MGLE01: RADICAL SUNNIS CONTROL OF BEIRUT VIOLENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000335 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 TAGS: IS KPAL LE PGOV PREL PTER SY SUBJECT: MGLE01: RADICAL SUNNIS CONTROL OF BEIRUT VIOLENCE REVEALS SERIOUS WEAKNESS IN SINIORA/HARIRI GOVERNMENT Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman. Reason: Section 1.4 (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The February 5 violent protests by Sunni radicals in Beirut exposed two serious faultlines in Lebanon's effort to transition to democracy: first, the Siniora government was unable -- or unwilling -- to prevent Sunni radicals from hijacking the demonstration and causing material damage and numerous casualties; and second, the renewal of fear in the Christian community that they may be the odd ones out in the new Lebanon. Ostensibly directed against the much-discussed Danish cartoons of the prophet Mohammad, the timing of the violence in Beirut, one day after a mirror-like demonstration in Damascus, and the number of alleged Syrian and Palestinian protesters among those arrested by Lebanese authorities, strongly indicates a Syrian connection. Prime Minister Siniora and Saad Hariri's hastily issued statements of apology notwithstanding, yesterday's events, unless strong corrective action is taken, could result in a split in the pro-reform March 14 Coalition between its two most critical components, Saad Hariri's Future bloc, and its numerous supporters in the Christian community. End summary. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS -------------- ¶2. (C) At approximately 1100 hrs. local on February 5, several thousand Sunni protesters converged on downtown Beirut in the area of the office building which houses the Danish mission. The protesters arrived largely by bus that morning from Tripoli in the north, Sidon in the south, and a smaller number from Sunni towns in the Biqa Valley. Initially, police forces, who appeared prepared for a much smaller protest, cordoned off the area surrounding the Danish mission, but as the numbers grew to approximately 3,000 and became increasingly violent, the police backed off after unsuccessfully employing tear gas and water cannon. This move, in the face of a resolute crowd, may have prevented loss of life and a more serious outcome. The crowd, comprised almost exclusively of young men and shepherded by Sunni clerics, then forced its way to the site and quickly ransacked and set ablaze several floors of the eight-story structure. More heavily armed and better disciplined 
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Internal Security Forces personnel arrived on the scene at approximately 1230 hrs. and slowly established control of the situation. By 1330 hrs., firefighters were containing the blaze and the crowd was dispersing and boarding buses for the return journey to their respective towns. Late morning on February 6, emboff observed several torched and vandalized cars in the area of the unrest, as well as the extensively damaged building itself. Damage in the surrounding area was less than anticipated, but did include broken shop windows, which were already being repaired. Reliable sources reported that two Christian churches, St. Maroun Maronite Church and Mar Mitr Greek Orthodox Church, located in the immediate area of the Danish mission, also sustained damage when groups apparently splintered off from the main demonstration and stoned the churches. These were the incidents that generated considerable concern in the Christian community. There was a peaceful counter-demonstration of roughly 500 persons the evening of February 5 at St. Maroun Church and another is scheduled for the afternoon of February 6. There is currently a higher-than-normal ISF in the area. DAMAGE TO SINIORA AND HARIRI -------------- ¶3. (C) The clear failure to contain the anticipated demonstration and protect a vulnerable diplomatic mission reflects poorly on the Siniora government, which had just emerged from an extended battle of wills with an increasingly confident and aggressive Hizballah. Prior to this incident, only Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun was sharply criticizing the Siniora government for security lapses. The destructive events of February 5 have changed that. Farid el-Khazen, a respected MP from the Aounist bloc, told POLOFF that the days of moderate criticism were over. The FPM would now call for the resignation of the entire government, not simply the inept and "politically compromised" Minister of the Interior, who has just offered his resignation. MP Khazen, usually reserved, asked how much more evidence of incompetence was required. He reiterated the lengthy list of unresolved crimes of political violence and indicated yesterday's events was the final straw. Khazen BEIRUT 00000335 002 OF 003 argued that the Siniora government has appeased Hizballah by de-emphasizing UNSCR 1559 and allowed pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud to subvert reform through the placement of his three ministers in the cabinet. Khazen stressed that the Aounists, who captured 70 percent of the Christian vote in last spring's parliamentary elections, were the only significant representatives of the electorate kept out of the government. He argued that the Sunnis desire all the power and would only work with those representatives of the Christian community who bowed to their dictates. Maronite MP Robert Ghanem, a moderate member of Hariri's bloc, was far less sure that irreparable damage had been done. On February 6, he informed POLOFF that the riot was indeed a serious blow to the Siniora government, and to Hariri's reputation as a trustworthy cross-confessional leader, but the situation was not beyond repair. He said he would urge the government to act quickly and resolutely on the complete range of security issues: the reorganization and streamlining of the security services (with an emphasis on shunting aside still-numerous Syrian sympathizers),thoroughly securing Lebanon's borders, quickly addressing the issue of Palestinian arms outside the refugee camps, and opening the security services to members of all the country's sectarian communities. But even Ghanem admitted that time was running short and events like yesterday had accelerated the clock. RUMORS -- UNFOUNDED OR NOT -------------- ¶4. (C) Follwoing the Feruary 5 riots, the morning after has not been pleasant. The rumor heard with the most frequency, and possibly the most dangerous to the government and the coalition, is that Saad Hariri's Future Movement was possibly the unwitting enabler of the violence. According to this widely-discussed theory, the dozens of buses used to transport the protesters were organized and funded by Saad Hariri's Future Movement, possibly under the naive belief that such support would enhance Hariri's Lebanese Sunni credentials, which have suffered due to his prolonged absence from the country. Several interlocutors mentioned Hariri's sheepish apology and call for restraint televised from Paris and noted it was not his best performance. PM Siniora was given higher grades for his energetic round of consultations with Christian clerical and secular leaders, but it also was largely viewed as damage control. If evidence surfaces that Hariri did finance (and then fail to control) a demonstration that possibly targeted Christian interests, the damage could be difficult to repair. ¶5. (C) With perfect hindsight, it has also been noted that the February 4 violence in Damascus was the spark that lit a previously quiescent fundamentalist element in Lebanon. The large number of angry bearded fundamentalists brandishing copies of the Koran and armed with crowbars and bolt cutters in downtown Beirut was not a sight that many welcomed in the country's other sectarian communities. A question posed by former MP Salah Honein, a Maronite who is allied with Walid Jumblatt, was whether Hariri had inadvertently roused a religious segment best left at peace. Honein also wondered if the still-present Syrian intelligence operatives had somehow managed to gain influence with this combustible force without the knowledge of Hariri and other moderate Sunni leaders. ¶6. (C) Although the arrest figures are subject to independent verification, it is surprising to see that 40 percent (77 persons) of the 192 persons taken into custody are listed by the authorities are Syrian, with another 42 persons listed as Palestinian. A reporter for An-Nahar newspaper who was at the scene, Abbas Sabbagh, told us that the great majority of the protesters were clearly Lebanese. If the numbers are reliable, the discrepancy between the relatively low percentage of protesters who were Syrian/Palestinian and the high percentage arrested as the most violent participants points to an effective penetration of the event by outsiders. DAMAGE TO THE COALITION -------------- ¶7. Probably the most serious repercussion from yesterday's violence is the damage it may have caused to the critical Sunni-Christian partnership in the March 14 Coalition. Perhaps it was simply a small minority of outside agitators or fringe fundamentalists that caused damage to the two Christian churches -- and therefore could be dismissed -- but the fact that the Sunni-led government thoroughly mismanaged BEIRUT 00000335 003 OF 003 the confrontation gave rise to the openly voiced concern that Siniora and his government can no longer be trusted to protect the welfare and safety of all the elements of Lebanon's society. ¶8. As this cable is being drafted, Michel Aoun is on Lebanese television entering an unprecedented meeting with the leader of Hizballah, Hassan Nasrallah. One can easily surmise these unlikely figures will now attempt to present themselves as the protectors of the Lebanese people. Apparently, the events of February 5 are going to produce several large aftershocks in Lebanon's political landscape. FELTMAN