Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BEIRUT3060
2006-09-20 16:20:00
SECRET
Embassy Beirut
Cable title:  

LEBANON: SINIORA ADDRESSES BILATERAL, DOMESTIC

Tags:  KCRM LE PREL PTER SY GE 
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P 201620Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5696
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0310
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0143
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIRUT 003060 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2016
TAGS: KCRM LE PREL PTER SY GE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: SINIORA ADDRESSES BILATERAL, DOMESTIC
ISSUES

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).

SUMMARY
-------

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 BEIRUT 003060

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/HARDING

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2016
TAGS: KCRM LE PREL PTER SY GE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: SINIORA ADDRESSES BILATERAL, DOMESTIC
ISSUES

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).

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


1. (S) Ambassador Feltman, S/CRS representative, and poloff
met on 9/20 with Prime Minister Siniora (accompanied by
aides Mohamed Chatah and Rola Noureddine) on a wide variety
of issues. Siniora welcomed the White House private sector
initiative and was pleased by the U.S. delivery of assistance
and plans for security sector support. He expressed deep
unhappiness by Qatar's refusal to put its reconstruction aide
through the GOL, despite his personal interventions with
Qatari officials, and he noted that Algeria is also a
problem. On the Hariri tribunal, Siniora said he would not
table the draft statute before the Lebanese cabinet and
parliament until he knew the UNSC was comfortable with its
provisions. He vowed that the land problem for UNIFIL
billetting (that is slowing UNIFIL deployment) would be
solved. He also said that the Beirut I conference would be
held on/about November 30. End Summary.

WELCOMING THE WHITE HOUSE
PRIVATE SECTOR DELEGATION
--------------


2. (C) Briefed by the Ambassador about the delegation headed
by A/S Powell on 9/22, Prime Minister Siniora expressed
enthusiasm about the White Hosue private sector initiative.
He noted his close relationship with Occidental CEO Irani and
said that he looked forward to meeting with the group on
Saturday.

PLEASED WITH THE UN,s VIEW
OF 'LEBANESE EFFICIENCY'
--------------


3. (C) Unsolicited, Siniora boasted that he had just seen UN
reconstruction coordinator David Shearer and expected Shearer
would soon issue a glowing press statement praising Lebanese
efficiency as among the best Shearer had seen in his
extensive career responding to disasters around the world.
In particular, Siniora cited Lebanese progress restoring
roads and the water supply as areas Shear praised highly.
(Note: We met separately with Shearer earlier in the day.
Shearer did indeed offer this praise of Lebanon's quick
transition from emergency/humanitarian to early recovery

phases. But, while admiring of how quickly the GOL had
restored key infrastructure links, he was critical about GOL
coordination efforts and lack of any kind of media strategy.
End note.)

REVIEWING AN OPIC AGREEMENT
--------------


4. (SBU) The Ambassador noted that the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) was interested in increasing
its exposure in Lebanon. Beyond its well-known insurance
programs, OPIC had many new products that could help Lebanon
in mortage and equity financing in the months to come. But,
the Ambassador noted, OPIC's agreement with Lebanon was
signed in 1981 and is now outdated. We would like to amend
this agreement as quickly as possible, to bring it up to
date. The Ambassador passed for the Prime Minister,s review
the current OPIC agreement as well as suggestions for
amending the text. Siniora responded that he did not believe
he would need formal GOL permission to update the agreement,
but he needed to check whether the original agreement went
through parliament and cabinet approval.

FINDING LAND FOR UNIFIL
--------------


5. (C) The Ambassador noted that UNIFIL Commander Alain
Pellegrini had organized a P-5 briefing for the following
day. The Ambassador said that he hoped the problems UNIFIL
was having in securing adequate troops for its new
deployments would be on the way to being solved by the time
Pellegrini briefed the Ambassadors. Siniora expressed
confidence that the GOL has adequate legislation in place
allowing GOL temporary appropriation of private land under
eminent domain during times of extraordinary circumstances.
Siniora,s staff members were already been in communication

BEIRUT 00003060 002 OF 004


with UNIFIL regarding a list of properties it needs. They
were confident the GOL could obtain the use of more land upon
UNIFIL request and would have the money to pay the
landowners. (Note: This issue in part relates to past debts
the GOL owes to landowners for current UNIFIL bases. The GOL
is in arrears to the landowners, who naturally do not wish to
give up more land to UNIFIL. Ministry of Finance officials
told us separately that they expect that this week's cabinet
session will authorize full payment of the arrears and a
hefty advance payment for the new land. End note.)

WELCOMING A GERMAN MARITIME FORCE
--------------


6. (C) Asking by the Ambassador about the German and UNIFIL
teams working on the airport, seaports, and land borders,
Siniora stated that he has a meeting scheduled for Monday
with UNIFIL officials, Minister of Defense Murr, Minister of
Interior Fatfat, ISF Commander Rifi, and LAF Commander
Sleiman. He would know then what was being discussed for the
border points.


7. (C) As for the naval task force, General Shahaytli (who
serves as the coordinator between the LAF command and UNIFIL)
had just retuned from UN headquarters, where he completed
negotiations with the Germans and others on the naval task
force rules of engagement and terms of reference. Siniora
claimed that he had just learned that the German parliament
had approved German participation in and leadership of the
naval task force. In passing, Siniora noted that he would
visit Berlin and Strasbourg September 27-28.

TRIBUNAL TIMING:
AFTER UNSC APPROVAL
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador queried Siniora on his views for taking
to the cabinet and parliament the UN-GOL draft statute on the
special tribunal with international character for the Hariri
assassination. Siniora noted that, while the cabinet is
ready "any day," parliament does not come back into session
until October 7 or 10. Moreover, he expressed reluctance to
table the draft statute before he had word from the UN that
UNSC members were comfortable with the draft. He would not
want to fight for cabinet approval of something, only to have
to revisit the issue if the UNSC inserts changes.


9. (C) As for the draft statute itself, he cited four
remaining points of concern (while insisting that no
significant resistance remained in the cabinet or the
parliament). First, the statute suggests that the tribunal
could cover the crimes that took place from 10/1/04 to
12/31/05 (if they are materially connected to the Hariri
assassination). The PM prefers that, rather than a period of
time, the crimes be named specifically that could be
included, if materially linked. This, he said, would help
reduce the fear by some that the tribunal will potentially
find all sorts of new targets. (Comment: We wonder if he
was making an oblique reference to Bank al-Medina, which
potentially could entrap a huge number of Lebanese political
figures, including at least one on his cabinet. End
comment.)


10. (C) Second, Siniora said that the tribunal must be
located outside Lebanon, and that Cyprus was preferable to
The Hague due to distance and cost advantages. On the other
hand, he joked, the further the tribunal was from Lebanon,
the more removed it would be from vicious Lebanese politics.
"Northern Alaska" might be fine, he laughed. As the location
is not part of the statute itself, the Ambassador asked
whether identifying the location was linked to cabinet and
parliamentary approval. No, Siniora said; Parliament Speaker
Berri's one-time insistence on a Lebanon-based tribunal no
longer seemed to be a red line, he thought.


11. (C) Third, Siniora said that financing for the tribunal
had to be worked out, with the GOL playing a key role.
Finally, the composition of the tribunal needed to be worked
out. Siniora expressed satisfaction that the current draft
had a mixture of international and Lebanese figures.

RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE:
QATAR, ALGERIA POSE PROBLEMS
--------------

BEIRUT 00003060 003 OF 004




12. (S) Responding to the Ambassador's concern that some
countries seemed to be bypassing the GOL and passing
reconstruction assistance directly to Hizballah, Siniora
fingered Qatar as a particularly egregious example. Calling
Qatar the "prodigal son," he went into detail about the
conversations he has been forced to have with various Qatari
officials to try to get Qatar to work through GOL
institutions. Qatar keeps resisting, using various excuses
to avoid working through the GOL. Qatar has been fully
briefed on the system Lebanon has set up for Arab donations
(Central Bank accounts over which the donor country has
signatory authority) but refuses to participate. After
complaining at length about Qatar, Siniora contrasted Qatari
intransigence with the UAE's method of providing cash
directly to Lebanese (in these case fishermen) in cooperation
with Lebanon's Higher Relief Committee. Even Iran, Siniora
noted, is financing a few projects through the GOL. He shook
his head repeatedly about Qatar.


13. (S) Algeria, Siniora continued, is also a problem. The
PM reported that he met with an Algerian parliamentarian two
days ago to discuss the Algerian allegation on
Hizballah-owned Al Manar that GOL corruption in aid
distribution had allowed a shipment of water to be sold on
the market rather than getting to intended aid recipients.
Siniora said he showed the parliamentarian receipts and
forced him to retract his statement. He noted that Algeria
is the one country -- aside from Syria -- that Siniora feels
unwelcome in. He tried to hint at visiting Algiers and the
Algerians closed the door in his face. While Qatar's
problem-making has everything to do with Qatar's rivalry with
Saudi Arabia, Algeria just sided with Syria, inexplicably.


14. (S) More broadly, Siniora was clear that while the GOL
was 'more permissive' during the war, letting aid in from all
sources, it has now returned to a 'stricter application of
the rules.'

RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE:
PLEASED WITH U.S. RESPONSIVENESS
--------------


15. (C) Siniora and his advisors were pleased by the briefing
by the Ambassador and S/CRS representative on United States
assistance delivered to to Lebanon since the crisis and USG
plans for help in the security sector. They also accepted an
informal non-paper on ideas of how to improve GOL media
outreach and donor coordination (ideas which we will pursue
with them later).
RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE: BRIDGES,
ROADS, VILLAGES "MOSTLY SUBSCRIBED"
--------------


16. (C) Siniora said that he considered his campaign to get
donors to "adopt" various projects to be a successs. Nearly
all of the damaged bridges have already been claimed for
reconstruction by foreign donors. While only 40 percent of
village projects have been covered, those already "adopted"
cover 70 percent of the reconstruction needs. Regarding the
Mudarej Bridge which the USG has offered to rebuild (in
cooperation with Italy, if Italy so desires),Siniora noted
that the Embassy can expect a letter from the prime
minister,s office authorizing our engineers to begin work,
whatever our level of cooperation with the Italians.

BEIRUT I DONOR CONFERENCE TENTATIVELY
SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 30
--------------


17. (C) The Ambassador noted that, on the margins of the
IMF/IBRD meetings in Singapore, Minister of Finance Azour
talked of holding the long-delayed Beirut I conference in
late November/early December. Siniora reacted that it would
take place in mid to late November. When the Ambassador
reminded the PM of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on November
23, Siniora and his staff, after a brief discussion, talked
of November 30 as the date. (Comment: We would not book
plane reservations yet for this date. End comment.)

SPECULATION ABOUT HIZBALLAH'S
PLANNED RALLY ON FRIDAY
--------------


BEIRUT 00003060 004 OF 004



18. (C) In response to speculation that Hassan Nasrallah
could announce his support for General Aoun for the
presidency at the planned Hizballah 'victory rally' on
Friday, Siniora thought Nasrallah would leave his doors open
to other communities by not announcing his support for Aoun.
He also queried whether the Ambassador had heard rumors that
Hizballah had asked Qatar to ask Israel to make assurances
that it would not attack the rally. Siniora said he was not
invited to the rally. While the PM expected a show of
intimidation by the size of the crowd Hizballah would muster,
he did not expect violence.

SYRIAN/SECURITY CONCERNS
--------------


19. (S) Siniora had heard Walid Junblatt's description last
night on an LBCI television interview of an alleged Syrian
threat to attack March 14 or UN forces in Lebanon in
September, but had no further information. He queried the
Ambassador regarding current thinking about who was behind
last week,s attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, and
suggested the fourth attacker who had been cooperating with
investigators and subsequently died 'was suicided.' He
followed with a request for an update on any other news on
Syria and Syrian-sympathizers in country.
FELTMAN