Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BEIRUT1067
2008-07-22 17:46:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beirut
Cable title:  

LEBANON: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT: HIZBALLAH'S ARMS

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC LE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3510
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #1067/01 2041746
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221746Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2538
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2630
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2903
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001067 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR IO A/S SILVERBERG AND PDAS WARLICK
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/KUMAR/PHEE
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/GAVITO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT: HIZBALLAH'S ARMS
REMAIN AN OBSTACLE

REF: BEIRUT 1050

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).

SUMMARY
--------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001067

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR IO A/S SILVERBERG AND PDAS WARLICK
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/KUMAR/PHEE
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/GAVITO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: MINISTERIAL STATEMENT: HIZBALLAH'S ARMS
REMAIN AN OBSTACLE

REF: BEIRUT 1050

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).

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


1. (C) After its fifth meeting on July 22, the ministerial
committee charged with drafting cabinet's statement to
parliament has made significant progress, including text on
economic objectives and Syrian-Lebanese relations, but
remains deadlocked on how to address Hizballah's weapons.
The committee plans to meet each day over the next two to
three days, but our informed contacts are not predicting when
it will reach an agreement.


2. (C) According to committee member (and Finance Minister)
Mohammed Chatah, March 14 is standing firm on its position
that there should be strong language on Hizballah's arms and,
if the opposition rejects that, that the parties should defer
discussion of the arms issue until the upcoming National
Dialogue rather than agree on watered down language in the
ministerial statement. End summary.

HIZBALLAH'S ARMS MAY DELAY
AGREEMENT ANOTHER WEEK
--------------


3. (C) The 11-member ministerial committee charged with
drafting the cabinet's statement to parliament made
substantial progress by its fifth meeting on July 22,
contacts who are on and not on the committee told us.
Minister of State Nassib Lahoud, a committee member,
reported on July 22 that much of the statement has been
drafted, including text on economic and social objectives,
and Syrian-Lebanese relations. Hizballah's weapons remain
the obstacle to drafting the statement, Lahoud said.


4. (C) Finance Minister Mohammed Chatah, also a committee
member, confirmed this to Charge the evening of July 22,
noting that discussion had advanced to the point where he
believed that in the following day's session the committee
would have to decide whether to shift the issue to the
National Dialogue forum. Chatah said the March 14 majority

is still united on deferring the issue to the dialogue table
rather than agree on a weak compromise on arms to obtain
agreement at any cost. ut he admitted that for there to be
progress, th opposition is going to have to relent.


5. (C) Mnister of Telecommunications Gebran Bassil, an
opposition member of the drafting committee, told us after
the July 22 session that the committee planned to continue
meeting over the next three days. Ali Hamdan, advisor to
Speaker Nabih Berri, told A/DCM on July 21 that Berri's
position is that it was unimportant whether the Doha
agreement or the 2005 ministerial statement served as the
basis for the statement and stressed that the statement
should reference UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
(Comment: This focus on 1701 is consistent with Berri's
previous attempts to eliminate references to 1559, which he
argues is superseded by 1701. End comment.)


6. (SBU) According to Arabic daily As-Safir, Berri had hoped
to have a session on July 23 to debate and approve the
statement, but now expects the statement to be approved by
parliament sometime during the week of July 28. Sources
close to President Michel Sleiman indicated to the press that
the president would soon visit Damascus, but not until the
statement has been approved by the cabinet.


7. (C) Meeting with CDA on July 21 (septel),new Minister of
Culture Tamam Salam, a prominent Sunni allied with Saad
Hariri, said he had received positive feedback on the
negotiations. However, he warned that it would be difficult
to overcome past tensions. Salam, who is not on the
committee, presumed the final statement would contain watered
down language on Hizballah's arms.

SINIORA PROPOSED
LANGUAGE ON SHEBA'A

BEIRUT 00001067 002 OF 002


--------------


8. (C) On a different issue in the statement, Sheba'a Farms
and related territories, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt told
Charge on July 22 (septel) that PM Siniora is attempting to
come to an agreement on language that "All of Lebanon has the
right to liberate the occupied land." According to Jumblatt,
this language allows for a compromise with the opposition by
not explicitly referencing Hizballah's role in the
"liberation," but making it clear that Hizballah does not
have exclusive decision-making over this issue.


9. (C) Jumblatt said that Hizballah Minister of Labor
Mohammed Fneish, whom he described as a "reasonable" person,
was not opposed to Siniora's draft language, and was checking
the language with Hizballah Secretary General Hassan
Nasrallah. Jumblatt stressed that Hizballah does not want
its weapons addressed, and insistence by the majority on this
issue could delay agreement on the ministerial statement.

COMMENT
--------------


10. (C) The negotiations are playing out pretty much as all
observers predicted. The positive atmosphere the two rival
political blocs have been encouraging since Doha has allowed
them to reach agreement on relatively simple issues in the
cabinet statement. But on the tough issue of Hizballah arms,
the positions are firm. We sense that for now, March 14 is
resisting pressure to accept weak, watered down language
(along the lines of the 2005 statement). End comment.
GRANT