MGLE01: IO A/S SILVERBERG'S 15 MAY MEETING WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001546

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER KCRM CASC KDEM LE
SUBJECT: MGLE01: IO A/S SILVERBERG'S 15 MAY MEETING WITH
JUSTICE MINISTER RIZK


BEIRUT 00001546 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman. Reason: Sections 1.4 (b
) and (d).

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


1. (C) Lebanese Minister of Justice Charles Rizk asked for
Assistant Secretary Silverberg's assistance in pushing the
United Nations to produce a timetable for the establishment
of an international tribunal to try suspects in the February
2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq
Hariri. Rizk noted that the Lebanese legal process for
establishing the tribunal would take several months,
increasing the urgency of UN cooperation. Rizk said that the
Lebanese should designate an international prosecutor soon,
even if it is not UNIIIC Commissioner Serge Brammertz, in
order to maintain the investigation's momentum. Rizk added
that the UN has justified its delay in producing a timetable
because of concerns over the cost of a tribunal; Rizk
maintained, however, that the Lebanese would fully cover the
costs of the tribunal and that the UN need not be concerned
with this basic administrative issue. On the issue of wanted
TWA hijacker Mohammad Ali Hamade, Rizk agreed to initiate
bilateral talks with the United States on Hamade's legal
status, and he instructed senior judge Shukri Sadr to begin
talks on this subject with USG officials in Washington next
week. While in the U.S., Sadr will also meet with UN
officials in New York to follow up on plans for the
international tribunal. End summary.

Participants:

Lebanon
Minister of Justice Charles Rizk
Judge Ralph Riachy
Judge Shukri Sadr

United States
A/S Kristen Silverberg
Ambassador Feltman
PAO Juliet Wurr
Matt Pilcher (Embassy Notetaker)
Maya Najm (interpreter)

PUTTING AN INTERNATIONAL
TRIBUNAL IN PLACE
--------------


2. (C) On May 15, Lebanese Minister of Justice Charles Rizk
received IO A/S Silverberg in his office at the Ministry of
Justice. The meeting was dominated by a discussion on the
status of the UN International Independent Investigation
Commission (UNIIIC) and the establishment of an international
tribunal to try suspects indicted in Hariri's assassination.
During the 75 minute discussion, Rizk returned consistently
to several points: 1) the UN needs to provide plans and a
timetable for the establishment of an international tribunal
soon, and the United States should pressure the UN to provide
a timetable within the coming days; 2) in order to maintain
the investigation's momentum and ensure it has sufficient
resources to follow up on a variety of leads, the Lebanese
will appoint a prosecutor general for the investigation soon,
probably someone other than UNIIIC Commissioner Serge
Brammertz, although Brammertz may assume this role at a later
date; 3) securing the GOL's approval and ratification of an
international tribunal will probably take until October or
November, and will require convening parliament out of
session, hence the immediate need for UN support; and 4) one
of the primary pretexts for UN footdragging, according to
Rizk, is concern over the costs of an international tribunal.
Rizk said that the GOL would pay all costs associated with
the trial, and that the UN need not concern itself with this
issue.

UN FOOTDRAGGING
--------------


3. (C) Rizk told A/S Silverberg that the UN promised a
timetable during Prime Minister Siniora's visit to New York.
He said that at that time, Nicolas Michel of the office of
the UN Legal Advisor had told him the the UN would have
something "within days." "I guess he never said how many
days it would be," Rizk said. Rizk asked that the USG work
with the UN to pressure them to come up with a calendar for

BEIRUT 00001546 002.2 OF 003


creating an international tribunal, but noted that the UN
would take some time. A/S Silverberg said she would do so.
"We have done our homework, and we are ready to move
forward," Rizk said, "but the UN is not."


4. (C) Rizk suggested that someone other than UNIIIC
Commissioner Serge Brammertz be selected to serve as the
prosecutor while Brammertz is still overseeing the UNIIIC
investigation. While Brammertz has expressed an interest in
staying with the investigation for at least another year,
Rizk said that it may be several months before Brammertz is
ready to assume the role of prosecutor, and that the Lebanese
needed to appoint someone beforehand in order to maintain the
investigation's momentum in Lebanon's treacherous political
waters, and to ensure that Brammertz is able to focus the
Commission's work on preparing the strongest possible case.
Rizk also explained that under the UNIIIC's unique agreement
with the government of Lebanon, Brammertz, as the UNIIIC's
commissioner, is working as an investigator for the Lebanese
Ministry of Justice. Rizk said they would need an
independent international prosecutor to summon foreign (read:
Syrian) suspects, but that if they appointed Brammertz to
this position now, they would lose him as the head of the
investigative commission.

MONEY IS NOT AN ISSUE
--------------


5. (C) A/S Silverberg agreed that the UN needs to make
concrete steps towards establishing an international
tribunal, but that they had concerns with moving forward
before decision were made regarding the tribunal's costs.
"Don't worry," Rizk said, "we're ready to cover the costs
now. The UN shouldn't be concerned about this in any way."

TRIBUNAL AND CHAPTER VII:
WE NEED TO MOVE WHILE
WE HAVE SUPPORT
--------------


6. (C) Rizk returned to the importance of immediate UN
action in establishing an international tribunal, also
arguing for the necessity of invoking Chapter VII of the UN
charter against Syria. In order to do both of these, he said
that the Lebanese and the UN need to act while they have both
local and international political winds in their favor. Rizk
said that the Lebanese government and National Dialogue have
unanimously supported an international tribunal, but that
this situation may not last. Likewise, he explained, the UN
needs to move while it still has the mandate of unanimous
approval of UNSCR 1644. "If the next UN resolution doesn't
have unanimous approval," Rizk explained, "we may lose
support in Lebanon. At the same time, if we lose support in
Lebanon, we'll have a difficult time passing further UN
resolutions." Rizk said that in the meantime, the continued
support and solidarity of the United States, Britain and
France would be essential in guaranteeing support for an
international tribunal in Lebanon and on the United Nations
Security Council. Rizk said that he has met with the Russian
Ambassador to Lebanon and discussed the international
tribunal, and that while the Russians seem to be cooperative,
he said they would be quick to exploit any perceived weakness
and may try to bloc any further UN Security Council
resolutions.

THE LEBANESE TIMETABLE
--------------


7. (C) Judge Ralph Riachy, Lebanon's senior coordinator with
the UNIIIC, agreed, and said the Lebanese would need to move
quickly in order to have a tribunal ready by this fall.
Selecting justices, he said, would be the easy part. But he
said there would be considerable administrative issues to
plan. Rizk added that assuming they could get an agreement
from the UN for the details of a tribunal, they would still
need cabinet approval of the resolution in Beirut, followed
by ratification by parliament, which would have to convene a
special session, followed by a UNSCR resolution authoprizing
the tribunal. Rizk said they would be lucky to ratify the
authorization for a tribunal by October, by which time
already half of Brammertz's extension would have passed.

RIZK PLEASED WITH BRAMMERTZ
--------------

BEIRUT 00001546 003.2 OF 003




8. (C) The Ambassador asked Minister Rizk what his opinion
was of Brammertz and the investigation's progress. Rizk
explained that Brammertz seemed to be building a strong and
thorough case. He pointed to the UNIIIC's decision this week
to completely excavate the February 14 blast site, and he
took the fact that Brammertz was bringing in several
additional senior investigators as a sign that he was making
real progress. He added that he did not think the June 15
report would contain any dramatic revelations, but was still
pleased with Brammertz's progress, as well as his discreet
professional demeanor.

SADR WILL FOLLOW UP ON
THE TRIBUNAL AND TWA
HIJACKER IN NEW YORK AND DC
--------------


9. (C) Senior justice Shukri Sadr, who, with Ralph Riachy,
is coordinating UN-Lebanese efforts to establish an
international court, is traveling to the U.S. this week to
visit family in New York and Washington. He offered to see
Nicolas Michel in New York to follow up on the UN's progress
towards an international tribunal. A/S Silverberg offered to
speak to the UN before his arrival in order to stress the
importance of UN responsiveness on this issue, and offered a
meeting with Jonathan Schwartz, the Department's legal
expert. Judge Sadr said this would be enormously helpful and
thanked A/S Silverberg for her assistance. As the
conversation turned to the status of wanted TWA hijacker
Mohammad Ali Hamade and three other Lebanese suspects wanted
in connection with the same hijacking, Sadr said he would be
willing to meet in Washington with officials of the
Departments of State and Justice to initiate bilateral talks
on Hamade's status as well. Rizk endorsed the idea, and Sadr
gave his contact information in Washington to A/S Silverberg
and emboff. They tentatively set a date to meet at the
Department on May 22.

AMCIT KELSEY KLOTZ
--------------


10. (C) A/S Silverberg also raised the issue of the custody
of AMCIT Kelsey Klotz and urged the Minister to ensure that
the judgement of the Lebanese courts was enforced. Rizk was
familiar with the case, but said that Lebanese courts have
already passed the same ruling as the American courts, and
that as Minster of Justice, there was little else he could
do. He acknowledged that Klotz is in Baalbek in Hizballah
controlled territory, but that it is now up to Minister of
the Interior Ahmed Fatat to ensure Klotz's safe return.


11. (U) A/S Silverberg has cleared this cable.


FELTMAN