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DE RUEHDL #0839/01 1951640
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P 141640Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUBLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7232
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST PRIORITY 0092
RUEHSF/AMEMBASSY SOFIA PRIORITY 0039

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000839 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/12/2016 
TAGS: PREL UNAUS EUN YI MW SR BO IR IZ KPAL SU
CG, EI 
SUBJECT: PRE-GAERC DEMARCHE: IRELAND CALLS FOR MIDDLE EAST 
RESTRAINT, PUSHES SUDAN ON UN FORCE 
 
REF: A. STATE 114605 
 
     ¶B. STATE 15346 
     ¶C. STATE 115371 
     ¶D. DUBLIN 799 
 
Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Mary E. Daly, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: The Irish Government recognizes Israel's 
right to self-defense, though not at the expense of 
Palestinian and Lebanese civilians, according to Department 
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) EU Correspondent Jim Kelly, to whom 
emboffs delivered refs A-C demarches.  Kelly cited a July 13 
statement by Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern urging all 
sides in the Middle East to exercise restraint and to 
cooperate with diplomatic efforts to defuse the current 
crisis.  Kelly noted that Foreign Minister Ahern planned to 
brief the July 17 GAERC on his recent discussions with the 
Sudanese Government on EU/international support for a UN 
force to replace AMIS by year's end.  According to 
participants in Ahern's visit to Sudan, the humanitarian 
situation in Darfur is still troubling, but not as severe as 
in previous months.  Regarding the Balkans, Ireland and EU 
Member States were focused on the challenge of helping Serbia 
to play a more constructive role in the Kosovo status talks, 
while at the same time insisting that Belgrade show full 
cooperation with ICTY.  Kelly added that Ireland was 
guardedly optimistic about the July 30 elections in the 
Congo, which could be a monumental step toward stabilizing 
central Africa.  He also noted previous DFA talking points 
supporting the U.S. call for a return to the 6-party process 
in the aftermath of North Korea's missile tests.  End 
summary. 
 
Middle East 
----------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Kelly observed that the July 17 GAERC would focus 
intensely on the current Middle East crisis, and he cited 
points from Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern's July 13 statement 
calling for restraint on all sides.  In the statement, Ahern 
underscored Israel's right to defend itself, and he urged the 
release of captured Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon as 
well as the cessation of rocket attacks.  The statement 
noted, however, that Israel's right to self-defense should 
not be exercised "at the expense of the lives and welfare of 
Palestinian and Lebanese civilians" through "harshly 
disproportionate military action."  The statement concluded 
that Israel should "end its blockade on Lebanon, stop the 
destruction of civilian infrastructure in Lebanon and Gaza, 
and act urgently to avoid a humanitarian crisis in the 
Occupied Territories." 
 
¶3.  (C) More generally, Kelly agreed that Hamas and Hizbollah 
had precipitated the crisis, but cautioned that the situation 
in Gaza and Lebanon threatened to spiral out of control, 
particularly with political engagement now in abeyance.  He 
added that international efforts were urgently needed to 
convince all sides to step back from violence and to avoid 
further civilian casualties.  Kelly added that EU Foreign 
Policy Chief Solana would travel to the region over the 
weekend, though it was unclear whether he would be able to 
engage with principals in the conflict. 
 
Sudan 
----- 
 
¶4.  (C) Kelly said that Foreign Minister Ahern would brief 
the GAERC on his July 2-5 visit to Khartoum and Darfur, the 
first visit to Sudan by an EU Foreign Minister since the 
signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).  In his meeting 
with Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol, Ahern emphasized 
strong EU and international support for a transition from the 
AMIS force to a UN peacekeeping operation.  Lam Akol's 
response was "not as negative as might have been expected," 
according to Kelly, who nevertheless cautioned that the 
Foreign Minister was from southern Sudan and that views on 
the UN force within Sudan's coalition government were still 
fluid.  He added that Ireland would make a pledge at the July 
18 Donors' Conference in Brussels to bolster AMIS for its 
extended mandate through year's end, but he did not know the 
exact pledge amount. 
 
¶5.  (C) In his talks with Foreign Minister Akol, NGOs, and UN 
Special Representative Jan Pronk, Ahern also highlighted the 
need to remove impediments to humanitarian assistance in 
Darfur, and he subsequently claimed to have received 
assurances from the Sudanese government in that regard. 
Kelly noted that Irish NGOs active in Darfur, including 
 
DUBLIN 00000839  002 OF 002 
 
 
Trocaire and Concern, had pressed Ahern strongly on 
humanitarian access in the lead-up to the visit.  Kelly cited 
comments from DFA Political Director Rory Montgomery, who 
accompanied Ahern to Sudan, that the humanitarian situation 
in Darfur remained troubling, though seemingly not as bad as 
earlier in the year.  When emboffs asked for Ahern's general 
views on the viability of the DPA, Kelly replied that the 
challenge lay in signing all parties up to the agreement, 
including factions whose leaders resided outside the region 
and thus were removed from the tragedy on the ground. 
 
Balkans 
------- 
 
¶6.  (C) Kelly expected GAERC discussions on the Balkans to 
focus on Kosovo, with plans for UN Special Envoy Ahtisaari, 
EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, and European 
Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn to brief ministers on 
progress in the final status process.  Kelly said that Solana 
and Rehn would likely concentrate on the major role to be 
played by the EU in post-status Kosovo, a role that Ireland 
would strongly support.  Kelly also pointed out the challenge 
of helping Serbia to play a more constructive role in the 
final status talks, while at the same time insisting that 
Belgrade show full cooperation with ICTY.  He added that the 
Irish Government was pleased with the successful Macedonian 
elections, but shared U.S. concerns about isolated violence 
that marked the event.  He also noted that the GAERC would 
likely not discuss Bosnia, due to the more pressing Middle 
East concerns. 
 
Congo 
----- 
 
¶7.  Like the United States, Ireland and EU Member States see 
the DRC's July 30 presidential and parliamentary elections as 
a monumental step toward resolving a conflict that has 
destabilized central Africa, said Kelly.  He noted that the 
Irish Government was generally optimistic about the 
elections' prospects, notwithstanding disappointments that 
had marked previous optimistic phases in the conflict.  Kelly 
pointed out that the EU and Ireland had contributed euro 235 
million and euro 1 million, respectively, to the DRC 
electoral process.  Ireland also planned to assign two 
persons to the EU's election monitoring team. 
 
North Korea 
----------- 
 
¶8.  Kelly said that DFA points on North Korea remained those 
conveyed to Post in ref D, in which Ireland supported EU-U.S. 
solidarity in pressing for a return to the 6-Party diplomatic 
approach.  Kelly also commented on the difficulty of reading 
Kim Jong Il's motives with the recent missile tests, noting 
the "loopy" communication that North Korea's Foreign Ministry 
had had with some EU Member States' diplomats in recent years. 
 
Transnistria 
------------ 
 
¶9.  The Irish Government agreed with ref C demarche points on 
the need for diplomatic efforts, particularly by Russia, to 
prevent the planned September 17 referendum on Transnistria's 
independence, which Kelly described as a "surreal 
development."  He also recounted a discussion on the margins 
of the informal EU Political Directors meeting in Helsinki 
the week of July 3, in which EU diplomats speculated that the 
Transnistrian Supreme Soviet's announcement on the referendum 
was partly a response to a recent car bomb in Tiraspol that 
killed nine ethnic Russians. 
KENNY