -------------- "A NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE THREATS AND PLOTS" -------------- ¶4. Arabic-language government daily "Oman" (circulation 38,000) praised Oman's participation in the economic summit in Kuwait, moving on to accusations of plots by world powers to remove all resistance in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. "Arab Economic Summit" said: "Oman is participating in the Arab economic summit because it believes in the importance of bringing Arab brothers together. The Arab region is undergoing a difficult phase, especially concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict. Many reports suggest that plots are behind this conflict. America is retreating from its position of establishing a Palestinian state, possibly in its desire to merge the West Bank to Jordan and Gaza to Egypt. However, to implement this plan, the Palestinian resistance would need to be eliminated first. Also there are indications that the next U.S. administration, along with other Western administrations, will give Iran a deadline to abandon its nuclear program or face a war. Again to implement this scheme, the Lebanese resistance and Syrian movement must be eliminated. In parallel to all these plots, the global financial crisis has made this region even more interesting for major powers because of its oil and economic surpluses. There is a need to acknowledge all of the threats and plots in the region." GRAPPO To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:15954ce5-8e16- 45f4-83cd-02b68cabae6a