VZCZCXRO8106
OO RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHDM #0401/01 1161359
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 261359Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3387
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0414
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0246

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DAMASCUS 000401 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS FOR WALLER; LONDON FOR TSOU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017 
TAGS: PGOV ODIP SY
SUBJECT: CHARGE RAISES SARG TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS WITH MFA 
 
REF: 06 DAMASCUS 1216 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Michael Corbin, per 1.4 b,d. 
 
 ¶1.  (C) Summary:  In an April 23 meeting, Charge raised with 
our designated MFA contact, Director of Protocol Amir Smadi, 
the issue of recent SARG efforts to restrict the travel of 
diplomats in Syria, protesting in particular a recent MFA 
dipnote and citing SARG efforts aimed at DAO travel.  Smadi 
was incoherent on the reasoning of the dipnote, changing his 
explanation several times in the meeting.  His bottom line 
was that the DATT's of the U.S., U.K. and The Netherlands 
were the problem.  Charge said we did not accept restrictions 
on DATTs and that we and other diplomatic missions did not 
understand the note on travel.  Text of the Syrian dipnote is 
included in para. seven below.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) In an April 23 meeting on administrative matters, 
Charge raised with our designated MFA contact, Director of 
Protocol Amir Smadi, the issue of recent SARG efforts to 
restrict the travel of diplomats in Syria.  The Charge 
pointed to an April 15 dipnote, addressed to all diplomatic 
missions and international organizations accredited to Syria, 
which required advance MFA notification and approval for any 
trips outside the city ("governorate") of Damascus.  The 
Charge noted that such regulations would require permission 
even for travel to outlying suburbs such as Saboura, where 
many diplomats live.  The Charge further noted that diplomats 
normally travel all over the country to which they are posted 
and do not need to ask permission for such trips, adding that 
no such restrictions are imposed on Syrian diplomats posted 
to Washington or New York. 
 
¶3.   (C) Smadi somewhat defensively noted that these 
instructions had been prompted by the travel of the military 
attaches, in particular from the embassies of the U.S, the 
U.K. and Canada, (note: although Smadi said Canada, we 
believe he ment The Netherlands, as later the later has had 
problems with the authorities while the canadians have not. 
End note.) who had gone to sensitive sites without 
authorization. Ignoring the specific, very restrictive 
language in the dipnote, Smadi at one point said the MFA 
would be "flexible" on the directive and noted that such 
restrictions were for trips to sensitive areas, like the 
border with Iraq, or for trips more than 100 kms outside of 
Damascus.  He indicated later that they only applied to the 
travel of the military attaches.  He subsequently 
contradicted himself and said that if the Charge traveled to 
Aleppo for vacation with his family for a few days, it was 
actually advisable for him to let the Syrian authorities know 
about it, for their own protection.  Smadi also made clear 
that the restrictions did not originate from the MFA but had 
been imposed on the MFA by the Syrian security services. 
 
¶4.  (C) Charge responded that the MFA note made no sense, 
reiterated his protest, and made clear that any SARG attempt 
to enforce such regulations would be problematic and viewed 
as a violation of diplomatic conventions and of the principle 
of reciprocal treatment.  Charge also said that if there was 
an effort to restrict attaches it was not clear what the 
measures meant.  Charge noted that other Diplomatic Missions 
were asking the same questions about the diplomatic note and 
the MFA was breaking all diplomatic norms. 
 
¶5.  (C) COMMENT:  This is not the first time the SARG has 
issued such a dipnote attempting to limit in-country travel 
for all diplomatic missions and international organizations. 
The SARG issued similar notes to all Missions in April and 
November 2006, and July 2005.  This most recent note comes in 
the context (as did the other notes cited) of SARG efforts to 
focus on and restrict DAO travel.  While these three notes 
are addressed to all diplomatic missions, the precipitating 
event for the issuance seems to be SARG security services' 
reaction to travel by the DAO (and in the most recent case, 
travel as well by the British and Dutch military attaches). 
We have previously informed the SARG by diplomatic note, most 
recently in August 2006, that such travel restrictions are a 
violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 
which accords diplomats freedom of movement throughout the 
host country.   The SARG responded in a dipnote dated August 
8, 2006, saying that Article 26 of the Vienna Convention 
states that in-country travel by diplomats is subject to the 
host country's "laws and regulations concerning zones entry 
into which is prohibited or regulated for reasons of national 
security."   Consequently, asserted the dipnote, Syria has 
 
DAMASCUS 00000401  002 OF 002 
 
 
the right to restrict freedom of movement for diplomats in 
accordance with "the concerns of the host country's national 
security." 
 
¶6.  (U) The other issues discussed with Smadi, the 
possibility of moving forward on a new embassy compound and 
of SARG street closings at the current Embassy, are covered 
septel. 
 
¶7.  (U) Text of the most recent MFA dipnote:  The Foreign 
Ministry of the Syrian Arab Republic presents its compliments 
to all Arab brotherly Missions and Foreign Missions and all 
International Organizations accredited to Damascus and with 
reference to its previous circular No. 28 dated November 13, 
2006, has the honor to assert the following: 
--  Should inform the Foreign Ministry Protocol Department 
ahead of time for the trips that Diplomats want to make 
outside the governorate of Damascus City. 
-- Necessity to get the approval of the Ministry ahead of 
time before conducting such trips, in order that the 
necessary measures can be taken. 
The Foreign Ministry avails itself of this opportunity to 
renew to the missions and organizations the assurances of its 
highest consideration.  End Text of Dipnote. 
 
 
 
 
 
CORBIN