Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BEIRUT1359
2008-09-16 15:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beirut
Cable title:  

LEBANON: TELECOM MINISTER GUNG HO ON

Tags:  PGOV PREL ECON EFIN ECPS SY LE 
pdf how-to read a cable
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P 161547Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3054
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2919
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3133
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001359 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR EEB/FO DSULLIVAN, EEB/ODF DEMARCELLUS
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER
NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EFIN ECPS SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: TELECOM MINISTER GUNG HO ON
PRIVATIZATION, ADVOCATES EXPANSION OF NATIONAL DIALOGUE

REF: BEIRUT 1086

Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 001359

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA
ALSO FOR EEB/FO DSULLIVAN, EEB/ODF DEMARCELLUS
USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER
NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EFIN ECPS SY LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: TELECOM MINISTER GUNG HO ON
PRIVATIZATION, ADVOCATES EXPANSION OF NATIONAL DIALOGUE

REF: BEIRUT 1086

Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

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


1. (C) In a September 15 meeting with the Ambassador,
Minister of Telecommunications Gebran Bassil, an ally of
Michel Aoun in the March 8/Aoun opposition, said it would be
wrong to discuss only the national defense strategy and the
future of Hizballah's weapons at the National Dialogue
without also discussing how to handle the violence in Tripoli
or the fate of the Palestinians. He told the Ambassador that
there would be a meeting between Hizballah and Walid
Jumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) later that day
(septel),and said there should be more "reconciliations"
among the parties to ensure that the 2009 parliamentary
elections happen peacefully. He bemoaned the rampant
corruption in Lebanon, and said he hoped to see new campaign
spending limits included in the new electoral law. He called
the downing of an LAF helicopter by Hizballah and the death
of its pilot a "very sad accident," and he criticized the
majority for using the incident for political gain.


2. (C) On his telecom portfolio, Bassil said he wants to
take the fast track on privatization of mobile telecoms,
though with a focus on ensuring a continued revenue stream
for the government after the privatization takes place. He
was enthusiastic about bringing broadband to all of Lebanon,
in collaboration with the American private sector and various
NGOs. He said he was working with the Syrian authorities to
block Syrian cellular frequencies in the border regions of
Lebanon, where customers use Syrian cell networks, depriving
the Lebanese cell operators of revenues. End summary.

"IS THE PROBLEM OF TERRORISM
NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO BE ON THE TABLE?"
--------------



3. (C) The Ambassador, accompanied by EconOff, called on
Minister of Telecommunications Gebran Bassil on September 15.
Bassil, Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Michel Aoun's
son-in-law and advisor, said it would be wrong to discuss
only the national defense strategy (i.e., Hizballah's
weapons) without also discussing the interrelated issues of
Salafist conflict in Tripoli and growing extremism in the
Palestinian refugee camps.


4. (C) Bassil said that in the 2006 Memorandum of
Understanding between the FPM and Hizballah, the two parties
agreed that Hizballah's right to its weapons must be included
in the defense strategy, and that all parties in Lebanon,
regardless of their viewpoint, had agreed that the topic was
important. And what about the Salafist groups in Tripoli, he
asked? He claimed that various political leaders had been
financing them, but could not influence their behavior.
"Hizballah," he said, "they have a leader. You can reach an
agreement with them. But there is no leader of the Salafis."
He pointed out that though Saad Hariri had done well to
encourage reconciliation among the parties, in the end, he
represents only a portion of the Sunni population, and thus
cannot control what all the Sunni groups do. He said that if
Hariri could control the groups, there would be no need for
reconciliation.


5. (C) Bassil said that the Lebanese civil war began in 1975
because of the Palestinians, and in 2008 they are still in
Lebanon. He said improving their living conditions would
only encourage them to stay, and so the international
community should be generous in offering to resettle them in
other countries. ("The U.S. gives 50,000 immigration visas to
people every year in the lottery. Give 1000 to the
Palestinians!" he exclaimed). He said that it was in the
international interest to help Lebanon on this issue, because
the Palestinians were turning into terrorists. "When you
leave them in poor conditions, indoctrinate them against Shia
and Christians, and then give them money, they become
terrorists," he said. Both in Tripoli and in the Palestinian
camps, said Bassil, there is a real threat from Sunni

BEIRUT 00001359 002 OF 003


extremism. "Is the problem of terrorism not important enough
to be on the Dialogue table?" he asked. Ambassadornoted
recent U.S. assistance to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

MORE RECONCILIATIONS
--------------


6. (C) Bassil said he had just received word that Walid
Jumblatt's PSP would be holding a "reconciliation" meeting
with Hizballah that afternoon. (Note: The meeting took place
September 15, when Hizballah Minister of Labor Mohammed
Fneish and Jumblatt bloc MP Akram Shehayyeb met under the
patronage of Lebanese Democratic Movement leader Talal
Arslan. It focused on security issues, a cause for concern
after Arslan's Druze party activist, Saleh Aridi, was
assassinated in Beysour. End note.) Bassil said the
reconciliation was good news, and that he hoped for more such
reconciliations. He said the resulting easing of political
tensions would lead to more "relaxed" elections and would
free politicians to talk about actual issues, as opposed to
their own personal feuds. He said it would be much easier to
deal with the Syrians on border issues or even with the
Israelis if internal conflict were reduced.


7. (C) "FPM and Hizballah do not inform each other of every
move they make," Bassil continued. "I am a minister," he
said. "I have the right to act in the interest of the state
without consulting." He pointed to his efforts to shut down
illegal telephone companies that use the national phone
network without paying for it. He said several of these
companies were associated with Hizballah, but he was moving
forward with his reforms. "If you consult on issues of
corruption, you say 'bye bye reform,'" said Bassil.

CORRUPTION THE BIGGEST MENACE
--------------


8. (C) Bassil called corruption the "main problem" in
Lebanon, and highlighted corruption during elections as a
particular problem. He said he was a big proponent of
campaign spending limits, and was working hard to get them
into the new electoral law, along with an independent
electoral commission, which would be the watchdog on campaign
spending. Asked about how things were in his home town of
Batroun, Bassil said he had heard that politicians were going
to schools and hospitals and handing out money so people
would vote for them. The Ambassador asked if all the
political parties were engaging in such activity. He said
his party was not. "No!" he exclaimed. "We (FPM) don't have
any money!"

A DIFFERENT KIND OF POLITICIAN
--------------


9. (C) Bassil said the August 28 downing of an LAF
helicopter by a Hizballah fighter, and the resulting death of
the helicopter's pilot (a Batroun native),was a "very sad
accident." He complained that the majority had used the
incident to try to hurt Aoun and his party politically. He
claimed that his side, the Aounists, would never do such a
thing. He noted that Aoun and March 8 did not cast blame for
the September 10 assassination of Druze leader Saleh Aridi.
"We didn't accuse the U.S. or Israel or anyone. We are a
different kind of politician. We don't want to use blood to
gain advantage," said Bassil.

FAST TRACK ON PRIVATIZATION
--------------


10. (SBU) Bassil said he wanted to move as quickly as
possible on mobile telecom privatization in Lebanon. He
worried that it would be difficult to get high bids for the
cell phone companies during election season, and so he said
that he was working on the bureaucratic preparations as
quickly as he could, so that elections would not interfere.
He said that parliament would need to pass a law authorizing
the sale of the companies, and he had spoken directly to
Parliament Speaker Berri, who promised he would push the
process through within 25-30 days.


11. (SBU) He stressed the importance of dealing with all

BEIRUT 00001359 003 OF 003


political actors and their specific concerns to reach
consensus before putting the issue forward for approval. He
said that in addition to getting a good price for the mobile
networks, he wanted to ensure that the government continued
to receive a revenue stream from privatized companies.
(Note: The proceeds from the sale will be used to pay down
Lebanon's massive national debt, currently valued at more
than 170 percent of GDP. That said, telecom revenues are the
single largest contributor to the GOL's budget, bringing in
1.2 billion dollars this year, according to the minister.
Thus, government revenue sharing with the privatized company
will be essential to supporting the budget. End note.)

BRINGING BROADBAND TO LEBANON
--------------


12. (SBU) Bassil said he was extremely enthusiastic about
the idea of rolling out broadband access throughout Lebanon.
He said he and his ministry had started working with the
Partnership for Lebanon (a private sector-organization led by
five U.S. companies including Cisco) and various associations
and NGOs on ways to implement a pilot project to bring
broadband to northern Lebanon. He noted that this project
would benefit everyone, regardless of his or her political
leanings. "I am very excited about broadband. When I talk
about this, I forget my political affiliation," he remarked.

SYRIAN INTERFERENCE
--------------


13. (SBU) Bassil mentioned that a joint Lebanese-Syrian
committee had been formed to look at cellular interference
from Syria in the northern border areas of Lebanon. He noted
that many Lebanese near the border use the Syrian cell phone
network, costing his ministry a large amount of money. He
said he was studying putting up some sort of electronic
barrier at the border that would block Syrian cell
frequencies. He claimed that he was working with the Syrian
telecom minister, who was "trying to be helpful," but he
would see in the coming weeks what kind of progress they made.

SISON