STOCKHOLM DONORS CONFERENCE: SWISS AID TO LEBANON

UNCLAS BERN 001571 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR NEA, EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PREL SZ SW SUBJECT: STOCKHOLM DONORS CONFERENCE: SWISS AID TO LEBANON REF: A. SECSTATE 139903 ¶B. BERN 1505 1.(SBU) Switzerland will be represented at the Stockholm donors conference on Lebanon by an expert delegation led by the head of the Swiss Development Agency (SDA) humanitarian relief office, Toni Frisch. Accompanying Frisch will be Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Middle East advisor Amb. Nicolas Lang and international humanitarian law specialist Daniel Klingele. 2.(SBU) Yet to be determined is the level and focus of Swiss aid. The Federal Council (cabinet) on August 23 balked at Foreign Minister Calmy-Rey's proposal for Swiss Francs 20 million (nearly $16 million) in aid for Lebanon, deferring a decision on aid until after the Stockholm meeting. Part of the reason for postponing the decision appears to have been anger at Calmy-Rey's outspoken criticism of Israel, which some Swiss believed was not in keeping with Switzerland's policy of neutrality. However, Swiss aid officials also came under fire for financing and erecting tent cities in the north of Lebanon that ended up not being used when displaced southerners returned home. 3.(SBU) DFA Lebanon desk officer Leo Trembley told Poloff during reftel demarche that representatives of the DFA, SDA, and Swiss Defense Department would meet later on August 25 to draw up proposals, but that decisions would be taken only after officials had an overview of what the rest of the international community was planning. Asked to guess on the range of possible Swiss donor support, Trembley said SFr. 20 million ($16 million) was the maximum, but that it could be less than half of that. Everything depended on the needs assessment. For their part, Defense officials would likely discuss possible medical donations, de-mining efforts, or the erection of temporary bridges, but all of this was speculative. A government spokesman earlier this week tamped down any discussion of Swiss uniformed military participation in UNIFIL (see ref B). ROSEN