MIDDLE EAST: MALAYSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HAMID

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 001353 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV MY IS LE SUBJECT: MIDDLE EAST: MALAYSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HAMID URGES U.S. ACTION ON CEASE FIRE REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 931 ¶B. KUALA LUMPUR 964 Classified By: Ambassador Christopher J. LaFleur for reasons 1.4(B)and(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During a July 21 meeting with the Ambassador called at the Foreign Minister's request, FM Hamid urged that the U.S. get all sides in the current Lebanon crisis to implement a cease fire as soon as possible. He labeled Israel's response to the kidnapping of its soldiers as "disproportionate," and claimed that demanding the return of the soldiers before implementing a cease fire would only result in more civilian deaths. Hamid also stated that Malaysia is willing to send peacekeepers to the area. Ambassador LaFleur replied that the U.S. had conveyed to the Israelis that while they have the right to defend themselves, they also need to avoid civilian casualties and urged the GOM to encourage Hezbollah's and Hamas' backers to cease their attacks. Hamid stressed that although Malaysians were concerned about the Middle East situation, there would be no security problem with respect to the Secretary's security during her July 27-28 visit to Kuala Lumpur and he was personally looking forward to meeting with her. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Foreign Minister Hamid said he had requested a meeting with Ambassador LaFleur in order to express his government's concern about the situation in the Middle East. Malaysia believes that the U.S. has a unique role to play in the current crisis, Hamid explained, and there's a growing belief among Muslim countries that Washington is not doing enough to achieve a cease fire. A cease fire needs to be established immediately, and waiting for the Israeli soldiers to be released will just prolong the conflict and result in further civilian deaths, Hamid said. He argued that everybody recognizes the right of self defense, but acts of self defense must be seen to be proportionate, and Israel's responses to the kidnappings of its soldiers have exceeded the level of the original provocations. As Chairman of both the NAM and the OIC, he appealed to the American sense of justice and reasonableness and urged that the U.S. get both sides to call a cease fire as soon as possible. ¶3. (C) FM Hamid said he was not only concerned about the Palistinians, but about regional stability in the Middle East. He said that the Secretary of the Arab League had recently told him that there's a feeling among Arab countries that no-one cares about ending the crisis. He worried that "extremist organizations will have a recruiting field day;" that they would take advantage of the situation to create further instability, and that this would further frustrate efforts to resolve the crisis. Hamid commented that the Quartet by itself is unable to resolve the crisis and that the UNSC needed to be seized with the issue. He added that Malaysia was willing to take part in a "stabilizing force" should the situation warrant it, but he first appealed to the U.S. to help stop the bombing and "get the parties together." He cited press reports claiming that the U.S. had given Israel's campaign a "green light." "Nobody supports terrorism," Hamid concluded, "but the lack of proportion in the Israeli response puts us in a difficult position, and we need the U.S. to act." ¶4. (C) Ambassador LaFleur replied that the U.S. had conveyed to the Israelis that while they have the right to defend themselves, they also need to avoid civilian casualties. It was apparent, he added, that Malaysia's fellow OIC members,Iran and Syria, were in large part responsible for the crisis because of their encouragement and support for Hezbollah and Hamas. The Ambassador stressed that we needed not only to address the crisis but to address its causes as well, to avoid repeated violence in the future. He urged the GOM to encourage Hezbollah's and Hamas' backers to stop supporting violence and to contribute to a resolution. Secretary Rice is fully engaged in the effort to resolve the problem, he added, and he was confident the level of the U.S. effort would be clear in the days ahead. ¶5. (C) FM Hamid concluded the meeting by stating that while Malaysians were concerned about the Middle East, extremist groups could not operate in Malaysia, and there would be no security problem for the U.S. in general, and the Secretary in particular. The Ambassador informed the FM that the ruling party's youth wing had organized a demonstration in front of the Embassy for that afternoon. The Foreign KUALA LUMP 00001353 002 OF 002 Minister, who looked surprised at this news, said the demonstration had no government support and reiterated that there would be no problem for the Secretary during her visit. He was very much looking forward to meeting her in Kuala Lumpur. LAFLEUR