LEBANON: SINIORA CALLS FOR "CONVIVENCIA"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000772

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/MARCHESE/HARDING; STATE FOR NEA/ELA,
NEA/FO FOR ATACHCO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: SINIORA CALLS FOR "CONVIVENCIA"

Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) In a meeting with the House Democracy Assistance
Commission (HDAC),Prime Minister Siniora shared his own
understanding of the Lebanese will to live with one another.
He insisted that Lebanon must exert sovereignty over its own
lands, which in his definition include Sheb'a Farms.
Recovery of this land would also eliminate a barrier to
disarming Hizballah. In regard to the crisis in the north,
Siniora said he is not negotiating with Fatah al-Islam, but
is talking with the Palestinians, who in turn talk to the
extremists. This is a battle between Lebanon and terrorists;
not a battle with Palestinians, Siniora asserted. General
Aoun may want to come over to the majority, but might not be
able to, since he single-mindedly wants the presidency.
Meanwhile, Aoun is reaping the fruits of the "misbehavior of
Hassan Nasrallah." End Summary.

"CONVIVENCIA"
--------------


2. (C) Prime Minister Fouad Siniora met on May 29 with
members of the House Democracy Assistance Commission. The
Ambassador, Econoff, and staff aids accompanied the
delegation. Siniora was joined by his Chief of Protocol
Ambassador Ramez Dimashkieh and staff aide Rola Noureddine.
Siniora thanked the congressional members for the inflow of
support and ammunition for the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF),
saying that the nature and intensity of the challenges facing
Lebanon today are enormous. These challenges are all
effectively directed at what Lebanon represents: democracy,
openness, tolerance, moderation and acceptance. To
illustrate the core ethic of Lebanon Siniora resorted to an
old Spanish word, dating back to the time when the Arabs and
the Spanish lived together. he defined this as "convivencia"
or "living together." Lebanese, when faced with a challenge,
are still convinced that there isn't a better model for their
country.

ASSASSINATIONS, TRIBUNALS
AND IMPUNITY
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3. (C) Siniora described Lebanon as a country of "impunity,"
echoing a statement made by MP Saad Hariri to the delegation
the previous day. Referring to the many assassinations in
Lebanon over recent years, Siniora said that, never knowing
who or why or how, there is no way to stop them or to protect
democracy without the international tribunal. During the
rounds of discussion in the national dialogue a year ago, the
question of the tribunal was passed on the first round. So
how can it be, Siniora asked, that the opposition now says
that the tribunal is a U.S. plot? Siniora pointed out that
there were efforts to stop the assassinations and to protect
democracy through other methods, but to the surprise of all,
Speaker Berri "took sides" and "closed the house (Parliament)
and opened the streets." He believed that Berri pre-empted
the Parliament. For those reasons, Siniora felt compelled to
write to the UN to request the establishment of the tribunal
under Chapter VII of the Un Charter.

SOVEREIGNTY OVER ITS OWN LANDS
--------------


3. (C) Siniora then took up the question of Sheb'a Farms,
saying that Lebanon needs sovereignty over "all" of its
lands, which he made clear includes, in his mind, Sheba'a
Farms. Although the UN up until now has considered Sheb'a
Farms to be Syrian, it believes that Israel should withdraw.
However, now the UN is about to issue a ruling that will
probably say that the Sheb'a Farms belong to Lebanon.
Although the land is not strategically important, the
re-possession of it would take away a strong argument jthat
Hizballah uses to justify the retention of its arms. Because
the army and security are the most important tools of a
state, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) need a monopoly over
the use of force. Until Hizballah disarms this will not be
possible. It was only recently that the LAF was able to
deploy to the south, after an absence of 35 years.

BATTLE WITH FATAH AL-ISLAM
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BEIRUT 00000772 002 OF 002



4. (C) Siniora pointed out that Fatah al-Islam, which he
said "borrowed its name," is aggressive and began the recent
attacks in the North even before the LAF reached the Fatah
al-Islam leased apartments. (Note: The apartments were safe
houses for Fatah al-Islam members who were suspected of
robbing banks. End Note.) Siniora said that Fatah al-Islam
has been "hijacking" the Palestinian camps. This is not a
war with the Palestinians, he insisted, but a war between
Lebanon and terrorists. He would like it if Fatah al-Islam
were to surrender, but a battle is preferable to continued
terror. He understands that the Palestinians want to protect
themselves, but there are now too many groups. The
aggression of Fatah al-Islam reveals a failure of the
Palestinians to self-police, and now there are armed groups
outside of the camps. The government is not negotiating with
Fatah al-Islam itself, but talking with Hammas and Fatah;
they in turn talk to Fatah al-Islam. When asked about the
details of the fighting, Siniora laughingly replied, "I'm not
General Montgomery." However, he did say that they are
studying and assessing all possible outcomes, and working
with the Palestinians against the extremists. He also
pointed out that the original Cairo agreement, calling for
the government to stay out of the camps, was cancelled in
1984 and not renewed; now the agreement is unwritten only.

GENERAL AOUN
--------------


5. (C) Siniora felt that FPM leader General Michel Aoun is
extremely embarrassed by the constant aggression of his ally,
Hizballah. Siniora described Aoun as "picking the fruits of
the misbehavior of Hassan Nasrallah." The first of those
fruits was the disastrous results of the election by the
doctors' syndicate, in which 60-70% of the Christians sided
with the March 14 bloc rather than Aoun's FPM. Siniora
acknowledged the possibility of a change in Aoun's alliances,
but said that he doesn't know how much change is possible,
given Aoun's obsession to be president. Of that, Siniora
would only say, "Lahoud is crazy, but not that crazy!"


6. (U) The House Democracy Assistance Commission has not
cleared this cable.
FELTMAN