US embassy cable - 05THEHAGUE1988

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001988 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2015 
TAGS: PREL, AORC, NL, EUN 
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/GAERC: DUTCH VIEWS ON JULY 18-19 GAERC 
 
REF: THE HAGUE 01073 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Nathaniel Dean for reasons 1. 
4 (b) and (d) 
 
 1. (C)  Summary.  Poloff participated in the Dutch 
pre-briefing for the GAERC to be held in Brussels on July 
18-19. It will emphasize the fight against terror, in light 
of the recent London bombings.  On Lebanon and Syria, the 
Dutch believe the situation in Lebanon is "very fragile" and 
that the international community should place more pressure 
on Syria to reduce its influence over the Lebanese.  On Iran, 
the Dutch are skeptical over the extent to which the new 
president in Iran will carry any credibility.  The Dutch may 
be becoming more hesitant on Turkish accession to the EU; the 
Dutch parliament will discuss the Commission's draft 
negotiations framework soon after the opening of its next 
session August 29.  The Dutch acknowledged that the June 30 
deadline regarding the Andijon incident had passed and 
affirmed that the EU would employ a gradual policy of 
"carrots and sticks" as a way to induce Uzbekistan's 
cooperation.  Finally, the Dutch lamented the situation in 
Zimbabwe, fearing the African Union will not make independent 
progress.  End Summary. 
 
FIGHT AGAINST TERROR 
 
2. (C) Adriaan Palm (MFA, Office of Political Affairs) and 
Jochem Wiers, (MFA, European Integration Office) briefed 
Poloff and reps from Australia and Japan July 14 on the 
upcoming GAERC.  In light of the London bombings on July 7, 
Palm said that the upcoming GAERC would place a larger focus 
on the fight against terrorism than had been initially 
planned.  They would discuss deeper cooperation with those 
countries the EU already works closely with, including 
Morocco, Nigeria and Indonesia. 
 
SYRIA/LEBANON: A FRAGILE SITUATION 
 
3. (C) Palm said UN Special Representative of the SYG Larson 
will brief the GAERC on recent developments.  Palm stressed 
that Lebanon is in a very fragile situation since the recent 
elections, and that the EU believes it is very important to 
support Lebanon,s transition process as much as possible. 
Palm underscored that Syria remains a concern.  Although 
Syria has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, "it has not 
necessarily withdrawn all of its influence," he said.  Palm 
cautioned that the presence of the Palestine Hezbollah in 
Syria makes it important for EU to keep pressure on Syria, 
e.g., maintaining tight control along the Syrian/Iraqi 
border.  He implied that Syria should be pressed to cooperate 
more with the international community in this regard. 
 
IRAN: SKEPTICISM OVER NEW GOVERNMENT 
 
4. (C) Palm questioned whether the new presidency in Iran 
would affect the nuclear standoff, stating that the previous 
president was not very influential, with the Ayatollah 
Khomeini pulling the strings.  Noting that the Iranians may 
send a new negotiator to the Vienna talks, Palm confided that 
he believes the Iranians would do so to push the EU into 
giving a better deal. Palm said that the EU3 will present a 
new proposal sometime in July-August to Iran, adding that the 
GoNL would wait and see how the Iranians react to the 
proposal.  "We,ll have to judge Iran by deeds, not by 
words," he said. 
 
EU ENLARGEMENT 
 
5. (C)  a) Turkey:  Palm said that the EU council members 
must agree on the negotiations framework by October 3, the 
date of the next official GAERC.  Palm said on July 18-19 
there will be a generalized discussion of the framework but 
no decision will be taken. Indeed, Palm said, "we want to 
have a proper discussion of this with our own parliament," 
which is currently in recess until August 29.  Wiers (a 
veteran of the December 17 Council meeting that decided to 
invite Turkey to negotiate EU membership) said that on first 
impression the Commission document appears to be "a good and 
balanced mandate," as it closely follows the December 17 
conclusions.  Palm said the mood in parliament was split over 
Turkey, and that the issue of Cyprus raises a "big chunk of 
questions."  In general, Palm said there are two conditions 
parliament will consider for Turkish accession: (1) the entry 
into force of new Turkish legislation; and (2) signing the 
protocol to the Ankara agreement.  In this regard, the Dutch 
note with concern that the Turkish side still seems to demand 
attaching a unilateral declaration against recognizing 
Cyprus, in which case the EU would be forced to issue a 
counter declaration. 
 
b) Croatia:  Austria is isolated supporting the opening of 
Croatia negotiations now.  The Dutch expect the GAERC not to 
discuss Croatia pending the next ICTY report. 
WTO 
 
6. (C) Palm said that France has added WTO to the agenda, to 
discuss the situation with China. 
 
MIDDLE EAST 
 
7. (C) Palm observed that preparations for the Gaza 
withdrawal are proving difficult, especially maintaining 
order and economic and political stability. Stability would 
depend on the reopening of the Palestine airport and the 
reconstruction of the harbor. Palm lamented, "It,s all 
difficult and hard to make progress," as there is also still 
the problem of the withdrawal of Israeli settlers. Palm 
stressed the importance of intensifying collaboration between 
the Palestinians and Israelis, the implementation of the 
roadmap, and ensuring the economic survival of the Gaza 
strip. Palm emphasized, "We should signal that the 
construction of the wall in Jerusalem does not help," 
implying the need to encourage Israel to reconsider its 
position on the wall. 
 
UN HIGH LEVEL EVENT 
 
8. (C) Palm stated that the GoNL wants the final HLE document 
to "maintain its ambition and balance," with strong text 
regarding African development, the Human Rights Commission, 
streamlining the UN system, and the fight against terror. The 
Australian representative inquired if the Security Council 
issue could be looked at separately from these issues. Palm 
stated that the Security Council issue "has been 
quarantined."  He also made clear that there was no unified 
EU position on the Security Council issue, while on most 
other issues there was an EU consensus. 
 
EU-CHINA SUMMIT 
 
9. (C) Palm said the upcoming September 5 summit in Beijing 
will discuss economic and political issues. He asserted the 
EU will not lift the arms embargo under the UK presidency. 
(He noted that three issues occupy the EU in this matter: the 
tool box, the code of conduct, and the opinion of the USG and 
Japan.)  He speculated on how the "market economy status" 
discussion will proceed, as the UK wants to "go the extra 
mile" while the rest of the EU expressed concerns over 
China,s fulfillment of the criteria. Palm said that the 
declaration on environment and climate change (especially 
emissions reductions) is clearly deliverable, as it is "in 
everyone,s interest." 
 
UZBEKISTAN 
 
10. (C) Palm acknowledged that the June 30 deadline for Uzbek 
cooperation in an international investigation of the Andijon 
incident has passed. He listed three steps for the EU to take 
in response: reduce ministerial contacts and cease bilateral 
contacts, refrain from deepening cooperation agreements with 
Uzbekistan, and attempt to implement the OSCE Moscow 
Mechanism (which requires OSCE support). He speculated that 
am arms embargo could come but emphasized that the EU would 
favor "a gradual buildup of carrots and sticks." Palm 
stressed the importance of making sure the refugees in 
Kyrgyzstan are treated in accordance to international human 
rights principles. 
 
ZIMBABWE 
 
11. (C) Palm decried the fact that the "Operation to restore 
order and get rid of trash" resulted in 300,000 people losing 
their homes. He called it a "new step in the direction of a 
complete denial of human rights."  He regretted that new 
sanctions could have been taken but that there probably was 
not much support for it at the time and was clearly 
disappointed that some in the EU wanted to wait for the 
report from the UN special representative. Palm feared the 
African Union would be unable to take the lead effectively. 
 
COMMENT 
 
12. (C) Palm seemed uncommitted to Turkey accession, 
distancing his tone and body language from his talking 
points, whereas Wiers seemed more optimistic.  When the 
Japanese representative returned to the China arms embargo, 
Palm said that the Dutch feel there is no reason to lift it 
now and that it is not likely to happen under the UK 
presidency. 
BLAKEMAN