US embassy cable - 04SANAA906

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000906 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2014 
TAGS: PREL, XF, IZ, YM, OIC 
SUBJECT: YEMEN MAY ATTEND OIC MEETING IN KUALA LUMPUR 
 
REF: STATE 87800 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edmund J. Hull for reasons 1.5 (b and d) 
 
1. (c) Pol/Econ Chief delivered reftel talking points to 
Deputy Foreign Minister for Europe, the Americas and 
International Organizations Mustapha Noman on 4/21.  Saying 
that he just signed off on a memo regarding Yemen's 
participation, Noman strongly hinted that Yemen would be 
represented at the OIC meeting in Kuala Lumpur, but probably 
not at the Foreign Minister level. 
 
2. (c) On the issue of UN envoy Brahimi and his mission, 
Noman noted that Brahimi is a well-respected, personal friend 
and that he expected Yemen, and the OIC, to support his 
efforts.  (Comment:  Brahimi is well-known in Yemen because 
he was a UN envoy during Yemen's 1994 civil war.  End 
Comment.)  Noman focused on the point "we support Israel's 
right to defend itself" and responded that Yemen also 
supports Israel's right to defend itself, but "within its own 
borders." 
 
3. (c) Noman delivered a strong message on the U.S. 
administration's public position and announcements on 
Palestine-Israel.  He criticized the language of the demarche 
as inappropriate because different words were used to 
describe similar acts, e.g., Israel's assassinations of 
Shaykh Yassin and Rantisi are not called "terrorist acts." 
 
HULL