MALAYSIA HOSTS OIC CONFERENCE ON LEBANON AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUALA LUMPUR 001458 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL NACB IS LE MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA HOSTS OIC CONFERENCE ON LEBANON AND PALESTINE, URGES IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on August 3 hosted dignitaries from 17 other countries belonging to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to discuss and plan a course of action in the Lebanon and Palestine conflicts. Predictably, Abdullah called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and asked Muslim nations to play a more proactive role in the conflict, to include possibly sending peacekeeping troops under the UN banner. Abdullah castigated Israel for its actions, suggesting these represented an unfair extension of the war on terror. While not mentioning the U.S. or other specific countries, Abdullah raised concerns of Western agendas in the Middle East and noted "a secret design" pursued by Israel with the support of "others." Abdullah avoided any criticism of Hizbollah. Iranian President Ahmadinejad backed an immediate ceasefire, while referring to the elimination of Israel as the "main cure." Some OIC leaders offered more tempered views, focusing on needed UN actions (Bangladesh) or expressing concern over the long-term impact on the Middle East and the build up of Muslim anger (Pakistan). Initially billed in press reports as only OIC Executive Committee meeting, Abdullah presided over a more expansive gathering of leaders from the Muslim world. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi hosted on August 3 a special meeting of the OIC in Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia. Abdullah called the meeting, officially known as the Meeting of the Friends of the Chair of the 10th Islamic Summit Conference, in an effort to unify the OIC and issue a joint statement on Palestine and Lebanon. The following heads of state, prime ministers and foreign ministers were in attendance: - 1) Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, representing the Sultan of Brunei - 2) Prince Hamzah ibn Al-Hussein, representing the King of Jordan - 3) President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Indonesia) - 4) President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran) - 5) Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia (Bangladesh) - 6) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (Pakistan) - 7) Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey) - 8) Prime Minister Artur Rasizadeh (Azerbaijan) - 9) Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh (Lebanon) - 10) Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi (Palestine) - 11) Foreign Minister Dr. Abubaker Abdullah Alqirbi (Yemen) - 12) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nizar bin Obeid Al Madani (Saudi Arabia) - 13) Senior State Minister in the Office of the President, Abdoul Kader Sow (Senegal) - 14) Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Councils, Dr. Mufid Mahmoud Shihab (Egypt) - 15) Vice Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad (Syria) - 16) Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Saif Muqaddam Al-Buainain (Qatar) - 17) Deputy Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Dr. Tariq Ahmad Al-Haidan (U.A.E.) - 18) OIC Secretary General Dr. Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu ¶3. (U) In his opening remarks, Abdullah called upon the attendees to "play a more proactive role in the present conflict." He encouraged the OIC members to "show preparedness to contribute forces for peacekeeping operations under the United Nations banner." "We cannot continue issuing mere statements of condemnation for the violence," declared Abdullah. "It is insufficient to express sympathy for the victims. Let us resolve to come up with a practical plan of action to stop the war and bring back the peace. We must help to rebuild Lebanon and Palestine. We must address the humanitarian situation." ¶4. (C) Abdullah offered thinly veiled criticism of the United States and the West and avoided casting any blame on Hizbollah. He declared that "this war has been labeled as part of the global war on terror. Reference has been made to an arc of extremism stretching across the Middle East and beyond and the need for the Western world to boldly confront that. Hizbollah has been branded an extremist terrorist organization. Certain countries have been blamed for supporting Hizbollah. We also hear some Western leaders talking about bringing into being a new Middle East. We know what that means. To me, all these signal a grave situation which can bring about even graver consequences." He added that "Israel is being supported by some others in pursuing their secret design." ¶5. (U) Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Begum Zia of Bangladesh took a softer approach and suggested a UN sponsored conference be held to find ways and means to enhance the authority of the Lebanese government and immediate reconstruction of its economy and infrastructure. Zia declared: "We are not here to incite passion of retaliation and more bloodletting. On the contrary, we have assembled here to issue a firm call to the Israeli leadership to bring an immediate halt to the violence that it has let loose." ¶6. (U) Sounding a pessimistic outlook for the future, Pakistani PM Shaukat Aziz stated that "the failure of the international community, especially the United Nations and the world powers to halt this outrage is adding to popular anger in the region and around the world. . . .This paralysis is dangerous and can have incalculable consequences for long-term peace and security in the sensitive Middle East region and in the world." The OIC's Secretary General, Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu, echoed a similar refrain: "I am afraid that the anger of the Muslim masses is being transformed into permanent hatred against the aggressors and their implicit and explicit protectors." ¶7. (U) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Kuala Lumpur on the morning of August 3. He reportedly commented that "although the main cure is the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate ceasefire should be implemented." ¶8. (C) Comment: Despite press reports that the Meeting of Friends would take the form of an OIC Executive Committee meeting (only seven countries),Abdullah presided over a much larger gathering, thus including the most strident anti-Israeli voices including Syria and Iran. Such an expansion will likely skew any final report (still pending as of late afternoon August 3) that must express a consensus of the attendees. LAFLEUR