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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0532/01 1541203
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031203Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3593
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 6845
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 4561
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3200
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 7704
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1786
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5120
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 1324
RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL//CCPA//
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 7447

UNCLAS DAMASCUS 000532 
 
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/Iran, Syria/Brazil, Mashaal, Nahr al-Bared, 
Al-Hariri Tribunal (6/1-3) 
 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Syrian papers on June 1 focused on the visit to Syria 
by Iranian FM Manuchehr Mottaki and his meeting with President Asad 
on May 31, which focused on bilateral relations and the latest 
developments in the region, particularly in Iraq, Palestine and 
Lebanon.  Mottaki also met separately with VP Farouk al-Shara, 
Speaker of the People's Assembly Mahmoud al-Abrash and FM Walid 
Moallem. 
Papers on June 2 featured the press conference held jointly by 
Mottaki and Mouallem on June 1.  Mouallem confirmed that Syria will 
not cooperate with the UN tribunal being created to try suspects in 
the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri, saying 
that UN Resolution 1757, adopted on Wednesday by the Security 
Council, "has no bearing on Syria, and we have informed the Security 
Council that we will not cooperate."  "The issue of the tribunal 
concerns Lebanon alone, and Syria will not concede its sovereignty 
to any party, no matter who that party is," he said.  Mouallem said 
the move "infringes on Lebanese sovereignty," and he deplored "the 
speed with which the Security Council decided on a tribunal without 
unanimity either on an international or Lebanese level."  "It would 
have been better to have a consensus among the Lebanese on the 
tribunal.  We hope that the Lebanese use dialogue to reach an 
agreement that will end divisions and guarantee security and 
stability," Mouallem added. 
 
For his part, Mottaki said that Iran will only hold fresh talks with 
the United States on stabilizing Iraq if Washington changes its 
policies there.  "We are examining the results of those discussions 
and if there is a real willingness on the part of the US 
administration to change ..., we will continue them," he said.  "The 
lack of security in Iraq and the continuation of the occupation are 
the root causes of the crisis," Mottaki added.  "Iran is one of the 
countries that could help resolve the crisis," Mottaki said. 
 
On Syrian-Brazilian relations, papers on June 1 reported the visit 
to Damascus by Ricardo Brozini, Chairman of the Brazilian Labor 
Party, and his meetings with President Asad and FM Mouallem on May 
31 on boosting bilateral relations.  FM Mouallem reiterated the 
importance of the role that Brazil is playing in South America and 
the Non-Aligned Movement to support issues of developing countries. 
Brozini noted Syria's important role in achieving security and 
stability in the region.  In a statement to reporters following his 
meeting with Mouallem, Brozini stressed that Syria and Brazil are 
working together to cement peace in the Middle East, confirming his 
country's rejection of any project to impose domination on the 
region. 
 
Government-owned Al-Thawra on June 1, reported the meeting of the 
Chairman of the Hamas Politburo, Khaled Meshaal, with Vice President 
Farouk Shara on May 31, focusing on the situation in the Palestinian 
arena, Palestinians' sufferings under the Israeli siege, and 
attempts to overthrow the national unity government.  In a statement 
to reporters following the meeting, Mashaal objected to the Lebanese 
army's bombardment of Nahr al-Bared refugee camp after clashes with 
Fateh El-Islam militants and called for a peaceful solution to the 
crisis.  Mashaal told reporters that "Hamas is against Palestinian 
interference in Lebanese affairs and against targeting any Lebanese 
soldier, but we also don't accept the bombardment of the camp or 
punishment of our people, in Nahr El-Bared or elsewhere."  Mashaal 
stressed that Hamas is not a part of the problem and called on 
Lebanese officials to "deal peacefully" with the problem. 
 
Government-owned Al-Thawra featured a statement by Nasser Kindeel, 
Head of the Orient Center for Strategic Studies, and former Lebanese 
MP, that Lebanon has become vulnerable to all security and political 
possibilities following the establishment of the International 
Tribunal.  Kindeel charged that "the governing team in Lebanon has 
become unable to move after Lebanon has become mortgaged to US 
will." 
 
End of summary. 
 
¶2.  Selected Headlines: 
 
"President Asad confers with Iranian FM Mottaki.  Syrian and Iranian 
points of view were identical on confronting pressures and 
 
continuing mutual coordination and cooperation regarding the issues 
of the region" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) 
 
"At the conclusion of Syrian-Iranian talks, Foreign Minister 
Mouallem:  Our relations contribute to security and stability in the 
region.  The International Tribunal is a Lebanese issue.... Syria 
supports all that the Lebanese agree upon.  Iranian FM Mottaki: 
Iran supports Syria by all possible means" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 6/2) 
 
"Detainees from 'Fatah al-Islam' confirm sponsorship of their group 
by the Future Block.  Lebanese figures warn against putting Lebanon 
under US tutelage.  Omar Karami on the anniversary of martyrdom of 
Rashid Karami:  The governing team is gambling" (Government-owned 
Tishreen, 6/2) 
 
"A hot day in Nahr al-Bared.  Montreal News Bulletin: Al-Hariri 
coordinates with Israel on political and security issues.  Hizbollah 
warns against an ambush against the Lebanese army" (Government-owned 
Al-Thawra, 6/3) 
 
"Lucien Bitterlin, Chairman of the Syrian-French Friendship 
Association, warns against the negative repercussions of ratifying 
the International Tribunal at the Security Council" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/3) 
 
"Former Lebanese MP Kindeel:  Endorsement of the International 
Tribunal is a flagrant violation of the UN Charter" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) 
 
"Deputy FM Miqdad:  Endorsement of the International Tribunal has no 
international legitimacy" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) 
 
"Syrian-Brazilian talks.  Brozini:  The meeting with President Asad 
was positive and historic" (Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) 
 
"After meeting Khaled Mashaal, Chairman of Hamas Politburo, Shara: 
Attempts to target Palestinian national unity must be foiled" 
(Government-owned Al-Thawra, 6/1) 
 
¶3.  Editorial Block Quotes: 
 
----------------- 
 
"Al-Hariri Case" 
 
----------------- 
 
Isam Dari, Chief Editor of government-owned Tishreen, wrote (6/2): 
"The Security Council resolution on the establishment of the 
International Tribunal under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter lacked 
the most basic rules of logic and indeed contained inaccurate 
references. 
 
"The resolution talks about 'an agreement between the United Nations 
and Lebanon.'  But is this really the case?  If yes, where are the 
roles of the Lebanese president and the role of parliament speaker 
in this resolution? 
 
"What is more surprising, however, is that the resolution says that 
'the Lebanese people' were the party that asked for discovery of the 
criminals.  While acknowledging that all the Lebanese and all Arabs 
want to know who killed Al-Hariri, the Lebanese people did not ask 
the United States or its allies or the United Nations to set up an 
international court with such haste and based on Chapter Seven and 
before the end of the investigations and even before suspects were 
named.... 
 
"There are vindictive intentions and political objectives behind the 
resolution, serving intentions and objectives that are hostile not 
only to Lebanon but also to the Arab nation, and that serve Israel 
and its neoconservative protectors overseas.... 
 
"Those who have practiced killing, terrorism, wars, and destruction, 
and those who adopt the theories of creative instability and 
preemptive wars, have no right to talk about justice, for they are 
 
the first to violate it. 
 
"Chapter Seven of the UN charter appears to have been created 
specifically against Arabs.  Resort to this chapter has become a 
major farce, showing the nature of the world in which we live, a 
world were rights of peoples and nations are denied, were countries 
are violated, and where humans are massacred, while the warmongers 
grant themselves and their armies and terrorists full immunity, even 
when they are caught red-handed committing crimes against humanity. 
 
 
"Although the Security Council resolution concerns only Lebanon, 
which is witnessing sharp divisions as a result of foreign 
interference, we are saying this only as a protest against those who 
installed themselves as the adversary and the arbiter and who want 
to exploit every event to implement their anti-Arab plans and take 
revenge against the Arab resistance and the policy of opposition and 
rejection to these plans.  Arabs need to be highly alert, as all of 
them are targeted." 
 
------------ 
 
"Proxy Wars" 
 
------------ 
 
Ali Qasim, a commentator in government-owned Al-Thawra, wrote (6/1): 
 "Seymour Hersh was not the first to point to the US role in 
practicing terrorism, or the first to publish documents on the US 
involvement in breeding terrorist organizations.  But his reference 
to this issue in the past was very important, as he revealed with 
categorical evidence the details of the US vision for the region and 
the prepared scenarios, which matched what happened later. 
 
"His reference a few months ago to the issue of the US role in 
arming fundamentalist groups in different areas and countries, 
including Lebanon, acquires special importance, especially when 
coupled with a series of projections associated with it and with the 
state of pre-emption in the dissemination of information and 
documents. 
 
"Strikingly enough, Americans did not deny this role in the past, as 
they do not deny it today.   The US justification was gradually 
shifting to the point of an implicit admission, but by marketing 
pretexts that change according to changing circumstances. 
 
"Many do not believe it unlikely that what is happening today is a 
repetition of the same scenario, with some additions that increase 
the risks inherent in that role.  Perhaps the US rush to provide 
Lebanon with ammunition and establish an airlift reflects to a large 
extent an immediate interpretation of that reality.  But this time, 
it was so clear and interesting, that many Lebanese have found in 
that US generosity reason for suspicions and doubts about the real 
objectives.... 
 
"What is, however, more dangerous than this is what Americans are 
trying to establish through ideas and proposals that talk about 
their having intentionally specified the battlefield and the most 
appropriate venue for waging the battle outside US territory.  They 
admitted beforehand to their role in choosing the parties and tools 
that will fight this battle on their behalf. 
 
"There are actual experiences and examples on the ground.  The US 
justification, in the words of President Bush himself, perhaps 
discloses the details of that US vision.   Facts, however, are more 
meaningful and more visible, and the Lebanese have enough [evidence] 
to realize the scope of the US role in making and breeding 
terrorism." 
 
Corbin