Cablegate: Panama: Gaza Unscr Demarche Delivered

VZCZCXYZ2431
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHZP #0193 0651559
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 051559Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1791
INFO RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA IMMEDIATE 0024
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0028
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0038
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0022

C O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000193

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2018
TAGS: PREL UNSC IS PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: GAZA UNSCR DEMARCHE DELIVERED

REF: STATE 22380

Classified By: POLCOUNS Brian R. Naranjo. Reason: 1.4 (d)

"Panama would like to see a more balanced text with respect
to Gaza," Panamanian MFA UNSC advisor Ernesto Cerrud told
POLCOUNS on March 5 in response to reftel demarche. "The
problem with these Middle East resolutions is that they are
always so unbalanced and fail to adequately acknowledge the
co-responsibility that both sides have." Cerrud asserted
that PanPR Ricardo Arias was likely to propose that the word
"disproportionate (desproporcionado)" be replaced with
"inordinate (desmesurado)." POLCOUNS suggested that such
word-smithing was unlikely to restore balance to the text and
urged Panama to support broader efforts to restore balance to
the text. Cerrud agreed that if the language
"disporporcionate or excessive" were struck that it would be
possible to move forward on discussions on the text.
(Comment: The Spanish words "desporporcionado" and
"desmesurado" have essentially the same meanings or at the
very least are too close in meaning to have much of a
distinction in this context. The both mean:
disproportionate, excessive, and inordinate.)
EATON

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