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DE RUEHDM #0313/01 0301208
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O 301208Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6754
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5756
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3649
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2111
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 6880
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0749
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4243
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0471
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6622

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000313 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/S:STHIBEAULT AND 
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, DBENZE AND 
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA RWINCHESTER 
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
CENTCOM FOR CCPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT: Damascus Media Reaction: HAMAS Victory, Mashaal Visit, 
Syria/Russia, Lebanon, Iraq (1/30) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary: Syrian papers today reported President Asad's 
meeting on January 29 with Khalid Mashaal, Chief of HAMAS' 
Political Bureau. Talks dealt with the results of the 
Palestinian elections. President Asad congratulated Mashaal on 
the HAMAS victory and stressed that the results of the election 
will enhance Palestinian unity. Both Asad and Mashaal reiterated 
the importance of respecting the will of Palestinians as 
expressed at the ballot box, and called upon the various Arab, 
regional, and international parties to respect this will and 
deal with the outcome of the election as the legitimate 
expression of the Palestinian will. Commentators focused on the 
results of the Palestinian election and called on Americans and 
Europeans to respect the will of the Palestinian people. 
Commentators saw in HAMAS' triumph a victory for the option of 
"resistance" and adherence to Palestinian rights. They called 
upon the world to apply pressure on Israel to end its occupation 
of the Palestinian territories. 
 
Papers also featured a Foreign Ministry statement that expressed 
Syria's shock at the cartoons in a Danish newspaper. The source 
said that while Syria strongly condemns the encroachment upon 
the highest symbol of the Arab and Islamic nations, it stresses 
that respect for the symbols and values of others is what gives 
the Arab and Islamic culture its human nature and constitutes 
the basic pillar of dialogue and interaction among 
civilizations, based on the common values of humanity. The 
source said Syria calls on the Danish government to take the 
necessary measures to punish the offenders and prevent the 
recurrence of such offenses. 
 
On Syrian/Russian relations, papers reported the visit to 
Damascus by Russian Chief-of-Staff, Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky. The 
two sides exchanged viewpoints on ways enhance and develop 
cooperation and friendship between the two friendly armies, and 
on issues of mutual interest. 
 
End summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"President Asad congratulates Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah on 
the occasion of his oath as Emir of Kuwait and discusses the 
results of Palestinian elections with Khaled Mashaal, Chief of 
HAMAS Political Bureau. President Asad confirms that the outcome 
of the elections will consolidate the unity of Palestinians" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 1/30) 
 
"Ali Habib, Chief-of-Staff of the Syrian Army, discusses with 
Russian Chief-of-Staff Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky ways of strengthening 
cooperative relations between the Syrian and Russian armies" 
(Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 1/30) 
 
"Syrian Foreign Ministry official source: Syria was shocked by 
cartoons in a Danish newspaper insulting Arab Prophet Muhammad, 
God's peace and prayers be upon him. Syria calls on the Danish 
government to take the necessary measures to punish offenders" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 1/30) 
 
"Former Lebanese Minister We'am Wahab: Some Lebanese MPs are 
carrying out orders from western embassies" (Government-owned Al- 
Thawra, 1/30) 
 
"Olmert calls on HAMAS to respect the Oslo Accord and the 
Roadmap. HAMAS confirms: No change on our charter. We will 
discuss fulfillment of justice with Bush" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 1/30) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
---------------------- 
 
"A Message of Victory" 
 
---------------------- 
 
Ali Nasrallah, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, 
 
commented (1/30): "The HAMAS' election victory was a message 
from the Palestinian people to the world that the problem lies, 
first and foremost, with the Israeli occupation and that the 
approach to a peace settlement, therefore, should be 
different.... The Western world, which claims to be civilized, 
free, and democratic, has rejected this Palestinian message and 
threatened to boycott the next Palestinian government and to 
stop aid to the Palestinian people.... 
 
"US President George Bush suggested that Palestinians voted for 
leadership change and for better services.... Palestinians voted 
for the right of return, for independence, for the creation of a 
state, and for the restoration of rights, of Jerusalem, and of 
the occupied territories. They voted for the resistance that 
will achieve all their objectives." 
 
"The United States and the rest of the Western world, which are 
calling on HAMAS to change its policy so that they can deal with 
the movement, should change their policy toward the Palestinian 
question and the Palestinian people. The United States should 
respect the results of the election and the will and options of 
the Palestinian people and refrain from interfering in their 
affairs...." 
 
------------------------ 
 
"Before and After HAMAS" 
 
------------------------ 
 
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned 
Tishreen, maintained (1/30): "Israel stated that it will not 
cooperate with any HAMAS government.... Israel has never 
cooperated seriously with any Palestinian force representing the 
Palestinian people.... 
 
"The current Palestinian Authority, for example, was established 
on the basis of agreements and understandings concluded with 
Israel that the international community, particularly the United 
States, sponsored. Have the successive Israeli governments 
seriously cooperated with this Authority? Definitely not; there 
are thousands of pieces of evidence to prove this. Everyone in 
the region and beyond realizes this fact.... 
 
"When Palestinians went to the polls and voted so extensively 
for HAMAS, they must have borne in mind all Palestinian and 
Israeli probabilities and must have chosen what they saw as more 
appropriate for them under the circumstances of the occupation 
and its practices.... They understand what Israel is planning on 
all levels, primarily on the level of negotiations. And they 
know what their current Authority offered them and what HAMAS 
might be able to offer. In the final analysis the choice was 
definitely their choice, as certified by all local, Arab, and 
foreign observers.... 
 
"The current stage dictates opening a new chapter in Palestinian 
life based on strong national unity and adherence to national 
rights. There are positive signals in this regard based on 
statements by HAMAS and other Palestinian leaders." 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
"One Who Claims Democracy must Respect its Results" 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
Ahmad Dawwa, an editorialist in government-owned Al-Thawra, said 
(1/30): "The American and European positions toward HAMAS' 
election victory show the falsehood of their claims that they 
support democracy in the region. Those who raise the slogan of 
democracy need to respect its results.... 
 
"Those who criticize HAMAS over its program and rejection of the 
agreements with the Israelis must ask this question: Is Israel 
committed to the agreements that resulted from the Oslo Accord 
and to subsequent accords, so that HAMAS can be asked to abide 
 
by them? Why are successive Israeli governments allowed to 
reject agreements they have signed with the Palestinians while 
the Palestinian governments are not allowed to do that? Should 
HAMAS and others be criticized for their adherence to the rights 
of the Palestinian people and the will of the voters? 
"It is unfair to say that HAMAS won because the Palestinian 
voters were punishing Fatah for its conduct and monopoly on 
power. "The Palestinians voted for a political, social, and 
economic program that HAMAS offered in its election campaign. 
They trust that the movement will continue to work to implement 
this program, especially since the movement has effectively been 
implementing this program on the ground since its establishment. 
 
"If the international community is really eager to consolidate 
democracy in the region, as it claims, then it must, firstly, 
respect the will of the peoples of the region and, secondly, 
apply pressure on Israel, which occupies land and practices 
aggression, to end the occupation and aggression." 
 
"HAMAS has an interim political program that is not different, 
in essence, from the programs of the other factions, namely, the 
establishment of a Palestinian state on all the territories that 
were occupied in 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital. It is not 
HAMAS' right, or the right of anyone else, to shut the door in 
the face of future Palestinian generations regarding crucial 
issues that the Palestinian people at home and abroad must 
determine when the right time comes." 
 
----------------------- 
 
"Power of Joint Action" 
 
----------------------- 
 
Maha Sultan, a commentator in government-owned Tishreen, wrote 
(1/30): "HAMAS asserted that it will engage in a domestic 
dialogue and will not monopolize power.... These positions, 
undoubtedly, deserve a bow of respect.... HAMAS, which the 
people gave the power to act unilaterally, without a partner, 
preferrs to see its enormous victory as a victory for everyone 
and to share this victory, with its positive and negative 
aspects and responsibilities, with everyone. Only then will the 
relationship with the foreign world, regionally and 
internationally, and the management of the conflict with Israel, 
be based on a correct and sound foundation." 
 
Seche