LEBANON: BELLEMARE WILL EMULATE BRAMMERTZ'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 001133

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/06/2017
TAGS: PREL PTER UNSC SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: BELLEMARE WILL EMULATE BRAMMERTZ'S
APPROACH AT UNIIIC


Classified By: Ambassador Alejandro D. Wolff, per 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. During a meeting with Amb Wolff on December
5, incoming UNIIIC head and Prosecutor-designate of the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon Daniel Bellemare recognized the
sense of frustration among Council members about not
receiving much information on the state of UNIIIC's
investigation. He pledged to be as forthcoming as possible
with us in private without jeopardizing his inquiry. But he
emphasized that he would have to follow the same overall
approach as his predecessor, Serge Brammertz, to preserve the
"integrity" of his investigation. Any names of suspects
UNIIIC identifies, Bellemare clarified, would only be
presented in indictments delivered to the tribunal. He said
his first priority upon his return to Beirut would be to
ensure the continued effectiveness of UNIIIC by retaining
current staff and filling new positions. Afterwards, he
would concentrate on examining the evidence collected thus
far to determine if he has a case to prosecute. Bellemare
recognized that the UNIIIC probe is in its "homestretch," but
wondered whether its mandate might be extended beyond June
15, 2008. End Summary.

Bellemare Will Name Names Through Indictments
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2. (C) After congratulating Bellemare on his appointment and
assuring him that the U.S. would do all it could to support
his efforts, Amb Wolff noted a sense of frustration in the
Council that member states do not have a good sense of where
the UNIIIC investigation is going. Part of this frustration,
he observed, stems from expectations set by the degree of
information provided in UNIIIC's earliest reports. But the
Council's views are also informed by the expectations in the
founding documents of the Commission, including UNSCR 1595,
which requested that UNIIIC report the "conclusions" of its
investigation to the Council, and UNSCR 1636, which
explicitly envisioned the naming of suspects by the
Commission without prejudice to their legal rights.
Recognizing that Bellemare should not do anything to
compromise his investigation, Amb Wolff urged him to be as
forthcoming with Council members -- in private if need be --
as possible. Amb Wolff also urged him to stay in close touch
with Embassy Beirut.


3. (C) Bellemare said he understood Council frustration about
the lack of information on UNIIIC's work and pledged to
provide as much information as possible in private without
jeopardizing the investigation. But he stressed that he
would follow the same overall approach as his predecessor,
Serge Brammertz. If he finds that he has a case to
prosecute, the names of suspects will become known in the
indictments he files with the tribunal. To name suspects
otherwise, he argued, would "jeopardize the rights of the
accused." Bellemare emphasized that his priority is to lead
an "impartial, neutral" investigation as a "technician" not a
"politician." In that regard, he added that he does not
intend to seek a higher media profile than Brammertz. "My
job is to prosecute a case, not to be a rock star," Bellemare
declared, helpfully dispelling any such misperceptions USUN
may have had. Bellemare also advised that he might create a
UNIIIC website to provide as much transparency into its work
as possible.

Priority Now is Staff Retention
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4. (SBU) Reporting that his transition to Commissioner was
going well so far, Bellemare said his first priority would be
to staff the investigative division of UNIIIC. He had been
"very impressed" with the ability and level of commitment of
UNIIIC staff, and wanted to ensure most of them remained with
the Commission and the tribunal. Although he could not offer
job contracts with the tribunal yet, Bellemare said upon his
return to Beirut, he planned to be as forthcoming with
current employees about their futures as possible. In the
short term, he planned to focus on improving living
conditions by expanding the secure zone in which UNIIIC staff
can move without permission from security staff -- possibly
to include Cyprus -- as well as trying to speed up the UN
staffing cycle, and asking countries to loan experts directly
to the Commission. Another priority Bellemare mentioned is
to develop rules of evidence for UNIIIC and, at least
preliminarily, for the tribunal. If a witness changes his
story or disappears, for example, would his original
statement still be admissible in court? What are the rules
for "connectivity" between the Hariri case and the other
attacks?

Initial Impressions Good

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5. (C) Although he had only been on the job for one week,
Bellemare said his initial impressions were that the
investigation was proceeding well. Brammertz was more
optimistic than he had ever been, Bellemare noted, and
UNIIIC's DNA and telecom analysis appear to offer promising
leads. That said, Bellemare underscored that after
addressing staffing issues, his second priority would be to
examine all the evidence to see if he has a case to
prosecute. He would "not stop until every stone is unturned"
in the search for admissible evidence. But in the end, if he
realizes that the investigation is "hitting a wall," and that
all avenues are pursued, Bellemare assured Amb Wolff he would
report accordingly. His job is not to implicate someone for
the Hariri assassination no matter what, but to go where the
facts and evidence lead him.

Transition Timeline Unclear
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6. (C) Asked about timing of the transition from UNIIIC to
the tribunal, Bellemare recognized that the UNIIIC
investigation is in its "home stretch," but said he did not
know if the Commission's mandate would be extended when it
expires on June 15, 2008. He wondered whether it would make
sense to have the two entities operate simultaneously, given
the Commission's ability to draw on funding from assessed
contributions and its power to compel cooperation from third
countries (Syria). Underscoring U.S. interest in setting up
the tribunal at the earliest possible time, Amb Wolff
expressed hope that Bellemare would not have to "start again"
in the investigation as Brammertz seemed to do when he took
over from Mehlis, and thereby delay the transition by many
months. Acknowledging that Brammertz was forced to review
the evidence collected by Mehlis and pursue a different
approach in the investigation, Bellemare emphasized that he
was entirely comfortable with Brammertz's approach and could
pick up where he left off.

Comment: Keep Bellemare on a Tight Leash
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7. (C) As a career prosecutor, Bellemare seems to have firm
views on how international criminal investigations should be
handled, and is not likely to alter that view because of
pressure from individual Council members. We should,
however, hold him to his pledge to be as forthcoming on the
investigation in private as possible. In order to ensure the
tribunal is set up as soon as possible and indictments are
not put off indefinitely, USUN also recommends that we decide
now and communicate to Bellemare that we will not/not support
an extension of UNIIIC's mandate beyond June 15, 2008.
Khalilzad