VZCZCXRO5528
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0860/01 1651619
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 141619Z JUN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8500
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1240
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000860 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/MARCHESE/HARDING 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/13/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNSC AA
SUBJECT: LEBANON: GOL MOVING QUICKLY ON SPECIAL TRIBUNAL 
 
REF: A. BEIRUT 858 
     ¶B. BEIRUT 820 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
). 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request.  Please see paragraph 10. 
 
¶2. C) SUMMARY:  The Lebanese government is moving quickly on 
steps it must take to start the UN Tribunal.  Minister of 
Justice Charles Rizk told the Ambassador June 14 that the GOL 
will submit to the UN Legal Adviser a list of twelve 
potential Lebanese judges for the Special Tribunal on June 
¶18.  The UN picks four of these; the GOL will identify its 
favored four.  The GOL also is moving forward with 
nominations for the deputy prosecutor position and has 
earmarked USD 10 million for the Lebanese share of the first 
year of the Tribunal's costs.  On venue, Rizk said the 
Cabinet has ruled out Cyprus and Malta and is still 
considering other sites.  Rizk lamented the fact that the UN 
Office of Legal Affairs is, in his view, moving more slowly 
on Tribunal preparations and asked for USG assistance to push 
it.  Rizk also expressed serious concerns that the Eido 
assassination (Ref A) would lead to Sunni retaliation and an 
end to discussions of a national unity government.  End 
summary. 
 
¶3. (C) In a June 14 lunch with the Ambassador, DCM, and 
Pol/Econ Chief at his residence in Beirut, Minister of 
Justice Charles Rizk said the GOL would forward its proposed 
list of 12 Lebanese judges for the Special Tribunal to the UN 
on Monday, June 18.  The list would be comprised of six 
Christians and six Muslims.  Noting that PM Siniora had 
approved the action and that the list does not need cabinet 
approval, Rizk said Ralf Riachi and Choukri Sadr, the two 
judges who had negotiated the tribunal agreement with UN/OLA, 
would head the list.  He said the he will specify to UN Legal 
Advisor Nicolas Michel the four among the twelve nominees 
that the GOL prefers that the UN select.  Rizk expressed 
indifference regarding which capacity the four served, but 
noted that usually the most senior judges are reserved for 
the appellate court.  When asked about why Sadr -- who had 
previously refused to allow himself to be nominated -- had 
changed his mind, Rizk said that he, more than Sadr, was 
committed to Sadr's inclusion. 
 
¶4. (C) It is critical that the Legal Advisor act quickly once 
he receives the Lebanese list, Rizk said, not only to show 
momentum for the Tribunal, but also because there will be a 
need to provide physical protection to those named.  It is 
easier to provide protection for four than for twelve. 
Arguing that the judges will face severe risk, Rizk urged the 
UN provide protection similar to that afforded UN Special 
Envoy for Lebanon Geir Pedersen 
 
¶5. (C) Rizk also indicated he would not wait for the UN to 
appoint the Prosecutor but would move now to propose two 
candidates for the position of Deputy Prosecutor for the 
Tribunal -- probably Joyce Thabet, a well-respected Christian 
judge who is eager to have the position (and who is close to 
Defense Minister Elias Murr, himself the target of an 
assassination attempt), and another Muslim prosecutor.  PM 
Siniora would let the UN choose from those two without 
further consultation with the GOL, to speed the process. 
Unlike the nomination of the 12 judges, the nominations for 
the deputy prosecutor would need cabinet approval.  However, 
disagreeing with PM Siniora (Ref B), Rizk did not believe the 
GOL needed to wait until the UN appoints the primary 
prosecutor before proposing a deputy.  Rizk agreed to press 
his UN contacts to appoint the primary prosecutor as soon as 
possible. 
 
¶6. (C) According to Rizk, Michel had told him the Tribunal 
would require USD 20 million for the first year, which Rizk 
considered too low -- even USD 30 million was not enough. He 
agreed with the Ambassador that Lebanon should be the first 
to contribute, stating that Siniora had already earmarked USD 
10 million.  As Siniora was taking the money from a 
previously budgeted contingency fund, no parliamentary action 
was needed. 
 
¶7. (C) As for venue, Rizk said the cabinet had discussed 
various options and rejected two:  Cyprus (where Socialist 
Progressive Party leader Walid Jumblatt reportedly had 
concerns about Syrian interference) and Malta (similar 
concerns about the Libyans).  Other sites are still being 
discussed. 
 
BEIRUT 00000860  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Rizk commented that UN/OLA chief Michel was, in his 
view, procrastinating on setting up the Tribunal.  Michel had 
told him that the Tribunal would not be up and running before 
February or March of next year.  If we don't push the UN, 
Rizk said, it could take years before the Tribunal is 
operational.  Unfortunately, former Legal Advisor to Rafiq 
Hariri and former Minister of Justice Bahije Tabbarah, still 
smarting from the Hariris' decision to choose Siniora 
(Hariri's former financial advisor) over him as prime 
minister, also was advocating a slower pace, reportedly 
arguing against nominating the 12 judges now.  The Ambassador 
urged the GOL to move quickly, which Rizk said was "music to 
his ears."  He planned to meet with Siniora later that 
evening to discuss the matter further. 
 
¶9. (C) Rizk, who several times during the course of the lunch 
lamented his de facto near state of house arrest ("to have 
fun I have to leave the country") due to security concerns, 
said he had no doubt the Syrians were behind the June 13 
assassination of MP Walid Eido.  The assassination probably 
also spelled an end to efforts to form a national unity 
government, since "no one wants to meet with people who are 
plotting to kill you."  Rizk feared the bombing would lead to 
Sunni retaliation; Saad Rafiri's community wants revenge, he 
argued, but doesn't have the Syrians apparatus.  In any case, 
he continued, Hariri is a "civilized man," unlike Lebanese 
Forces leader Samir Geagea, an "expert in extermination."  In 
response to the Ambassador's suggestion that an early 
start-up of the Tribunal could help send the Syrians a clear 
message, Rizk agreed, saying, "I hope you can do more." 
 
10 (C) Comment and action request:  Just as IO A/S Silverberg 
urged during her Beirut trip last week, the Lebanese seem to 
be moving quickly in finishing their tribunal homework. 
Rizk's sense of urgency is consistent with what we have heard 
from PM Siniora.  Walid Eido's murder is a reminder of why we 
should act quickly:  if murders or defections eliminate the 
March 14 majority, then Siniora's cabinet could fall, with 
tribunal establishment grinding to a halt.  The same thing 
could happen with any cabinet expansion where the March 
8-Aoun forces get a blocking minority.  Thus, we applaud the 
GOL's apparent (and unusual) haste.  Rizk is also right to 
fear for the proposed judges' safety once their names leak 
(as they inevitably will).  We there recommend, especially in 
light of the assassination Eido, that the Department and USUN 
urge UN/OLA to move immediately upon receiving the list of 
nominees from the GOL to choose the four, reducing the 
threats to the others.  We also hope that, with the GOL 
apparently ready with funding, the UN will soon open the 
tribunal account and move quickly to name the proscutor who 
will choose a deputy prosecutor from the two names the GOL 
will submit.  Any rapid progress on tribunal establishment 
will help reassure the Lebanese who are more deeply worried 
than ever this week that people are still getting away with 
murder.  End action request. 
FELTMAN