MGLE01: PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE REACTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001369

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2016
TAGS: LE PBTS PREL SY
SUBJECT: MGLE01: PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE REACTS TO
SYRIAN-BUILT EARTHEN BERMS IN THE BIQA VALLEY

REF: BEIRUT 944

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman. Reason: Section 1.4 (d)
.

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Polchief and econoff met with Rola Noureddine,
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, on May 3 to discuss
the widely reported Syrian-built earthen berms in the Biqa'
Valley. Noureddine and General Said Eid confirmed the press
reports, showing us a video of the berms. They said Syrian
border guards had constructed the berms beginning March 20
and ending in early April. The Syrians said the berms,
located one to four kilometers inside Lebanon, were designed
to prevent vehicular traffic related to smuggling. The berms
prevent villagers from Aarsal and Ras Baalbeck from
harvesting their crops. To the east of Ras Baalbeck, the
Syrians have also placed a manned border post. The GOL is
taking a measured response, hoping that the governors of the
Biqa' Valley and Damascus can arrange an understanding. The
Lebanese military was staying out of it, according to Eid.
Separately, political officers in the UN office in Beirut
told us that New York is following the situation closely, but
they have not received any instructions. End summary.

SYRIANS BUILDING EARTHEN
BERMS ON LEBANESE SOIL
--------------


2. (C) On May 3, polchief and econoff met with Rola
Noureddine, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Fouad
Siniora, to discuss the GOL's reaction to press reports that
Syrian border guards had constructed earthen berms on
Lebanese territory in the Biqa' Valley. Noureddine confirmed
the press reports, adding that the events are more than a
month old but the press just now picked up the story because
a delegation of villagers came to Beirut to file a complaint.
Noureddine then invited a Lebanese army general assigned to
the Prime Minister's office, Gen. Said Eid, to brief us on
the issue.


3. (C) According to Noureddine and Eid, Syrian border
guards began building the berms on March 20 and finished in
early April. The berms are located between one and four
kilometers inside Lebanon. There is one set of berms to the
east of the village of Aarsal, and another set to the east of
the village of Ras Baalbeck. Eid showed us a video taken of
the berms, which appeared to be five to six feet high and
consisted entirely of dirt. Eid explained that the berms are
designed to stop vehicle traffic, not human traffic. He said
the Syrians told Lebanese authorities that the berms were
built to stop cross-border smuggling.


4. (C) Though built by Syrian border guards, the berms are
not manned. Lebanese villagers from Aarsal and Ras Baalbeck
can still walk to their fields and orchards that lie beyond
the berms. The problem is that the berms block vehicular
traffic, making harvesting impractical if not impossible.
The villagers would have to hand carry or use mules to
transport the produce back to their village.


5. (C) The situation near Ras Baalbeck is more complicated
than the problems of the Aarsal villagers. The Syrians do
not dispute that the land to east of Aarsal is Lebanese,
according to Noureddine. However, the border to the east of
Ras Baalbeck is not demarcated and Syria claims some of the
land in Lebanon. In the Ras Baalbeck area, the Syrians
constructed both a system of berms and established a
pre-fabricated guard post. Eid said that about nine to ten
Syrian border guards have been sighted around the guard post.

GOL TAKING A MEASURED APPROACH
--------------


6. (C) Noureddine told us that the Prime Minister was
committed to preventing the Syrians from effecting control
over a piece of Lebanese territory. She said Siniora does
not want "another Shebaa Farms." She explained that the
Shebaa Farms issue originated because of a Syrian land grab
in the 1950s. The Syrians had built border guard posts in
the Shebaa Farms with the stated purpose of stopping
smuggling. When the Israelis invaded the Golan Heights in
1967, they discovered the Syrian positions and, assuming the
land around them was Syrian, occupied the Shebaa Farms area.


BEIRUT 00001369 002 OF 002



7. (C) Overall, however, Noureddine and Eid did not appear
particularly agitated by the dispute. Neither knew who was
responsible for the issue in the GOL. Eid, a military
officer, was all too happy to point out that since Syrian
border guards, and not Syrian soldiers, had crossed into
Lebanon, it was a problem for the Ministry of Interior. The
Lebanese army is staying out of it, he said. Noureddine
preferred the issue to be resolved at the local level. The
governor of the Biqa' Valley is formally twinned with the
Syrian governor of Damascus. She hoped they could work out a
solution.

UN OFFICE AWAITING INSTRUCTIONS
--------------


8. (C) Following the meeting with Noureddine, polchief and
econoff met with Political Officers Imran Riza and Georges
Nasr in the office of UNSYG Personal Representative to
Lebanon Geir Pedersen. Riza said Pedersen would meet with
Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat later that day. Riza and Nasr
reported that New York is very interested in the earthen berm
issue but so far has not issued any instructions to
Pedersen's office. The UN is interested in any links this
issue might have to the Larsen report, according to Riza.
The local press also reported on May 3 that Pedersen had met
that day with GOL Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade,
who described to Pedersen how this is another example of
Syria not respecting Lebanon's borders.

COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) The earthen berms near Aarsal and Ras Baalbeck
represent just one of the many points of dispute along the
Syrian-Lebanese border. In March, a prominent Lebanese
geographer outlined 36 points of contention from north to
south (reftel). According to our defense attache, the
Lebanese military does not regard this issue as a new
dispute. The Lebanese military has been told to not take any
action, as the GOL intends to pursue the issue with political
negotiations. End comment.
FELTMAN