LEBANON: INTERIOR MINISTER FOCUSED ON 2009

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 001233 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/MCDERMOTT DRL FOR KRAMER/BARGHOUT INL FOR JOHNSON/BLOOMQUIST E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PINS LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: INTERIOR MINISTER FOCUSED ON 2009 ELECTIONS ORGANIZATION REF: BEIRUT 01085 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires a.i. William Grant for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In a August 20 meeting with the Charge, Minister of Interior Ziyad Baroud said he is finalizing a "master plan" for donor nations who wish to provide technical assistance to Lebanon for the 2009 elections. Asked about a USG offer to assist with elections security planning, Baroud told us he would prefer that it not be USG only. He would rather organize a multinational effort to discuss the issue, with the U.S. acting as one of the participants. On other security matters, Baroud said selection of a new LAF commander would not be placed on the cabinet's agenda until a consensus candidate is decided and he did not think there would be push to also replace the head of the national police, as some media outlets have reported. End Summary. FOR ELECTION SECURITY TRAINING, NOT U.S. ONLY -------------- ¶2. (C) The Charge, accompanied by Special Assistant and PolOff, met with Interior Minister Baroud on August 20 to discuss a number of issues. The Charge asked Baroud for feedback on our proposal that the USG provide a tabletop exercise for election security planning to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF),Internal Security Forces (ISF),and Securite General (reftel). Baroud was receptive and said the GOL could benefit, but he was concerned about the optics of training on the delicate matter of security being done only by USG experts. He thought that a multinational team of security experts, with USG involvement, may be preferable to a USG bilateral program. ¶3. (C) Baroud said he may raise this concept with the Council of Ministers. If it approves, he would include an appeal for multilateral security assistance in the "master plan" he is developing for donor support on election matters. The Charge said our offer of assistance was flexible. Baroud pointed out that the current national unity government is primarily an interim government that is in place to prepare for next year's parliamentary elections and that the cabinet would be reluctant to make any decisions that could be perceived as too controversial, such as relying only on USG support for electoral security. TRIPOLI BOMBING -------------- ¶4. (C) Baroud told us that both the LAF and the ISF were doing everything in their power to solve the August 14 bombing in Tripoli which targeted a number of LAF soldiers. Baroud felt that the bombing was linked to other political issues and that it occurred because there had been no reconciliation efforts made by the opposing sides after the May 2008 clashes between pro-government and pro-opposition/Hizballah led forces. He said the ISF and the LAF were doing everything in their power to provide security in the Tripoli area, but admitted that the security services were falling short in this task. MASTER PLAN FOR DONOR COORDINATION FOR THE ELECTIONS -------------- ¶5. (C) Baroud confirmed that he is completing a master plan to present to donor countries to cover all aspects of international assistance for the 2009 elections. He said the Ministry of Interior itself, not the UN, would lead the effort to coordinate donor assistance and that his master plan would seek to harmonize the different roles of donors, including UN, EU, Lebanese civil society groups, as well as U.S.-funded international NGOs. Baroud wants the entire process to be as transparent. However, he is adamant that all participants work within the framework, rather than BEIRUT 00001233 002 OF 002 following individual agendas. He was pleased to know of the significant amount of assistance that USG was offering and we promised to work with him to ensure that our implementers' work is coordinated in a cohesive manner. When asked about future staff augmentations to prepare for elections, Baroud said the Ministry of Interior is in desperate need of mid-level employees to handle the increased workload. PARLIAMENT MOVING SLOWLY AND FOCUSED ON FEASIBLE REFORMS -------------- ¶6. (C) Baroud meets twice weekly with the Parliament's Administration and Justice Committee which is debating electoral reform. When asked how the discussions were proceeding, Baroud said, "Slowly. I've decided that I must begin preparatory activities now if we are going to be ready for election day. I've told the parliament that our implementation, in the end, will be in line with whatever reforms they pass. But if we do not start our planning activities now, it will be too late." ¶7. (C) Baroud also felt that only feasible reforms, such as new voter ID cards, will be pursued by the full parliament. He said out-of-country voting, although nominally supported by all political parties, is out of the question for the 2009 elections due to the lack of resources and capacity at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to administer voting overseas. Regarding holding elections on one day, vice four days as is the usual practice, he also said this would prove logistically difficult since the ISF does not have enough officers to work at the thousands of polling stations around the country. Baroud feels that this is a critical reform, however, and is exploring a plan to consolidate the polling stations in order to ensure adequate security coverage by the ISF at a reduced number of sites. ¶8. (C) Baroud said that opposition Christian leader Michele Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) MPs had been the most knowledgeable and engaged within the parliament on electoral reform. Baroud also told us that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri wants to see the Parliament pass a new electoral law soon, probably in September, in order for the Doha Agreement to be fully implemented and for the new electoral districts to be codified into law. CABINET WILL NOT CHANGE ISF CHIEF -------------- ¶9. (C) Baroud also told us that the Director General of the ISF, General Ashraf Rifi, would likely remain in his post, despite his alleged closeness to Future Party leader Saad Hariri. "He has a good reputation. People think he has done his job admirably during these difficult times." Media have speculated that the cabinet would replace Rifi and other "security chiefs" when it meets to decide on a new commander for the Lebanese Armed Forces, currently vacant. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (C) Baroud is clearly still making the transition from civil society activist to minister. His lengthy comments on the need for consensus in the unity government may be a reflection of the "middle ground" that President Sleiman, who nominated Baroud, has pursued. His concern about the optics of USG involvement in electoral reform initiatives is reasonable and we promised to be sensitive to his concerns as we move forward. ¶11. (C) We are pleased that Baroud continues to assert himself as the lead in donor coordination for the 2009 elections. He clearly needs some additional staff to handle the workload, but showed a willingness to delegate to some of his advisors for follow-up with us on the technical issues. End Comment GRANT