LEBANON: DEFMIN MURR ASSURES AA/S FELTMAN THAT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000285 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO A A/S WARLICK P FOR DRUSSELL AND RRANGASWAMY USUN FOR WOLFF/GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR SHAPIRO, MCDERMOTT DOD/OSD FOR FOURNOY, KAHL, DALTON E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC MARR MOPS SY LE SUBJECT: LEBANON: DEFMIN MURR ASSURES AA/S FELTMAN THAT AOUN WILL LOSE IN METN Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Visiting NEA Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman and NSC Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Dan Shapiro recounted to DefMin Elias Murr on March 15 their visit to Damascus the day before, commenting on Syrian interest in Lebanon's June 7 parliamentary elections. Murr said he believed the Syrians are more concerned with securing a Hizballah victory than with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun's success. Murr assured A A/S Feltman that his father, independent Christian MP Michel Murr, would remain opposed to Aoun in the election although he was allied with Aoun in 2005. The Armenian Tashnaq party met recently with March 14 leader Saad Hariri, and, according to Murr, is considering a proposal to ally with March 14 in the critical Beirut One and Zahle districts. ¶2. (C) Murr said he hopes to travel to the U.S. in the coming weeks to meet Saudi Defense Minister Crown Prince Sultan in New York and secure a commitment for $500 million to equip the Lebanese Armed Forces, as well as to Washington, D.C. According to Murr, Hizballah is angry with President Michel Sleiman for recent judicial rotations, which ousted several pro-Hizballah judges. End summary. FELTMAN: SYRIANS MONITORING LEBANESE ELECTIONS -------------- ¶3. (C) Visiting NEA Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman, NSC Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa Dan Shapiro, and the Ambassador met with Defense Minister Elias Murr and his advisor at his residence in Rabieh on March 8. DCM, Pol/Econ Chief, PolOff, and NEA Staff Assistant also attended the meeting. A A/S Feltman, who had returned with Senior Director Shapiro from Damascus earlier in the day, reported that Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallim had surprised them when he raised the June 7 parliamentary elections in Lebanon as his second topic, and whatever Syria's real intention, Muallim "said all of the right things" on that issue. ¶4. (C) A A/S Feltman said Muallim argued that, following the election, there must be a national unity government. Murr, agreeing that the Syrians are following closely Lebanon's elections, claimed that Syrian president Asad had appointed Rustom Ghazali, who served as the head of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon, to focus on the elections. ¶5. (C) Characterizing the meeting with Muallim as "good but hot at times," A A/S Feltman said he also spoke about arms outside of Palestinian camps, especially Qusaya, a Palestinian military base straddling the border, and smuggling across the Syrian-Lebanese border. Murr discussed his meeting with Syrian president Asad in January, which he said Asad opened by saying, "Is it true that you think we Syrians tried to assassinate you?" Murr said he had responded yes, while hinting that he suspected Ghazali, a claim which Asad did not attempt to defend. ¶6. (C) Murr said that the Syrian president inquired whether his father, independent MP Michel Murr, would possibly ally with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun. Asad reportedly responded, "We do not care about Aoun; we care about Hizballah winning the majority," which would require Hizballah to have an alliance with other parties. Murr assessed that Asad is "convinced that Hizballah and Hamas are the solutions" to regional issues and views the two groups as "full partners" with the Syrians. "METN IS LEBANON'S OHIO" -------------- ¶7. (C) Calling the Metn district, where the influence of BEIRUT 00000285 002 OF 003 Michel Murr is greatest, "the Ohio of Lebanon," in terms of upcoming elections, A A/S Feltman asked Murr if his father was "firmly" away from Aoun. Elias Murr reassured A A/S Feltman, saying, "My father has one idea -- if Aoun wins in Metn, then Hizballah will have taken over Lebanon." Elias Murr added that a greater concern for March 14 than his father's allegiance should be that of March 14 Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, ¶8. (C) Murr said that the importance of the Metn is that if his father's list wins the district's eight seats, all designated for Christians, defeating Aoun's list, then it shows that Aoun's claims that he represents the Christians are untrue. Metn also could tip the balance for other districts, Elias claimed. If voters think Aoun is losing in Metn, they may not vote for the losing side elsewhere. SAAD (FINALLY) MET TASHNAQ -------------- ¶9. (C) Murr characterized Hariri's March 6 meeting with the Armenian Tashnaq party as "very good." Murr said that Tashnaq, currently allied with Aoun, could split from Aoun by joining an independent bloc associated with Sleiman. Hariri reportedly reached out to Tashnaq to form an alliance in Beirut and Zahle, and is counting on a Tashnaq alliance with Michel Murr in Metn. ¶10. (C) According to Elias Murr, Tashnaq SYG Hovig Mekhitirian told Hariri he would discuss the proposal with his party before agreeing to anything. Murr believes Hariri would make a generous offer so that he could feel certain that if Tashnaq chose to remain with Aoun and Hizballah, it was a policy decision (coming from Iran),and not because the party was unhappy with Hariri's offer. SAUDI FINANCING EQUIPMENT FOR THE LAF? -------------- ¶11. (C) Wondering whether the Saudi-Syrian reconciliation track will amount to anything, Murr asked whether Saudi involvement in Lebanon's elections would shift as a result. Murr said that funds provided by the Saudis for their allies in the election help, but only for Sunni areas. ¶12. (C) Murr proposed that the Saudis assist the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) by financing equipment purchases from the U.S. He relayed that the Saudi Defense Minister, Crown Prince Sultan, had previously offered $500 million to the LAF. Hoping to meet U.S. officials in Washington and UN officials in New York the last week of March or first week of April, Murr said he also hoped to meet Prince Sultan in New York to secure a commitment from the Saudis before going to Washington. Ambassador and A A/S Feltman thanked Murr for Lebanon's cooperation on counter terrorism efforts. HIZBALLAH ANGRY OVER JUDICIAL ROTATIONS -------------- ¶13. (C) Murr reported that the Higher Judicial Council, along with himself, President Sleiman, and Prime Minister Siniora, finally ratified new judicial appointments the previous day after three years of no changes in judicial assignments or filling of vacancies. According to Murr, Hizballah was angry with Sleiman over the rotations because "all the pro-Hizballah judges" were not reappointed. ¶14. Murr called the move a "coup d'etat with Sleiman against Hizballah." (Note: According to local press, the opposition criticized the appointments, particularly the naming of Investigative Magistrate into the Hariri assassination, Judge Sakr Sakr, as the government commissioner to the military tribunal. End note.) Murr also said Hizballah was upset with Sleiman for promoting his own parliamentary candidates in Keserwan and Jbeil, an accusation which Murr confirmed as true, adding that Sleiman is keeping a "very low profile" in BEIRUT 00000285 003 OF 003 doing so. ¶15. (U) NEA Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey D. Feltman and NSC Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa have cleared this message. SISON