HOLY SEE: HEATED DISCUSSION OF LEBANON AT INTERFAITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 VATICAN 000197

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D COPY (ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE CHANGED)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/7/2016
TAGS: PREL PHUM VT
SUBJECT: HOLY SEE: HEATED DISCUSSION OF LEBANON AT INTERFAITH
GATHERING

REF: VATICAN 0194

VATICAN 00000197 001.5 OF 003


CLASSIFIED BY: Christopher Sandrolini, Charge d'affaires a.i.,
EXEC, State.
REASON: 1.4 (d)


1. Summary. A panel dedicated to Lebanon at the recent
interfaith conference in Assisi gives an indication of the
strength of feeling in the Rome-based Sant'Egidio community
about the conflict in Lebanon. The panel was unusually partisan
and emotional, given the context. End summary.



2. (SBU) Charge d'affaires and Political Officer attended a
September 4-5 conference in Assisi entitled "For a World of
Peace: Religion and Culture in Dialogue" co-sponsored by the
Community of Sant'Egidio, the Diocese of Assisi, and the Umbrian
Bishops' Conference. The conference itself is described in
reftel; this report describes one of the seventeen substantive
panel discussions at the conference. This panel, entitled "The
Future of Lebanon", was moderated by Father Vittorio Ianari of
the Community of Sant'Egidio; other speakers were Abbas Halabi
of Lebanon's Druze community; Maronite Archbishop Paul Matar of
Beirut; Seoud El Maoula of the Fondation Shamseddine pour le
Dialogue; Tarek Mitri, Lebanese Minister of Culture; and
Mohammed Sammak, Political Advisor to the Grand Mufti of
Lebanon. The panel thus had representatives from the Druze,
Maronite, Catholic, Sunni, and Shia communities.



3. (SBU) This panel stood out from the others for several
reasons: its more explicitly political focus, its Lebanese-only
composition, and its impassioned tone. All speakers pleaded for
the international community to support Lebanon in a time of
need; all criticized Israel, though to varying degrees.
Following is a sampling of each speaker's remarks:


-- Ianari: cited the importance of Lebanon to the late Pope
John Paul II, as did several others.

-- Halabi: referred to the "wild war" of Israel against
innocents in Lebanon. He cited the support for Lebanon
expressed by Pope John Paul II at the first Assisi gathering in
1986, and said that if John Paul were still alive today Lebanon
would not have suffered for so long. (Note: later, in his own
remarks, Minister Mitri alluded to and softened this implicit
criticism of Pope Benedict XVI). Despite Israeli aggression,
Lebanese are "still here, and united". Most Lebanese don't
agree with those who see Lebanon as an opportune place to fight
Israel, though availability of funds from Hizbullah is causing
temptation and dissent. There is no longer an internal balance
of power -- this will cause future problems. Many are fleeing.
There are now grave economic problems. Despite traditional
Druze-Shia problems, Druze opened doors to many thousands of
displaced persons anyway. Only moderation/cooperation will
work.


-- Matar: said he spoke not from a Maronite but from a unified
point of view. This war was totally irrational. Lebanese want
sovereignty, peace, democracy, egalitarianism, solidarity with
Arabs, and harmony between Christians and Muslims. Faith will
see us through. Lebanon, though historically weak, must be
maintained as a state. Small countries don't have the same
means of security as big ones (implying that they take recourse
to the means available). Weapons provided by big countries have
armed the factions, this will come back to haunt them. Matar
said "I love Jews as brothers" but criticized Israel severely.


-- El Maoula: said he represented a Shia point of view. Jope
John Paul II had said Lebanon represented "a message of common
life for Christians and Muslims". In the recent conflict, 1200
Lebanese were killed, of whom 500 were children, with another
2520 kids wounded. Hundreds of bridges were destroyed;
reconstruction needs will be at least $14 billion. Lebanon has
paid the price of Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1948.
400,000 Palestinians have been in Lebanon since 1968, at least 6
Israeli invasions have occurred. El Maoula referred to the
"so-called war against terror" as above all an American war.
Lebanon, a Mediterranean country in danger of disappearing,
needs Italy and France. Until an independent Palestine exists,
there will be no durable peace. Shia areas, near the Israeli
border, have paid the price for their location. Shias want
justice for all. Lebanon is necessary for the entire Arab
world. Hezbollah should disarm.


-- Sammak: a Sunni, Sammak said "I am as much Christian as a
Muslim". Referring to the Bible, he said Jesus had friends in
Tyre, and the miracle of wine happened in what is now Lebanon.

VATICAN 00000197 002.5 OF 003


In the Middle East -- with more blood, tears, and prayers than
anywhere else -- there is no justice, so there can be no peace.
There are fourteen different churches in Lebanon, plus four
Muslim communities, plus Jews. Lebanon is the antithesis of
Israel -- not a one-religion country but for all religions.
Citing events in 1964, 1969, and 1978-2000, he said that despite
Resolution 425, nothing had deterred Israeli aggression prior to
Hizbullah's success. Sammak said he is a strong critic of the
United States and Israel, but not of Jews. He claimed Israel
had articulated two objectives at the outset of the conflict:
(1) to set Lebanon back by 20 years, in which it succeeded, and
(2) to eradicate Hizbullah, in which it failed. Lebanon is
haunted by destruction and fear; its young people are fleeing.
The Lebanese government did not have advance knowledge of, and
did not condone, the abduction of two Israelis, and promptly
disavowed it. No peace will be possible without the right of
Palestinians to a viable and independent state. Sammak recited
the key dates of prior "Israeli aggression". The Koran requires
Muslims to accept Judaism and Christianity. Hamas doesn't
recognize Israel but this is separate from recognizing Jews.


-- Mitri: thanked Popes John Paul II and Benedict for their
concern, and thanked Italy and especially PM Prodi. Italy is
now Lebanon's first partner; people were pleased to see Italian
troops in Tyre. At the July 26 Rome conference Mitri and his
compatriots cried out for a ceasefire; the world heard but did
not respond for another 18 days, and even now there is only a
"cessation of hostilities" rather than a true cease-fire.
Israel had undertaken a "merciless bombardment" and Lebanese are
living under collective punishment (blockade) which was both
onerous and, perhaps worse, "humiliating". Israel's action was
unjustified morally and legally. Some -- but not enough -- in
the United States tried to get Israel to honor its commitment
under Resolution 1701. Hizbullah was not created ex nihilo by
Iran, but is a political/military movement born in resistance to
the 1978-2000 occupation. Middle Easterners are peoples of
memory. The credibility of the international community, as
custodians of international law, is at stake. Many Israeli
actions are crimes, not accidents. After Oslo, there were many
attempts at dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis; now it's
completely sterile. It is time for the international community
to intervene. Hizbullah is part and parcel of Lebanon, not
extraneous; strong and popular, it has been strengthened by the
conflict. Mitri said that the history of post-2000 violations
of the Blue Line, as documented by the UN, shows violations by
both Hizbullah and Israel -- the latter with over 10,000 by air
-- but the usual pattern was a tit for tat response followed by
negotiations.


--------------
Comment
--------------


4. (SBU) We do not know the individual speakers (though Charge
spoke at length to Mitri) and defer to Embassy Beirut as to
their importance in Lebanon. The panel itself is an indication
of strong feelings in the Community of Sant'Egidio regarding the
conflict in Lebanon. The Holy See was alarmed by the recent
conflict in Lebanon (as reported frequently by post),and
Sant'Egidio -- a well-respected and important contact for
Embassy Vatican -- has now made clear that it shares this
intense concern.



5. (SBU) Sant'Egidio itself -- a Catholic lay organization,
theologically conservative and politically liberal -- is
dedicated to peace and interreligious harmony. It is very
active in local charitable activities such as soup kitchens and
community development, but also in conflict resolution,
particularly in Africa, where it was a key part of peace talks
in Mozambique in the early 1990s. It is pro-American (Charge
recently attended Sant'Egidio's moving 9/11 commemoration, which
it has held every year on that date since 2001) and is trying to
expand its membership in the United States; in the spring of
2006 it co-hosted an International Prayer for Peace in
Washington. It is also demonstrably committed to building
bridges with both Judaism and with Israel, and hosted a previous
inter-faith dialogue in Jerusalem in 1995.



6. (SBU) There were no Israeli, or Jewish, speakers on the
panel, and -- insofar as we could tell -- very few in the packed
hall, though there were many present at the Assisi conference;
there were a number of questions from the audience following the
presentations, but nearly all agreed with the presenters. A
senior Sant'Egidio official told Charge that the Community felt
morally obliged to include a panel on Lebanon, given the very
strong feelings about the Lebanon conflict within the Community;
and also that they saw no way to achieve a "balanced" panel

VATICAN 00000197 003.5 OF 003


without running the risk of fistfights. Rather than forgo the
issue altogether, Sant'Egidio preferred to go ahead as described
above. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See, also present at
the conference but not at the panel, expressed frustration at
the way things had turned out -- and strong disagreement with
the panel's conclusions -- but is also pursuing a proposal for
Sant'Egidio to hold one of its next interfaith conferences in
Israel.
SANDROLINI