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DE RUEHDM #2393/01 1431312
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O 231312Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9145
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 5975
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 3837
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 2351
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7043
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1014
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4416
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0639
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 6780

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 02393 
 
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: EU Human Rights Statement, 
Syria/Palestinians, Syria/Kuwait, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian 
Territories (5/23) 
 
 
¶1. Summary: Syrian papers continued their strong criticism of 
European countries, against the background of a statement from 
the EU Presidency criticizing the recent arrest of human rights 
activists in Syria. 
Papers also featured Information Minister Dr. Mohsen Bilal's 
meetings with Ambassadors of Denmark and Serbia in Damascus, in 
which he said that "Syria has been careful about the right of 
its citizens," and reiterated the importance of boosting 
dialogue among all states and peoples on various parliamentary, 
information and media levels. 
 
Hasan Yusuf, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, opposed 
the detention of Syrian intellectuals who signed the Beirut- 
Damascus Declaration, although he does not agree with them. He 
called for their release "to silence the evil tongues" at home 
and abroad. 
 
On Syrian-Palestinian relations, papers reported the visit to 
Damascus of Palestinian Interior Minister Said Seyam and his 
meeting with Syrian Interior Minister Major General Bassam Abdul 
Majid.  They discussed Syria's arrangements to allow 
Palestinians to visit Syria with passports issued by the 
Palestinian Authority, to ease their communication with their 
relatives and families living in Syria and to alleviate their 
suffering due to the unfair siege imposed against them by the 
Israeli forces of occupation. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"Information Minister Bilal confers with Ambassadors of Denmark 
and Serbia and MonteNegro, criticizing the European statement on 
human rights: The EU statement ignored human rights in Iraq and 
Palestine" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) 
 
"Minister of Interior of Abdul Majed discusses with Palestinian 
Minister of Interior Seyam facilitation for Palestinians to enter 
Syria with passports issued by the Palestinian Authority" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) 
 
"Syrian Chief of Staff Brigadier General Habib discusses with a 
Kuwaiti military delegation cooperation between the Syrian and 
Kuwaiti armies" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 5/23) 
 
"As condemnations of UNSC Resolution 1680 continue, Lebanon 
celebrates the anniversary of liberating South Lebanon, 
emphasizing the importance of national resistance. Former 
Lebanese Prime Minister al-Hoss and senior officials express 
support for Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawar, 5/23) 
 
"In a statement to Lebanese daily As-Safir, Yemeni Prime 
Minister: The Lebanese people are enemies of themselves and are 
committing mistakes against Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 
5/23) 
 
"Inter-Palestinian clashes precede resumption of the National 
Palestinian dialogue" Government-owned Tishreen, 5/23) 
 
"Israel escalates aggression against Palestinians. US President 
Bush discusses with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert the 
disengagement plan for the West Bank" (Government-owned Al-Ba'th, 
5/23) 
 
"Iraqi Prime Minister al-Malki expects that Iraqi forces are to 
be handed security missions by the end of 2006" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 5/23) 
 
"Will Blair's visit to Baghdad save his deteriorating popularity? 
An American soldier and scores of Iraqis killed in Anbbar, 
Baqouba and Baghdad" (government-owned Tishreen, 5/23) 
 
Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
 
------------------------------- 
 
"Europe Yearns for Colonialism" 
 
------------------------------- 
 
Abdul-Fattah al-Awad, Chief Editor of government-owned Al- 
Thawra, commented (5/23): "Europe is yearning for its 
colonialist past.... Europe, especially some of its influential 
countries, has a strong desire to put on 'modern' colonialist 
attire. Not only does it want to offer 'advice' with or without 
reason, but it also sees the region as part of its property. It 
is interfering in details, disregarding countries' sovereignty 
and right to manage their own affairs.... 
 
"What makes the EU countries concerned over human rights in 
Syria when they were unable to do anything when seeing and 
hearing human right scandals on their own territories in the 
form of flying and non-flying prisons...? Europe remains silent 
when it comes to the United States and Israel. Indeed, it 
contributes to the siege against the Palestinians only because 
they chose, through democratic elections, leaders whom Israel 
does not like.... 
 
"Europe compensates for its weakness in the face of the United 
States and Israel by meddling in the affairs of the countries 
that broke free from its colonialism.... 
 
"The statement of the EU presidency is part of the pressure on 
Syria and suggests that Europe seeks to play a role that pleases 
the American master.... When the [Syrian-EU] association 
agreement was initialed [in October 2004] we expected the final 
signing to take place within three months. But some influential 
EU members fell under the pressure of the United States..." 
 
------------------------ 
 
"Sorry, European Master" 
 
------------------------ 
 
Izz-al-Din al-Darwish, an editorialist in government-owned 
Tishreen, wrote (5/23): "There is no excuse for Europe, or some 
of its influential countries, to harm Syria and its people and 
history in this blatant manner.... We do not think they are more 
concerned than us about democracy, human rights, and 
international agreements. If they were really concerned about 
human rights, they would not mobilize all their resources to 
impose a siege on defenseless Palestinian people, who are under 
aggression and whose land is under occupation, and to prevent 
the arrival of food and medicine to them.... 
 
"Sorry, selfish, lurking European master: Syria does not need 
your interference. It knows you and it knows what you want 
through these shameful acts. It also knows how to safeguard its 
national unity and how to defend the interests of its people. 
The day will come when you will apologize to the Syrian people 
for what you have done and for the services you have rendered to 
Israel, the enemy of Syria, Lebanon, and all Arabs. And 
definitely you will be disappointed this time too. Syria will 
not bargain over its interests and national and pan-Arab 
principles. Nor will it relinquish an iota of its occupied soil. 
Hardships only increase its power and strength...." 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
"The Way to Silence Evil Tongues" 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
Hasan M. Yusuf, a columnist in government-owned Tishreen, 
commented (5/23): "Syria is targeted these days by a strong 
media campaign due to the arrest of researcher Michel Kilo and a 
number of his colleagues who signed the Damascus-Beirut 
Declaration. As an independent writer working in the state-owned 
 
 
Tishreen newspaper, I find myself obliged to clarify my 
position. It is true that I was not invited to sign that 
declaration, but if I were, I wouldn't sign it, although I 
believe in the need to correct relations between the two 
fraternal countries as soon as possible. I believe the 
declaration is unbalanced, adopting assumptions that the 
investigation has not proved. But at the same time I find myself 
obliged to say that I am against the arrest of Michel Kilo and 
the others who were detained because of the declaration. When 
you disagree with ideas and visions you should respond by 
offering other ideas and visions. Differences of the pen must be 
settled on paper. 
 
"What is worrying in this issue is that many local, regional, 
and international parties have taken advantage of researcher 
Kilo's case and begun to attack Syria ferociously, playing into 
the hands of the neoconservatives and their spearhead -- the 
Zionist entity that usurps Palestine. 
 
"Hypocrisy has reached a level that really gets on one's nerves. 
The day before yesterday the EU leveled an unprecedented 
criticism against Syria. It said that 'the EU expresses its deep 
concern about the recent widespread harassment of human rights 
defenders, their families, and peaceful political activists, in 
particular arbitrary arrests and repeated incommunicado 
detention.' 
 
"I admit that the above-quoted EU sentence has indeed provoked 
me. It sees the wrong only where it pleases Europeans and serves 
their allies. 
 
"The EU sees in the arrest of a number of individuals a 
'widespread' violation, but it keeps silent on the systematic 
assassination that the Zionist entity is practicing against the 
living and resisting forces among our Palestinian people. It 
also remains silent about starving the Palestinian people only 
because they exercised the democratic choice that was desired 
for them but did not elect people acceptable to Bush, Blair, and 
Chirac! 
 
"I believe Europeans are not concerned about the freedom of 
thinker Kilo or any of his colleagues, just as they are not 
concerned about the pains of the Palestinian people. Their only 
objective is to pour salt on our wounds! 
 
"The European hypocrisy is nothing new. When Ahmadinezhad called 
for transferring Israel to Europe, his statement was considered 
a threat to annihilate Israel, and all hell broke loose. But 
when Shim'on Peres threatened to wipe Iran off the face of the 
earth, the Europeans kept silent, as if he had said nothing. 
 
"I, therefore, whisper in the ears of those who are concerned 
with Syria's interest: Gentlemen, release Michel Kilo and his 
colleagues and silence the evil tongues. This is a time for 
addition, not subtraction." 
 
JOHNSON-CASARES