TFLE01: PATRIARCH SFEIR WANTS DISPLACED SHIA TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 002527

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/SINGH/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2016
TAGS: PREL PREF KDEM PTER LE SY IS
SUBJECT: TFLE01: PATRIARCH SFEIR WANTS DISPLACED SHIA TO
GO HOME


1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: On August 3 Ambassador and Emboff met with
Patriarch Sfeir at his summer residence in Diman, North
Lebanon. Concerned about sectarian tensions, Sfeir was
adamant that displaced Shia in Beirut and Mount Lebanon must
return to their villages without delay. Regarding Hizballah
disarmament, he stressed the importance of equality among
political parties and that the Lebanese Armed Forced should
be the only armed group. He views his August 1 Summit of
Religious Leaders as a positive step in supporting PM Sinora
and his seven points. He described General Aoun as loosing
credibility among the Christian community and expressed hope
that President Lahoud will leave office as an aftermath of
Hizballah's hoped-for disarmament. END SUMMARY

Shi,a Displaced Must Go Home
--------------


2. (C/NF) Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, the highest authority in
Lebanon,s Maronite Christian community, noted repeatedly in
the meeeing that he is troubled by the displaced Shi,a who
are seeking refuge in Beirut and Mount Lebanon. He was clear
that the Shia cannot remain in &this region8 and must go
back to &their areas.8 He acknowledged that resettling
people from Beirut,s southern suburb, where crowded
ten-story apartment buildings are now flattened, would be the
starkest challenge. He added that jobs and temporary housing
in the south are essential to attract Shi,a out of the
schools and churches where they are currently housed.


3. (C/NF) He warned that if immediate action is not taken to
relocate the Shia back to the south they will move further
into the Mount Lebanon region. Ambassador assured Sfeir that
the return of displaced Shia to the south would be one of the
top priorities in the post-conflict agenda.

Equality For All Political Parties
--------------


4. (C/NF) Sfeir stressed the importance of &equality8 among
all political parties. Equality means parties can speak on
equal terms without certain groups having weapons. &If one
community is greater than others, all communities and
ultimately Lebanon will eventually disappear8 he exclaimed.
Political parties must engage the political process and not
be armed.


5. (C/NF) The Patriarch acknowledged that, even in the best
case scenario, not all of Hizballah,s weapons would be
destroyed during this conflict. But the arms that are left
should only be in the hands of the military. Asked how
Hizballah's remaining arms would be turned over to the state,
the Patriarch said that Hizballah would maintain positions in
the government after the conflict. The Hizballah supporters
cannot be made to feel ruined or marginalized, but it must be
clear that there is no room for armed political parties in
the government. Queried by the Ambassador, Sfeir noted that
he has had no contact with Hizballah since the commencement
of the conflict.

Summit of Religious Leaders
--------------


6. (C/NF) The Ambassador praised Sfeir,s initiative to host
the August 1 Summit of Religious Leaders at his cathedral in
Bkerki. The summit gathered leaders of Lebanon,s 18
confessions to show unified support for PM Sinora,s
seven-point plan. Sfeir was pleased that there was no
expression of sympathy for the resistance from any of the
religious leaders in attendance.


7. (C/NF) Among the most notable attendees was Sheikh Abdel
Amir Qabalan, VP of the Higher Islamic Shia Council (and an
appointee of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri). Qabalan
mentioned the resistance at the summit; however, Sfeir
described this as a pro-forma &obligation because he is not
free to do otherwise8. Sfeir also said that on the
sidelines of the summit Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabani, Sunni
Grand Mufti, told him that all communities must be treated
equally and made to feel that they have a place in Lebanon.

On Lahoud, Sinora, and Aoun
--------------


8. (C/NF) Sfeir expressed great confidence in the work of PM
Sinora. Sinora is doing a &good job8 in representing all

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constituents and Sfeir is fully supportive of Sinora,s seven
points.


9. (C/NF) Sfeir admitted that General Aoun is allied with
Hassan Nasrallah but has lost popularity among the Christian
community. He also agreed that President Lahoud,s recent
statements in support of the resistance are not helpful and
envisioned Lahoud,s future as &outside8 the political
arena. He believes that Lahoud and Aoun are not representing
the Christian community well and Christians feel politically
abandoned. Sfeir said that that it was possible that, as a
result of this conflict and possible Hizballah disarmament,
Lahoud would not complete his extended term. (Comment:
Sfeir's body language and expression indicated that the
Patriarch clearly hopes that this is the case.)


10. (C/NF) The Patriarch discounted the role of both Aoun and
Lahoud in ending the violence. He acknowledged that the
conflict and supply of weapons to Hizballah is not associated
with Lebanon but connected to Syria and Iran. Both Syria and
Iran must be convinced that their interests do not lie in
arming Hizballah, an unstable Lebanon, or destroying Israel.


11. (C/NF) After recently meeting with the Chief of the Army,
Sfeir described the military,s morale as good. He added that
the military is currently not able to oppose full attacks
because it does not have the needed equipment or training.
However he is convinced that the military can protect
Lebanon,s borders when called to do so.

Comment
--------------


12. (C/NF) Patriarch Sfeir was in a fairly good mood,
probably attributable to his pride in bringing together all
official religious leaders to issue a statement that had
several important messages: support for Lebanon's unity,
support for the GOL and Siniora's 7-point plan, and -- most
important -- support for the concept of "equality for all
citizens in rights and obligations." That last phrase is
Sfeir-speak for the unacceptability of Hizballah maintaining
its weapons, and it is now adopted by clerics including the
Berri-appointed Shia Higher Council chief. Part of our
reason in traveling 90 minutes each way to see Sfeir at his
summer residence was to gauge his willingness to help corner
Hizballah into handing over its remaining weapons to the GOL
once this conflict is over. Sfeir clearly sees the religious
clerics' statement as providing such support. Sfeir's
obsession in this meeting, however, was with the Shi'a
refugees now packed into schools and shelters in Christian
areas. It is clear that we will need to reassure him in both
words and deeds that we are serious about wanting to see the
Shi'a go home -- but we are racing against the clock, given
that schools are supposed to open in mid-September.
FELTMAN