LEBANON: GHATTAS KHOURY SHARES DRAFT MARCH 14

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 002874 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER KDEM SY LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: GHATTAS KHOURY SHARES DRAFT MARCH 14 COMMUNIQUE; PITCHES FOUNDATION Classified By: Jeffrey D. Feltman, Ambassador. Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) During a September 6 meeting with Ambassador and poloff, former MP Ghattas Khoury discussed the upcoming 9/7 gathering of the March 14 forces and shared a draft communique to be issued after the meeting. Khoury, a Maronite close to Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblatt, said that the Christian members of March 14 will establish a "new Qornet Shehwan" movement, which they hope will receive the blessing of Maronite Patriarch Sfeir, to strip away support from Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM). Khoury also discussed establishing a private foundation to support March 14-related educational and health initiatives in Lebanon, and asked for tacit USG support in order to give the foundation greater credibility amongst potential donors. END SUMMARY. PATRIARCH'S STATEMENT -------------- ¶2. (C) Khoury said that he expects the 9/6 Patriarch's statement following the Maronite bishops' meeting to be strongly supportive of the Lebanese government and military and also to call for adherence to the 1989 Ta'if Agreement. Khoury said he is shocked that some opposition Maronite politicians, including Aoun and Suleyman Frangieh, are "stupidly" calling for Ta'if to be scrapped, since this would only result in the Christians having less representation in Lebanese government institutions than their current -- admittedly disproportionately high -- share. Khoury believes that Frangieh is acting purely as a Syrian mouthpiece to sow confessional discord in Lebanon, whereas Aoun's motives for calling for an end to Ta'if -- like his alliance with Hizballah -- are driven by his desire to be President. DRAFT MARCH 14 COMMUNIQUE -------------- ¶3. (C) Khoury shared with the Ambassador and poloff a draft communique to be issued at 1700 local time tomorrow 9/7 following the full meeting of the March 14 movement. Khoury said that one of March 14's goals is to bring in other Lebanese communities, particularly the Shi'a. Following is an informal summary of the key points in the communique: -- Criticizes the arms of Hizballah, which were unable to stop the Israeli attack on Lebanon and the air and land incursions, nor to protect the lives and property of Lebanese citizens. -- Condemns Israel's "agression and savagery," which fears the openness and capability of a democratic Lebanon committed to peaceful change. -- Applauds the deployment of the army in the South and calls for the implementation of all international resolutions. -- Refuses to allow Lebanon to be used by Iran to improve its negotiating position with the international community and by Syria to avoid the consequences of the international investigation of the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. -- Calls for the Lebanese to settle their differences and to rally around the state which alone can save all the Lebanese people. The state should have the monopoly on force, without any partner, in responding to any breach of its sovereignty, whether through occupation, cross-border aggression, or interference in its internal affairs. The state alone should protect its citizens and conduct foreign policy. The state will not accept any interference from outside in Lebanon's internal affairs. -- Urges the restoration of public confidence in the government through the following: implementation of all international resolutions; ending the "duality of weaponry" and bringing "the resistance" into and under the command of the army; disarming the Palestinians and controlling the border with Syria; supporting Nabih Berri's call for a "state of social emergency" in the areas hit hardest by Israel, BEIRUT 00002874 002 OF 002 especially the South and the southern suburbs, and to give priority to rebuilding and reinvigorating the economy in these areas; improving Lebanon's relations with the Arab nations which have offered political and economic support during the crisis, and to join with them in getting the international community take responsibility for finding a just solution to the Palestine issue; refusing to allow Syria to control the Lebanese Presidency which now represents only one party, Hizballah, and to hold presidential elections to "fill the void" and return balance to the constitutional institutions since the Presidency is symbolic of Christian participation in the state; establishment of normal diplomatic relations between Syria and Lebanon, as a way towards normalizing relations between the two countries, and to look into the relations between Syria and certain Lebanese parties on the basis that these relations threaten Lebanese internal security and stability. -- Asks Lebanese to reflect on Hassan Nasrallah's own words -- that he would not have kidnapped the IDF soldiers had he had even "1 per cent" of an idea of the magnitude of the Israeli response -- and hopes this is an initial reconsideration of Hizballah's action. The March 14 movement hopes Hizballah will "return to Lebanon" and join in the "Lebanese project" in which the Shi'a leadership has played a primary role over the years. Today, this call for Hizballah's "return to Lebanon" comes from the most prominent Shi'a political, spiritual, cultural, and intellectual leaders. (Comment. This last paragraph makes reference to Lebanese history -- particularly the late 1970s -- and Shi'a support then and now for the singularity and unity of Lebanon as a multi-confessional state. End Comment.) ¶4. (C) In response to Michel Aoun's attacks on the Siniora government, and Aoun's waning popularity among Christians, Khoury said the March 14 Maronites would reinvent themselves as a "new Qornet Shehwan gathering" -- referring to the anti-Syrian Maronite grouping formed in 2001 -- to hopefully win over many of Aoun's supporters. Khoury hopes the group will win the blessing of the Patriarch, as the original Qornet Shehwan had done, to lend it greater credibility among the Maronites. The new grouping, accompanied by Saad Hariri and Walid Jumblatt, will visit the Patriarch soon. ¶5. (C) Khoury said he -- and presumably other March 14 members -- want to establish a private foundation to support the rebuilding effort in Lebanon and the strengthening of a democratic state. Private donations -- mainly from Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, and Lebanese-Americans -- would flow through the foundation in order to support educational and health care initiatives, as well as building democratic political life in Lebanon. This type of arrangement, pitched Khoury, would avoid the endless paperwork of government bureaucracy and would get the funds where they are needed on the ground as quickly as possible. Khoury added that the foundation would have "transparency, accountability, but full maneuverability." ¶6. (C) Khoury was clear that this foundation would primarily support the March 14 movement and its allies, and would serve as a couterweight to the quick deployment of Iranian money within the Shi'a community. "The 14th of March needs a social network to protect its supporters," urged Khoury, who suggested that some sort of semi-official USG support -- he suggested a figure close to the USG might serve on the foundation's board -- would help lend the foundation greater credibility, especially among wealthy Lebanese-Americans. The Ambassador asked whether this USG patronage wouldn't taint the board and give Hassan Nasrallah ammunition to use against March 14. Khoury said that isn't a concern, since in any event Nasrallah will always try to paint the movement as colluding with the U.S. FELTMAN