VZCZCXYZ0031
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0347/01 1011349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111349Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3288
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6710
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4449
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3065
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7600
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1670
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5004
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1214
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7339

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000347 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR PA, NEA/ARN, INR/IC/CD, INR/R/MR:STHIBEAULT AND 
JMCCARTER, VOA NEWS CA, NEA/PPD:CBOURGEOIS, AZAIBACK, AND 
AFERNANDEZ, IIP/G/NEA-SA MDAVIDSON 
WHITE HOUSE FOR NSC 
CENTCOM FOR CCPA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KMDR PREL KPAO OPRC SY
SUBJECT:  Syria/Macedonia, Syria/US, Terrorism, Iraq, Palestinian 
Territories (4/11) 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Syrian papers on Apr. 11 reported President Asad's and 
VP Shara's meetings on Apr. 10 with Macedonian Foreign Minister 
Antonio Milososki.  Talks dealt with bilateral relations and the 
latest developments in the Balkans and the Middle East. 
 
Papers also featured a statement by Tom Lantos, Chairman of Foreign 
Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives, that he wants 
to visit Syria again and "will not bow to the Bush Administration' 
s 
policy, which denies contacts with those who disagree in opinion 
with it." 
 
Papers also cited statements by two members of the US House of 
Representatives who accompanied Speaker Pelosi on her visit to 
Syria, emphasizing the importance of the visit in opening channels 
of dialogue which can lead to understanding and solutions to the 
problems in the region.  Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, 
told reporters following his return to Washington that it is 
important to keep channels of dialogue open with Syria and that the 
US delegation's visit to the Middle East was useful and exploratory 
and sent the message that the United States wants to cooperate with 
the peoples of the Middle East.  Another Democrat, Louise Slaughter, 
from New York, said that that the US delegation's visit to Syria 
aimed at holding talks with Syrian officials on how the United 
States can contribute to improving the situation there.  She 
indicated that although President Bush runs US foreign policy, the 
US Congress finances it, hence the importance of the visit to the 
Middle East.  She pointed out that the visits of 14 congressmen to 
Syria in the past few months have helped curb White House criticism 
of such visits. 
 
Papers also reported the inauguration of a conference on 
"International Law and Challenges in the 21st Century" at Damascus 
University on Apr. 10, organized by the Orient Center for Economic 
and International Studies, in cooperation with the UK Embassy in 
Damascus.  "The conference sheds light on some challenges facing 
international law, particularly after 9/11, which resulted in a 
group of new legal concepts, starting with adoption of UNSC 
Resolution 1373, which defined terrorism as a threat to 
international peace and security," said Ghassan Obeid, Director of 
International Relations at the Syrian Foreign Ministry.  He added: 
"The US exploited this resolution, considering the 9/11 events as an 
armed attack, making it a pretext to use force against other 
countries, in a way that is a violation of international law."  "It 
is not acceptable for any state, on the pretext that its national 
security is threatened, to commit violations against human rights, 
including the rights of life, liberty and freedom from torture."  A 
Professor of International Law at Damascus University, Aboud Saraj, 
stressed that Syria was one of the first countries to combat 
terrorism and called in 1986 for an international conference to 
define terrorism.  "While the UN was able to take a courageous 
stance against US preparations to attack Iraq in 2003, it has failed 
to solve a lot of conflicts and issues, particularly the 
Arab-Israeli conflict, which has continued for decades," Dr. Saraj 
said.  British Ambassador in Damascus John Jenkins expressed hope 
that the conference would be a turning point that could find active 
solutions to a number of threats and challenges facing international 
law.  The Director of the Orient Center, Samir al-Taki, charged that 
US and Israeli circles try to use international law as a tool to 
justify aggression, reinforce the concept of preemptive wars and 
intervene in internal affairs of sovereign countries.  The 2-day 
conference will discuss the role of civil societies in avoiding 
conflicts and accountability in the international community. 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"International Crisis Group:  Israel has to return to negotiations 
with Syria" (Independent al-Watan, 4/11) 
 
"President Asad reviews the latest developments in the region and 
Syrian-Macedonian relations, with Macedonian Foreign Minister 
Antonio Milososki" (Government-owned Tishreen, 4/11) 
 
"Democratic Member of the US House of Representatives and Chairman 
of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs Tom Lantos: 
 
President Asad strongly encourages continuation of the 
Syrian-American dialogue.  Congressmen who accompanied Pelosi 
express satisfaction with the outcome of visit to Damascus" 
(Government-owned Tishreen, 4/11) 
 
"European Union Ambassador to Damascus:  We seek an important 
association agreement with Syria" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 
4/11) 
 
"Lebanese national opposition: The US Embassy in Beirut is an 
operation room to stir up sedition in Lebanon" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 4/11) 
 
"US Newspaper 'Washington Post':  Israeli settlements are worse than 
racial discrimination" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 4/11) 
 
"Conference of 'International Law and Challenges in the 21st 
Century' inaugurated at Damascus University. America endeavors to 
reinforce the concept of preemptive wars" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 4/11) 
 
"The US Congress excludes forces of Palestinian Authority President 
Mahmoud Abbas from financial siege.  Hanieh:  Releasing Shalit 
depends on responding to our demands" (Government-owned Tishreen, 
4/11) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
----------------- 
"The Right Thing" 
----------------- 
Umar Jaftali, an editorialist in government-owned Tishrin, wrote 
(4/11):  "When some American politicians say that US House Speaker 
Nancy Pelosi did the right thing when she visited Damascus and that 
Condoleezza Rice must do the same thing because dialogue with Syria 
is very important, this means that some Americans outside the circle 
of the neoconservatives now realize the big flaw in their country's 
foreign policy and the need to correct the accumulated mistakes that 
resulted from the use of crooked methods to address the issues of 
the region, methods that do not befit a superpower with the 
responsibility of serving justice and implementing international law 
and UN resolutions.... 
"The US politicians who visited Syria found out that Syria's picture 
is different from the one painted by neoconservatives, which 
entailed unfairness, preconceptions, and forging of facts.... 
"There must a constructive dialogue between Damascus and Washington 
to reach common denominators that will help resolve the existing 
crisis, which has become complicated due to the mistakes of US 
policy, whether in Iraq or in the occupied Arab territories...." 
--------------------- 
"Correcting Mistakes" 
--------------------- 
Adnan Ali, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawrah, wrote 
(4/11):  "Pelosi's visit gave another signal that the policy of 
isolation and siege that the Bush administration has adopted toward 
Syria is crumbling.... 
"Any policy ignoring Syria's role in the region is necessarily 
wrong.... Dialogue between Damascus and Washington should proceed 
from an acknowledgement of a fact that Democrats in the United 
States are loudly announcing, namely, that the policies of Bush's 
administration in Iraq have failed because they are based on force 
and arrogance and because of the mistaken decision to invade Iraq 
without a logical reason." 
-------------------- 
"Even after a While" 
-------------------- 
Ali Qasim, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawrah, wrote 
(4/11):  "Remarks by British magazine The Economist that Syria 
managed, through President Asad's intelligence, patience, and firm 
positions, to overcome circumstances and the pressure it came under, 
are fair.... 
 
"A number of the members of the US House of Representatives who 
accompanied the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy 
Pelosi, on her visit to Syria, emphasized the importance of the 
visit in opening channels of dialogue which would lead to 
understanding and finding solutions to the problems in the 
 
region.... 
"Many of those who wagered on isolating Syria found themselves 
ultimately isolated from issues of the region, and those who deluded 
themselves into thinking that pressure could force Syria to change 
its positions and principles collided with the fact that everyone 
now can see, namely, that others were forced to change their 
positions...." 
--------------------------------- 
"An Authoritative Administration" 
--------------------------------- 
Ahmad Dawwa, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawrah, wrote 
(4/11):  "If the US Administration really believes in democracy, 
then it must listen to the American people who are calling for 
withdrawal from Iraq and to the Iraqi people who demonstrated 
against US occupation on its fourth anniversary of the fall of 
Baghdad.... 
"President Bush still wagers on time and promises to achieve some 
success on the ground, despite the absence of any political or 
operational factors to give him a glimpse of hope.  This proves his 
despotism in decision-making and, consequently, his indifference to 
the lives of US soldiers and the reputation of the United States in 
the world...." 
Corbin