VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLB #0608/01 0601326
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 011326Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2236
INFO RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0448

C O N F I D E N T I A L BEIRUT 000608 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TUNIS FOR MEPI - MULREAN 
DEPT FOR NEA PDAS CARPENTER AND NEA/PI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2016 
TAGS: KDEM KMPI PGOV KPAO EAID PREL LE
SUBJECT: MGLE01:  QUARTERLY REPORT ON FREEDOM AGENDA IN 
LEBANON 
 
REF: A. 05 STATE 152818 
 
     ¶B. 05 BEIRUT 2208 
     ¶C. 05 BEIRUT 3204 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
INTRODUCTION 
------------ 
 
¶1.  (C) This is post's progress report for the first quarter 
of FY-06 on the country strategy for democratic reform.  Refs 
A and B identified three outcomes for our country strategy: 
 
-- a new electoral law, 
 
-- competent, effective, transparent government, and 
 
-- reform of the judiciary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The last quarterly progress report submitted was Ref 
¶C.  Post's MEPI executive committee has since reviewed 
progress made toward these three outcomes over the first 
quarter of FY-06.  Following are the main issues in each area. 
 
A NEW ELECTORAL LAW 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The National Electoral Law Reform Commission 
appointed by Prime Minister Siniora's government and charged 
with drafting a new electoral law continued to work towards a 
deadline of January 8.  To make the process as transparent as 
possible, the commission offered the chance to have a say to 
interested members of the public.  A large number of groups 
and individuals submitted a total of 121 proposals -- either 
complete draft laws or proposals on specific aspects of the 
electoral law -- and testified before the commission.  Public 
participation in the process culminated in a two-day workshop 
with Commission members in late November, held in the Grand 
Serail, the seat of government. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Following this, Commission members retired behind 
closed doors to deliberate and draft a proposed new law, 
along with comprehensive supporting documentation.  (Note: 
Just after the end of the quarter, the deadline was extended 
to the end of February 2006.)  In discussions with Lebanese 
interlocutors, the Ambassador and emboffs emphasized the 
importance of genuine electoral reform as a deliverable for 
the Siniora government, demonstrating its ability to 
implement a broader reform agenda with the support of "Core 
Group" friends of Lebanon. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In support of the technical secretariat organized 
by the UN for the commission, IFES, funded by the DRL bureau, 
arranged for internationally-reputed elections experts to 
serve as consultants for the Commission.  IFES experts were 
also available to respond to specific research and analysis 
taskings from individual Commission members.  Given the 
paucity of support staff and other resources at the 
Commission members' disposal, their ability to tap IFES 
expertise was invaluable. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Also during this quarter, the Embassy coordinated 
closely with an informal consortium of Lebanese and 
international NGOs (IFES among them) preparing for "phase 
two" of the electoral reform process, which begins when the 
Commission submits a proposed draft law and supporting 
documentation to the Prime Minister.  The consortium's 
strategy for "phase two" will focus on public awareness of 
electoral reform as a way of building constituencies for 
change. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Public awareness will be of particular importance 
when the draft law is submitted to Parliament for debate. 
All members of Parliament were elected on the basis of the 
electoral law currently in effect, and many can be expected 
to resist change without "bottom-up" pressure for meaningful 
reform. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In addition to DRL funding for IFES and the 
National Democratic Institute (NDI), a USD 800,000 MEPI grant 
to the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) supported an 
ongoing public awareness project on electoral reform.  NDI, 
LTA, and LTA's sub-grantee, the Lebanese Center for Policy 
Studies, are all members of the informal NGO electoral reform 
consortium. 
 
COMPETENT, EFFECTIVE, TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In coordination with the Core Group, the Siniora 
government continued to work on a reform program -- one that 
included administrative reform as a component -- during the 
quarter.  In keeping with this agenda, the Office of the 
Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) in 
October 2005 launched a new program for recruiting senior 
civil service personnel.  The program -- which announced, and 
accepted applications for, senior positions via the World 
Wide Web -- aimed at recruiting senior personnel in a way 
that was more merit-based, transparent, and objective than 
before.  A committee of experts was formed to short-list 
applicants. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In November 2005, Prime Minister Siniora publicly 
announced that he would hold three separate working sessions 
to brief cabinet ministers on his overall economic reform 
plan.  The assassination of MP Gebran Tueni and the 
subsequent boycott of cabinet sessions by Hizballah- and Amal 
Movement-aligned ministers blocked further progress on this 
front.  The cabinet boycott was not resolved until after the 
quarter ended.  However, "buy-in" by all cabinet factions 
remained a necessary (if not sufficient) condition for a 
workable reform plan.  Of the three outcome areas in our 
country strategy for Lebanon, this was the one most seriously 
affected by December's cabinet crisis. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Specific MEPI and related programs or activities 
aimed at this outcome during the quarter included staff 
training and technical assistance for legislatures in 
Francophone Arab countries, Lebanon included.  Post began 
working with NEA/PI to identify a more focused and effective 
follow-on program.  Also, in cooperation with the Ministry of 
Administrative Reform, Ministry of Finance, and a number of 
municipalities, USAID has continued to promote transparency 
through "e-government" initiatives, which link municipal 
databases with those of the central government.  Senior 
Embassy officials used public speaking events to press for 
the governmental reform agenda; these events were reported in 
the press along with the content of Embassy remarks. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) In response to a campaign of bombings and 
assassinations aimed at destabilizing Lebanon, post's legal 
attache proposed using FBI training to support the creation 
of "evidence response teams" for the Lebanese authorities. 
Different elements of the mission, including the FBI and 
USAID, collaborated to develop a program funded by the USG's 
economic support fund for Lebanon.  Training was to start in 
the next quarter. 
 
REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY 
----------------------- 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Lebanon's judiciary continued to suffer from a 
widely perceived lack of independence from political pressure 
during the quarter.  The continued presence of the UN 
International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), 
charged with investigating the February 2005 assassination of 
former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, gave the judiciary some 
much-needed "backbone" in tackling this highly sensitive 
issue.  Four senior security and intelligence officials 
arrested at the recommendation of the UNIIIC in August 2005 
remained in detention for the duration of the quarter. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) The UNIIIC's mandate was extended to the full 
extra three months allowed under UN Security Council 
resolution (UNSCR) 1595, to December 2005.  That month, the 
Security Council renewed the UNIIIC's mandate to June 2006 
under UNSCR 1644.  While the UNIIIC is of course not a MEPI 
initiative, a strong U.S. position in support of the UNIIIC's 
mission and integrity played an important role in advancing a 
"freedom agenda" in Lebanon, including in judicial reform. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Specific MEPI programs or activities aimed at this 
outcome during the quarter included an ongoing one-year 
project, conducted by a local MEPI partner, on monitoring 
judicial sentences relevant to human rights and democracy. 
On the public diplomacy front, post finalized arrangements 
for Jean Fahd, general prosecutor of the military court, to 
participate in a January 2006 International Visitor 
Leadership Program with the themes of:  1) an introduction to 
the U.S. federal judicial system, 2) an independent 
judiciary, and 3) federal government and the rule of law. 
FELTMAN