VZCZCXRO8222
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHMS #1587/01 3181250
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141250Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY MUSCAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7401
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0454
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0346
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 001587 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI, AND INR/R/MR 
STATE PASS USTR FOR N. MOORJANI, J. BUNTIN 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
USCENTCOM FOR PLUSH 
FOREIGN PRESS CENTER FOR SILAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KPAO KMDR MU
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: TRAFICKING IN PERSONS, ISRAEL CRIMES 
AMERICAN VITO AND US ELECTION RESULTS 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Government-owned daily "Oman" condemned the latest 
Israeli assault against Palestinians and called for a strong action 
by the Security Council to deter Israel. Private daily "Al-Watan" 
believes that, condemnation or no condemnation, injustices against 
the Palestinians will continue. Posters on discussion forum "Al 
Sablah" opined that the American midterm elections matter little, as 
the U.S. is unlikely to change it policies towards Arabs.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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COVERAGE 
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¶2.  On November 9 and 10, "Oman" front-paged news of U.S. election 
results. Private daily "Al-Watan" front-paged the Israeli attacks of 
Bait Hanoon accompanied with photos of killed and injured women and 
children.   All dailies front-paged news of the U.S. Security 
Council veto on November 12. 
 
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BLOCK QUOTES:  OMAN COMBATS TRAFFICKING 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  On November 8, private Arabic daily "al-Watan" (circulation 
42,000) praised Oman's efforts to fight human trafficking and its 
commitment to the human rights according to the international laws: 
 
"Trafficking in persons is a severe criminal human rights violation. 
 Despite the fact that the task of guarding the frontiers against 
international criminal organizations committing trafficking is very 
hard and cumbersome, the Sultanate has a bright record...  In this 
respect, the UN's Special Rapporteur praised the Sultanate's efforts 
in protecting human rights and combating trafficking in persons." 
 
------------------------------------ 
UN THE "LAST OPTION" TO DETER ISRAEL 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶5.   State Arabic daily "Oman" (circulation 38,000) used more than 
usually acerbic language on November 10 to decry "the Israeli 
entity" as an evil force in the region in an editorial, "The 
Security Council and Deterring Israel": 
 
"Under the shadow of continous Israeli crimes and the silence of the 
world, the Security Council remains the last option to deter the 
Israeli entity for continuing all these horrible crimes against the 
Palestinian people.  What Israel has done against women and children 
in Palestine for more than half a century, disregarding all 
international legitimate resolutions with American support and as a 
result of Arab weakness, is a horrible and cruel crime. The world is 
witnessing how a hateful entity is again proving itself to discount 
the significance of human lives and how crime is rooted in their 
behavior. This entity does not want peace, preferring instead to 
swallow the rights of Palestinian people, dominate the region, and 
use its resources." 
 
---------------------------------------- 
UNSC:  ACKNOWLEDGING ISRAELI "WAR CRIME" 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  "Al-Watan" also questioned the purpose of any UN condemnation of 
Israeli action without implementation of its resolutions on November 
11, asking "What is the benefit of Condemnation in the Absence of 
Action?": 
 
"At a time when members of the Security Council are discussing 
whether or not to condemn Israeli massacres in Bait Hanoon, the 
Israelis were continuing their assault against another house in Gaza 
because, as they claim, it belongs to a member of the People's Front 
in Jabaliya. This means any talk of condemnation does nothing for 
the Palestinian reality in the face of Washington's veto. America 
will not let any decision against Israel pass in the Security 
Council, even just a condemnation. There is a need to protect 
Palestinians and prepare for the resumption of the peace process... 
The first step will be fulfilling Palestinian demands to consider 
the Israeli attacks as war crime that should be accounted for." 
 
--------------------------------- 
ONLINE: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE... 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  This week members of "Al-Sablah," Oman's largest online 
 
MUSCAT 00001587  002 OF 002 
 
 
discussion forum (www.omania.net), discussed the U.S. midterm 
elections in terms of the expectation of new foreign policy towards 
Arab and Middle East, generating a total 1,214 hits and 25 comments 
over several threads.  The response below is representative: 
 
"The results of the U.S. elections will doubtless result in new 
policies and resolutions in the region. The first step toward that 
change was the resignation of Secretary Rumsfield, and that will 
likely be followed by other strategies. There is a fear that Bush 
might resort to opening a new front in the region. America will 
witness a change in its defense and foreign policies, not because 
Democrats won the elections, but because they are currently not 
maintaining any progress but rather undermining internal security 
and their own interests.  In the end, however, it does not matter 
who won the elections, Democrats or Republicans, because both are 
enemies of the Arabs and all Muslims, and American strategies will 
always work against us. I strongly agree that nothing will change 
Americans policies towards us, and so we should not change our 
resolve to resist America until we return Palestine and free Iraq. 
There is also another question: will Rumsfeld and Bush be prosecuted 
for their violations of human rights?" 
 
GRAPPO