LEBANON: PRESIDENT CARTER WELCOMED POLITELY BY POLITICOS,

UNCLAS BEIRUT 001752 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO AND NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO A/S HOOK AND PDAS WARLICK P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY USUN FOR KHALILZAD/WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER/GERMAIN NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/YERGER/MCDERMOTT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC LE SY SUBJECT: LEBANON: PRESIDENT CARTER WELCOMED POLITELY BY POLITICOS, EXCEPT HIZBALLAH SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and an accompanying delegation presented a proposal to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Interior Minister Ziad Baroud to send a team to observe the 2009 parliamentary elections. Baroud welcomed Carter's proposal, but noted that it required cabinet approval. Across the political spectrum, no parliamentary bloc, including Hizballah, objected to Carter's proposal. However, only March 14 leader Samir Geagea expressly supported the idea. Carter met with representatives of all parliamentary blocs except Hizballah, which declined, saying they would not meet with an official of a former or current U.S. administration. ¶2. (U) During the four-day visit, December 9-13, Carter also heard complaints from members of Berri's Amal movement and opposition leader Michel Aoun about perceived U.S. bias towards Israel. Aoun criticized U.S. policy further by blaming the U.S. for creating political divisions in Lebanon. Carter finishes his visit with a speech at American University in Beirut December 12, before continuing his regional visit in Damascus on December 13. End Summary. ELECTION OBSERVATION POLITELY WELCOMED -------------- ¶3. (U) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter met, separately, with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, former President Amine Gemayel, MPs Michel Aoun and Saad Hariri, head of the Lebanese Forces (LF) Samir Geagea, and a number of parliamentarians during his December 9-13 visit. Carter expressed hope that the 2009 parliamentary elections would be transparent and would take place on time. ¶4. (U) Carter formally presented The Carter Center's election observation proposal for the 2009 elections during his meetings with Baroud and Siniora December 11. Baroud welcomed Carter's suggestion to monitor the elections. However, he explained that while article 20 of the new electoral law approved September 27 could permit international observation, such a decision would require cabinet approval. ¶5. (U) Reports of Carter's proposal garnered muted reaction from several of the opposition parties, including Hizballah and Amal. Hizballah MP Mohammad Raad told the press that Hizballah would accept any decision of the cabinet on the matter, as did MPs of Berri's Amal Movement who met with Carter. Pro-opposition Minister of Agriculture Elie Skaff told Embassy staff he welcomed Carter's initiative. However, he requested that Carter closely monitor the influence of money in these elections, alleging that SAUDI Arabia was ready to allocate USD 1 billion to support March 14 candidates. This figure, according to Skaff, surprised Carter who thought that he was joking. ¶6. (SBU) March 14 leaders expressly welcomed Carter's proposal. Majority-leader Saad Hariri said the coalition wanted election monitors, in addition to having the elections occur on time. Former president and Phalange Party leader Amine Geyamyel called Carter's plan "encouraging," while Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea said he "supported" the Carter Center as an observation team. ¶7. (SBU) Gemayel added Carter's visit to Lebanon complemented efforts by the "friends of Lebanon" to help it get out of its recent political crises. Elie Khoury, LF Foreign Relations officer told Polstaff that Geagea and Carter also discussed the need to implement National Dialogue resolutions adopted in 2006, notably the border delineation between Syria and Lebanon and the disarmament of the Palestinian factions outside the Palestinian refugee camps (i.e., PFLP-GC). HIZBALLAH AND AMAL: ALLIES, BUT NOT THE SAME -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Hizballah representatives refused to meet with former President Carter, in what many viewed as a surprising move. Hizballah MP Raad told AFP, "the party does not meet any official from the U.S. administration that supports Zionist terrorism." On December 10, Ali Hamdan, senior advisor to Speaker Berri told Embassy staff, that Hizballah's refusal should make the U.S. realize the importance of Nabih Berri as a serious interlocutor. He noted that although Berri is allied with Hizballah and most of his popular support is from the south, Berri, nevertheless, is capable of adopting positions different from Hizballah. Former minister and Shia parliamentarian from Berri's parliamentary bloc Yassine Jaber believed Hizballah's refusal was due to Carter's sponsorship of the Camp David peace agreement. "U.S. BIASED IN FAVOR OF ISRAEL" AND CREATING DIVISIONS -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Jaber called discussions between Carter and Berri's parliamentary bloc "heated." Most of the MPs, he said, blamed perceived U.S. bias towards ISRAEL as the source of the Lebanese people's sufferings. The MPs conveyed a clear message to former President Carter that the Lebanese are not against the American people, but rather against U.S. policy, said Jaber. He added that the parliamentarians called on Carter to view the region in a more just manner. However, disappointment reportedly filled the air when Carter called or Lebanon to absorb some of the Palestinian refuges who reside Lebanon. ¶10. (SBU) Carter also heard complaints from opposition-allied Michel Aoun, pro-opposition Agriculture Minister Elie Skaff, and Secretary General of the Armenian Tachnaq party Hovig Mekhitirian who blamed U.S. policy for the divisions among the Lebanon's political leaders. Skaff reported that his ally Aoun argued that the U.S., by inciting one Lebanese group against the other, was the cause of political unrest. Additionally, Aoun highlighted U.S. "double standards" in the region and Lebanon, according to Skaff. CARTER VISITS UNIFIL IN SOUTH -------------- ¶11. (U) In addition to presenting his election observation proposal, Carter visited the UNIFIL headquarters in South Lebanon on December 10 and expressed hope ISRAEL would withdraw from Shebaa Farms and southern village of Ghajar. On December 12, Carter is scheduled to meet with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt's parliamentary bloc, to see Speaker Nabih Berri in South Lebanon, and to give a lecture at the American University of Beirut before leaving for Damascus on December 13. SISON