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S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 001925

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/06/2016
TAGS: PREL LE SY PTER ASEC ETTC FR
SUBJECT: MIXED, BUT MOSTLY DISCOURAGING FRENCH RESPONSE TO U.S. DESIGNATION OF AL-MANAR
REF: A. STATE 44261
¶B. 05 PARIS 8186 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Karl Hofmann, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

¶1. (S/NF) Summary and comment: In a preliminary response to U.S. designation of Al-Manar, senior Elysee officials reaffirmed GoF resolve in banning Al-Manar broadcasts in France due to hate speech concerns, while reiterating the GoF´s desire for continued contact with, and opposition to EU designation of, Hizballah. MFA DAS-equivalent for Egypt/Levant Herve Besancenot reiterated that France will not follow the U.S. example of listing Al-Manar or freezing its assets, and questioned the timing of the U.S. designation, viewing it as potentially undermining Lebanese PM Siniora and Lebanon´s ongoing national dialogue. Besancenot stressed that the GoF banned Al-Manar due to its diffusion of hate speech contrary to French law, not a determination that Hizballah is a terrorist organization. At the same time, MFA contacts responsible for CT issues suggested that the GOF might work to seek an EU-wide ban on Al-Manar, based on hate speech concerns, once the EU formulates a legal foundation on which to ban such broadcasts. Given this initial response, it appears that the best argument to seek greater GoF activism against Al-Manar in the EU is the hate speech angle, in the face of continued French opposition to listing Hizballah as a terrorist organization. End summary and comment.

ELYSEE RESPONSE

---------------

¶2. (S/NF) We discussed ref A points on the U.S. decision to list Al-Manar with senior Elysee and MFA officials, urging the GoF to freeze Al-Manar assets in France and support EU listing of Al-Manar and Hizballah as a terrorist organizations. In a March 23 discussion with the Ambassador and DCM focused primarily on Venezuela´s UNSC candidacy and the Middle East more generally (septels), Presidential Diplomatic Advisor Maurice Gourdault-Montagne stressed the GoF´s resolve in taking the decision to ban Al-Manar broadcasts in France in 2005. This action had resulted from a lengthy judicial process and in response to Al-Manar´s diffusion of hate speech. Gourdault-Montagne demurred, however, when pressed on the need for France to support EU terrorist designation of Hizballah and Al-Manar, stressing that the GoF wanted to maintain contact with Hizballah, and that such contact had the capacity to positively influence the organization. In a separate March 23 conversation with poloff, Elysee Middle East/Americas Advisor Dominique Boche stressed that the GoF banned Al-Manar broadcasts for reasons different than those employed by the U.S., namely incitation of hate. He added that the process by which the ban took place was in strict accordance with French laws against broadcast of hate speech, and was based on legal, not political considerations.

MFA QUESTIONS TIMING, IMPACT IN LEBANON

--------------------------------------- 

¶3. (S/NF) MFA DAS-equivalent for Egypt/Levant Herve Besancenot, in a more negative response to ref A points March 22, told poloff that the GoF would not/not designate Al-Manar as a terrorist organization or freeze its assets, based on the GoF´s continued opposition to EU listing of Hizballah as a terrorist organization. He stressed the GoF view that Hizballah´s political integration, not its isolation, remained the key to its disarmament. Besancenot questioned the timing of the U.S. designation decision, which he said could create difficulties for Lebanese PM Siniora, whom the U.S. and France were trying to help. He added that designation would complicate Lebanon´s national dialogue, in which Hizballah, up to now, had played a responsible role. Besancenot offered little substantive response to our points on Hizballah/Al-Manar support for Palestinian terrorists, and noted that he would review our points further with MFA colleagues.

¶4. (S/NF) Besancenot stressed that the GoF position on Hizballah was separate from the CSA (French FCC-equivalent) decision to ban Al-Manar, which was based on Al-Manar´s diffusion of anti-Semitic hate speech, in violation of French law. Besancenot affirmed that the GoF position on banning Al-Manar broadcasts in France remained unchanged, and that the GoF had rejected Hizballah efforts to overturn the ban. Besancenot concluded that pursuing an EU-wide ban on Al-Manar from the "hate speech" vice terrorism angle would have greater chances of success with other EU members. At the same time, he claimed ignorance of any ongoing EU discussions on banning Al-Manar.

MFA CT CONTACTS SUGGEST SOME HOPE FOR FURTHER GOF ACTION

--------------------------------------------- -----------

¶5. (S/NF) In a separate discussion with poloff March 21, Julien Deruffe, the MFA,s senior desk officer for C/T issues, did not comment on prospects for French designation of Al-Manar as a terrorist organization, but instead focused on the GOF,s efforts to ban Al-Manar from European airwaves. Following the CSA,s decision last year, Deruffe said France had pushed the European Commission to draft a "Television without Borders" regulation that would provide for a legal foundation to ban hate broadcasts such as those diffused by Al-Manar. Following adoption of this regulation (which was still being drafted by the Commission), Deruffe said France would likely push for a ban on Al-Manar broadcasts at the EU level.

¶6. (S/NF) Comment: Despite our intense coordination with France on Syria/Lebanon and joint efforts in support of Lebanese sovereignty and UNSCR 1559 implementation, we remain far apart on the issue of Hizballah, with the GoF still refusing to support an EU terrorism designation. With the national dialogue now underway in Lebanon, the GoF is more reluctant than ever to take any confrontational measures towards Hizballah and continues to advocate Hizballah´s gradual political integration as a magic cure-all. In the specific case of the Al-Manar broadcast ban in France, the GoF´s commitment to fighting anti-Semitism in France effectively trumped its tendencies towards seeking accommodation with Hizballah, but the move did not represent a shift in the GoF stance on Hizballah overall. The specific reason for the GoF ban of Al-Manar -- Al-Manar´s anti-Semitic and hate-filled programming -- represents the best angle to try and prod the GoF towards advocating EU action against Al-Manar, but it will be crucial to generate more broad support on the issue within the EU. At the same time, with Chirac´s Diplomatic Advisor stressing the value of continued GoF contact with Hizballah, we are not overly optimistic that the GoF will pursue an aggressive stance against Al-Manar within the EU. End comment.

Please visit Paris´ Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.cfm

Stapleton