Cablegate: Media Reaction Mep; Harare

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS HARARE 002732

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/PD, AF/S, AF/RA, AF/PDPA
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAO KMDR ZI
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION MEP; HARARE

1. Under headline "Solidarity with the people of
Palestine" the pro-government weekly "The Sunday Mirror"
dedicated its December 1 editorial to accusing the United
States of throwing spanners into the Middle East peace
process. "The main stumbling block seems to be the U. S.
A., which has supported Israel unreservedly over the years.
. .," the editorial observed. Excerpts:

"On Friday 29 November 2002, Southern Africa joined
the rest of the world to sadly mark the United
Nations International Day of Solidarity with the
Palestinian People. The current situation in the
occupied territories is really tragic, with towns
reduced to rubble, with the Palestinian Authority
and its head, Yasser Arafat, virtually under siege,
with curfew and restrictions of movement for the
Palestinian population. The destruction of property
and the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives have
been catastrophic and the whole region has been in
crisis for over two years. Despite the more than
1000 U. N. resolutions demanding the end of
hostilities and a creation of the State of
Palestine, there has been little action to achieve
the same. The main stumbling block seems to be the
United States of America, which has supported Israel
unreservedly over the years, and this has given the
Jewish State the courage to occupy more Palestinian
land and to treat Arabs as second-class citizens.
Therefore, the repeated calls for peace in the
Middle East should be preceded by even stronger
calls for justice, for without reversing the unjust
occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, it is
futile to call for an end to hostilities.

"The people of Palestine deserve a state of their
own and we in Southern Africa lend our support to
the Palestinian cause. . .Palestinians have the
right to demand the establishment of the State of
Palestine as spelled out in U. N. Security Council
resolution 1397 of 2002. Although the U. N. has
tried to effect a solution that addresses the needs
of both Israel and Palestine, the truth is that,
Israel and the U. S. A. have acted as bullies and
they have done so with impunity. Unfortunately
therefore, the U. N. pronunciations have not brought
any peace to the region. It is important for Israel
and the Americans to realize that peace in the
Middle East depends on the establishment of a
Palestinian state. All progressive forces should
therefore work to lend more support to its
establishment. . . ."

SULLIVAN

© Scoop Media