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
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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,

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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