LEBANON: RETICENT PATRIARCH HINTS AT STRONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001563 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO/YERGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/03/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: RETICENT PATRIARCH HINTS AT STRONG COMPROMISE CANDIDATE REF: LEBANON 1554 BEIRUT 00001563 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Maronite Patriarch Sfeir continues to receive a flurry of key visitors attempting to plead their interests, get his blessing, and squeeze out information from the tight-lipped yet influential cleric. While he offered little of his own thinking, he did inquire about MP Hariri's visit to Washington. Ambassador sought assurances that the Patriarch was comfortable with U.S. policy regarding the elections, namely, that the elections be conducted freely and fairly, in line with Lebanon's constitution, and without foreign interference. The Ambassador also assured the Patriarch the U.S. will strongly support a newly elected President chosen based on these principles. The Patriarch agreed with those messages. (See septel for the Patriarch's private comments on presidential candidates.) End Summary. PATRIARCH IS CURIOUS ABOUT HARIRI'S WASHINGTON VISIT -------------- ¶2. (C) Ambassador and POLOFF visited Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir October 4 to ensure the Patriarch was comfortable with U.S. policy regarding the elections. Sfeir inquired about MP Saad Hariri's visit to Washington, taking place that same day. The Ambassador informed him USG officials would be stressing during the visit their support for preserving UNSCR 1559 and for endorsing a new president who is elected through democratic, constitutional means, without foreign intervention. The Ambassador briefed the Patriarch on the differences in language between UNSCRs 1559 and 1701, noting why UNSCR 1559 was so important. When the discussion turned to the issue of disarming Hizballah, the Patriarch, agreeing on the need to preserve UNSCR 1559, responded in unusually (for the enigmatic cleric) clear terms: "It is not a state when another group has arms. This is unacceptable." BUT HOW TO FIND A STRONG PRESIDENT? -------------- ¶3. (C) Turning to the election, the Patriarch said it would be very good to have a strong president, but how do you find him? He commented on what he perceives to be a marked change in Christian allegiances - the Christians today are divided in their support between the Shia-controlled Aoun/Hizballah bloc and the Sunni-controlled March 14 movement, in contrast to previous times when there were two prevailing Christian-dominated but cross-confessional political parties, from which the president was always chosen. There are no strong candidates who are able to garner enough support, he said. The Ambassador responded that, from the perspective of the U.S., the new president, if chosen according the principles outlined in the annual Maronite Bishops' statement, would receive the appropriate presidential treatment, and in this way, would essentially strengthen the role of the president. ¶4. (C) Addressing the Patriarch's suspicions that the Maronite presidency is permanently marginalized, the Ambassador assured the Patriarch that, despite our ongoing boycott of President Lahoud, we understood the need to help strengthen the role of the President vis-a-vis the prime minister, whose status has been artificially elevated to de facto head of state by virtue of the loss of presidential credibility after President Emile Lahoud's Syrian-orchestrated extension. In other words, assuming that the president is a credible figure, the U.S. will again treat the president as a president and the PM as a PM. This outcome of course rests on Lebanon's success in choosing a president democratically, according to the constitution, and without foreign intervention. CONSIDERING COMPROMISE CANDIDATES -------------- ¶5. (C) The Patriarch acknowledged that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had been one of the many visitors soliciting the BEIRUT 00001563 002.2 OF 002 Patriarch for his position on candidates. This led to a review of names with the Ambassador. Recognizing the challenges of getting March 8 to vote for Boutros Harb or Nassib Lahoud, the Patriarch commented elusively that there are some people who can be strong compromise candidates. He thanked the Ambassador for the USG's efforts in getting a new president in Lebanon. (See reftel for the Patriarch's private comments on presidential candidates.) COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) With Hizballah and other pro-Syrians finding ways each day to denounce UNSCR 1559, we wanted to enlist the Patriarch in UNSCR 1559's defense. Since all presidential candidates and would-be candidates parade through Sfeir's reception room, we wanted him to understand why the candidates should not readily abandon UNSCR 1559. He seemed to get the point (although it is not clear whether the reticent cleric will volunteer this to the candidates, unless they explicitly ask his advice). We know, too, how suspicious the Patriarch is that the state of disrepair into which the Presidency has fallen under the disreputable Emile Lahoud is permanent. We wanted him to aspire to the best possible president, in the knowledge that we will be prepared to help restore the strength and prestige of the office in the case a credible candidate is elected. FELTMAN