LEBANESE MINISTER ON: UNIIIC STATUTE, MERKEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 003161

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/MARCHESE/SINGH
STATE FOR NEA/ELA, NEA/FO:ATACHCO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2016
TAGS: LE PGOV PREL KCRM
SUBJECT: LEBANESE MINISTER ON: UNIIIC STATUTE, MERKEL
COMMENT, SYRIA-EU AGREEMENT, AND RECONSTRUCTION

Classified By: Jeffrey D. Feltman, Ambassador. Reason: 1.4 (d)

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


1. (C) On 9/29, Telecommunications Minister Hamadeh shared
with us his plans to introduce the special tribunal statute
in next Thursday's cabinet meeting. He gave a readout from
PM Siniora's recent trip to Strasbourg and Berlin, addressing
the issues of Angela Merkel's characterization of the German
participation in UNIFIL as "protecting Israel" and of the
EU's plans to revive discussion of an Association Agreement
with Syria. Finally, he agreed with us that the PM's
management style, which allows for little delegation, has
stalled the GOL reconstruction effort and may result in PR
ground lost to Hizballah. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Ambassador and Polchief met with Druze
Communications Minister Marwan Hamadeh at the home of former
Deputy PM Fouad Boutros. Also present was former Central
Bank Governor Sheikh Michel Khoury. Boutros, who chairs the
commission to reform Lebanon's electoral law, and Khoury have
been veterans of the Lebanon political scene for decades and,
while octogenarians, remain committed to and active in
Lebanon's political development.

UNIIIC STATUTE TO CABINET NEXT WEEK
--------------


3. (C) With the recent release of the Brammertz report, our
interlocutors were particularly focused on the progress of
UNIIIC and the proposed special tribunal with international
character. Hamadeh told us that he will place the draft
statute for the tribunal on the agenda for next Thursday's
cabinet meeting. The statute was edited with the help of
UNIIIC judge Serge Brammertz to remove politically difficult
"crimes against humanity" language; it is now in a form that
the cabinet can swallow, Hamadeh said. The Ambassador noted
that the Security Council has not yet vetted the latest
draft, but Hamadeh said that Minister of Justice Rizk intends
to introduce it in any case with the caveat that the
international community may request changes. Should at some
point before the cabinet meeting UNSC representatives review
and support the text -- no formal UNSC approval is required
-- so much easier will be the statute's approval by the
cabinet; and changes can be taken on board. Hamadeh asked
the Ambassador to seek Department support for the latest
draft and said that he was making similar requests of the
French and Russian Ambassadors in Beirut.

EU TELLS SINIORA: ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT WITH SYRIA ON AGENDA
-------------- --------------


4. (C) According to Hamadeh, in his meeting with EU Foreign
Minister Javier Solana this week, Siniora was told that the
idea of an EU Association Agreement with Syria was back on
the EU's foreign policy agenda and would be the subject of
meetings in October. Voices within the EU had long sought
such an agreement, noting that Syria is the only country on
the Mediterranean littoral with which the EU does not have
one. The Agreement was completed years ago but blocked by
the UK and the Netherlands, and following the assassination
of former PM Rafiq al-Hariri French President Jacques Chirac
put a hold on the project. (Note: the French remain opposed,
to the best of our knowledge, and the Agreement will
presumably not progress further before the resolution of the
UNIIIC investigation. End Note.)

MERKEL COMMENT ON ISRAEL
--------------


5. (C) In Berlin, according to Hamadeh, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel repeated to PM Siniora her statement from
mid-September that German forces deploying to Lebanon and off
its coast would protect Israel. She explained that this
formulation was not a misstatement and is in fact taken in
Lebanon's interest. Hamadeh expressed his approval of the
German formulation, noting that it makes political sense and
that Germany's contribution to a UN force so close to Israel
is a very sensitive matter.


BEIRUT 00003161 002 OF 002


PRESSING SINIORA FOR ACTION ON RECONSTRUCTION
--------------


6. (C) The Ambassador mentioned his disappointment with the
pace of reconstruction activities and the lack of delegation
exercised by Siniora, who seems determined to micromanage
reconstruction projects without sufficient coordination. He,
along with other donor and P5 Ambassadors in Beirut, will
present a demarche to the PM encouraging greater efficiency
and noting the importance of making Lebanon's reconstruction
a success. The group agreed that Siniora's management style
does not delegate or use his ministers sufficiently. Hamadeh
said that Walid Jumblatt and Saad Hariri are planning to make
a similar approach to the PM in the next few days, citing the
danger that Hizballah could score a PR victory over the GOL
unless the latter begins to make a tangible difference in the
lives of those affected by the conflict with Israel.

COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) We were surprised by Hamadeh's statement that the
cabinet could debate the Hariri tribunal statute as early as
next Thursday. Hamadeh's argument was that the cabinet needs
to address this issue now, before Hizballah and Aoun together
build momentum to topple Siniora's government after Ramadan.
Until Hamadeh's comments today, we had understood that
Siniora would not allow cabinet discussion on the draft
statute until he received word that UNSC members were
comfortable with the draft. The Ambassador will see Siniora
on 9/30 to ask his thinking and caution him that UNSC members
may ask for changes in the text. If that happens, Siniora
needs to be prepared to bring the revised draft back to the
cabinet -- or else pass the draft in such a way that minor
changes don't need cabinet approval (perhaps by having the
cabinet designate Minister of Justice Rizk as authorized to
accept changes). We note that, after the cabinet passes the
draft, it still must win parliamentary ratification.
FELTMAN