VZCZCXRO1032
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHVI #1482 1391513
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 191513Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3567
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0181

UNCLAS VIENNA 001482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL SY AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN EU PRESIDENCY ISSUES DECLARATION 
REGARDING RECENT ARRESTS IN SYRIA 
 
REF: STATE 77093 
 
This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Embassy Vienna delivered ref demarche to Austrian 
Foreign Ministry May 18. 
 
¶2.  (U)  On May 19, the Austrian EU Presidency issued a 
declaration urging the Syrian authorities to reconsider all 
cases of political prisoners and immediately release all 
prisoners of conscience.  The text of the declaration follows. 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union 
regarding the recent arrests in Syria 
 
Recalling the Presidency's statement of 19th January, the 
European Union expresses regret that the positive steps taken 
in January 2006 regarding the human rights situation in Syria 
have not been continued.  On the contrary, the situation has 
substantially deteriorated.  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.  The European Union calls on the 
Syrian government to fully respect freedom of expression and 
assembly as laid down in the Syrian Constitution and in the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified 
by Syria in 1969, which should be fully in force in light of 
the recent limitation of the emergency law to matters 
strictly concerning state security. 
 
The European Union urges the Syrian authorities to reconsider 
all cases of political prisoners and immediately release all 
prisoners of conscience. 
 
Phillips