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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1842
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000334 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2016 
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL ASEC AU LE DK
SUBJECT: MGLE01:  EU REPORTS ON ATTACKS AGAINST DANISH AND 
AUSTRIAN MISSIONS 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.  Reason:  Sections 1.4 (b) a 
nd (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1.  (C)  The EU Commission delegation in Beirut reported to 
us that the Danish Consulate and Austrian Embassy in Beirut 
suffered considerable damage from fire and rioting on 
February 5, but neither mission was physically entered. 
There were light attacks against the buildings that housed 
the Dutch Embassy and the honorary Slovak Consulate.  The EU 
assesses that once the attack against the Danish Consulate 
took place, rioters fanned out to attack any other symbols of 
foreign presence in the area.  EU heads of mission met for 
two hours on February 6 to coordinate an agreed statement and 
review security.  The EU troika representatives in Beirut 
were to meet with Prime Minister Siniora to convey their 
concerns about the unchecked violence of February 5 and 
Vienna Convention obligations of the host country.  Only the 
Dutch Embassy plans to revise its travel advisory.  We 
understand that as of February 6, only six of 400 Danish 
nationals in Lebanon had chosen to depart the country.  End 
summary. 
 
EU Heads of Mission Convene 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C)  EU Commission Delegation DCM Francisco Acosta 
reported to DCM that EU heads of mission held a lengthy 
meeting the morning of February 6 to review the previous 
day's events that included an attack against the building 
housing the Danish Consulate and the Austrian Embassy. 
Acosta said that the two missions were located in an 
eight-story building, and that the fires set in the building 
damaged all but the top two stories.  Neither diplomatic 
mission was entered physically, however, in light of the 
secure doors and reinforced walls and windows.  In addition, 
he said, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces made efforts 
to prevent anyone from entering the diplomatic premises. 
Acosta added that less well-protected commercial offices in 
the building were entered.  Several EU contacts have 
commented to us that the rioting which spread throughout the 
predominantly Christian neighborhood of Achrafiyah, where the 
Danish and Austrian missions were located, involved marauding 
demonstrators who were looking for any indications of a 
foreign, and for that matter, Christian, presence. 
 
¶3.  (C)  The Danish Consulate, the ostensible object of the 
demonstration in light of the caricatures which had appeared 
in the Danish press, is run by locally engaged staff, 
including a Danish national resident in Lebanon.  One of the 
Consulate's staff members told us late February 6 that they 
had not re-entered their premises since the February 5 
rioting.  A Danish MFA official who is traveling to Beirut 
will meet with DCM on the morning of February 7.  In the 
meantime, we have conveyed the Department's informal offer of 
assistance to the Danes in addressing the needs of the Danish 
Consulate and the Danish community in Lebanon.  We understand 
that as of midday February 6, only six of the 400 Danish 
nationals resident in Lebanon have departed the country in 
response to the Embassy attack. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Acosta of the EU Commission delegation said that EU 
heads of mission met at length the morning of February 6 to 
assess the situation.  Acosta, like our other EU contacts, 
indicated an EU sense that once the attack against the Danish 
Embassy had been launched, rioters fanned out through the 
Achrafiyah neighborhood to attack any nearby symbols of 
foreign presence, in addition to the violence against local 
stores and the St. Maroun church.  UK DCM Chris Poole said 
that rioters observed the Slovak flag displayed on the 
balcony of the Slovak honorary consul's residence.  The flag 
prompted the rioters to enter the apartment building and seek 
out the honorary consul's private residence.  According to 
Dutch Charge Kees Sibinga, the rioters engaged the Slovak 
honorary consul in an unpleasant exchange of accusations and 
threats.  Poole himself resides in a building in Achrafiyah 
that houses the Argentine residence; rioters saw the 
Argentine plaque on his building and threw stones at it. 
 
¶5.  (C)  EU heads of mission sought to draft a consensus 
statement, to be issued in Beirut, condemning the attacks 
against the Danish and Austrian missions and related 
violence.  As of late February 6, there was still no 
consensus on the text, given differing member state attitudes 
 
BEIRUT 00000334  002 OF 002 
 
 
about how toughly the statement should read.  Dutch Charge 
Sibinga said the Austrian EU Presidency will recommend that 
the EU also issue a statement out of Brussels.  Acosta said 
the Dutch are the only EU member state embassy contemplating 
a change in their travel advisory. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Acosta reported that the EU Troika representatives 
in Beirut (Austria, Germany, EU Commission) would see Prime 
Minister Siniora late afternoon on February 6.  Their message 
would be straightforward:  extreme concern about the 
violence, and the need for Lebanon to adhere to its 
obligations under the Vienna Convention with respect to 
protection of diplomatic premises.  Dutch Charge Sibinga 
characterized the meeting of heads of mission as "not too 
alarmist," and noted that he expected the Dutch to be the 
only mission to advise strengthening its travel advisory for 
Lebanon. 
 
Directed Efforts against the Dutch 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Sibinga also provided an interesting account of an 
attempt to attack the building housing the Dutch Embassy. 
Rioters approached the high rise building where the Dutch 
Embassy occupies the 9th and 10th floors.  They made no 
progress in entering the building, given that the ground 
floor tenants were a well-protected bank and equally 
well-protected jewelry store.  Sibinga said that according to 
his Embassy's contract security guards who were on site at 
the time, it had become clear after some effort by the 
demonstrators that the building would be difficult to enter, 
and evident "leaders" of the demonstration called off the 
attack, with the rest of crowd immediately obeying these 
leaders.  Those attacking the Dutch Embassy's building used 
mainly sticks, and a few others tried to climb an adjacent 
wall to obtain entry.  Sibinga said that according to his 
contract guards, there was no question that the attack was 
led and directed by specific individuals. 
 
¶8.  (C)  Sibinga also commented wryly on what he considered 
poor responsiveness from the Lebanese security services.  He 
said that on Friday, February 3, an ISF General had visited 
the Dutch Embassy to tell him that a peaceful demonstration 
would be taking place on Sunday, February 5.  The security 
services would have the events well under control by 
maintaining a "cordon sanitaire" around the demonstrators. 
When events went out of control on February 5, Sibinga said 
he tried repeatedly and vainly to get a response from both 
the Internal Security Services and the Lebanese Armed Forces, 
but no one replied.  He said he was also surprised that the 
security services had done nothing to control, through 
checkpoints or otherwise, the vehicles and people who 
converged for the demonstration.  Finally, he said that he 
would be recommending a stiffening of the Dutch travel 
advisory for Lebanon, up to advising against non-essential 
travel to Lebanon.  He said he was not only concerned about 
the anti-European violence, but also about the threat of 
indigenous sectarian tensions in Lebanese, which he considers 
especially high for the next couple of weeks. 
FELTMAN