VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKL #1458/01 2152319
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 032319Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7260
INFO RUEHKL/ISLAMIC CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0269
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0132
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0058
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0094
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0968

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUALA LUMPUR 001458 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL NACB IS LE MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA HOSTS OIC CONFERENCE ON LEBANON AND 
PALESTINE, URGES IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE 
 
Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark 
for reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on 
August 3 hosted dignitaries from 17 other countries belonging 
to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to 
discuss and plan a course of action in the Lebanon and 
Palestine conflicts.  Predictably, Abdullah called for an 
immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and asked Muslim 
nations to play a more proactive role in the conflict, to 
include possibly sending peacekeeping troops under the UN 
banner.  Abdullah castigated Israel for its actions, 
suggesting these represented an unfair extension of the war 
on terror.  While not mentioning the U.S. or other specific 
countries, Abdullah raised concerns of Western agendas in the 
Middle East and noted "a secret design" pursued by Israel 
with the support of "others."  Abdullah avoided any criticism 
of Hizbollah.  Iranian President Ahmadinejad backed an 
immediate ceasefire, while referring to the elimination of 
Israel as the "main cure."  Some OIC leaders offered more 
tempered views, focusing on needed UN actions (Bangladesh) or 
expressing concern over the long-term impact on the Middle 
East and the build up of Muslim anger (Pakistan).  Initially 
billed in press reports as only OIC Executive Committee 
meeting, Abdullah presided over a more expansive gathering of 
leaders from the Muslim world.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi hosted on August 3 a 
special meeting of the OIC in Putrajaya, the administrative 
capital of Malaysia.  Abdullah called the meeting, officially 
known as the Meeting of the Friends of the Chair of the 10th 
Islamic Summit Conference, in an effort to unify the OIC and 
issue a joint statement on Palestine and Lebanon.  The 
following heads of state, prime ministers and foreign 
ministers were in attendance: 
 
- 1)  Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, representing the Sultan of 
Brunei 
- 2)  Prince Hamzah ibn Al-Hussein, representing the King of 
Jordan 
- 3)  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (Indonesia) 
- 4)  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran) 
- 5)  Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia (Bangladesh) 
- 6)  Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (Pakistan) 
- 7)  Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey) 
- 8)  Prime Minister Artur Rasizadeh (Azerbaijan) 
- 9)  Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh (Lebanon) 
- 10) Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi (Palestine) 
- 11) Foreign Minister Dr. Abubaker Abdullah Alqirbi (Yemen) 
- 12) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Nizar bin 
Obeid Al Madani (Saudi Arabia) 
- 13) Senior State Minister in the Office of the President, 
Abdoul Kader Sow (Senegal) 
- 14) Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Councils, 
Dr. Mufid Mahmoud Shihab (Egypt) 
- 15) Vice Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad (Syria) 
- 16) Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Saif Muqaddam 
Al-Buainain (Qatar) 
- 17) Deputy Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Dr. Tariq 
Ahmad Al-Haidan (U.A.E.) 
- 18) OIC Secretary General Dr. Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu 
 
¶3.  (U) In his opening remarks, Abdullah called upon the 
attendees to "play a more proactive role in the present 
conflict."  He encouraged the OIC members to "show 
preparedness to contribute forces for peacekeeping operations 
under the United Nations banner."  "We cannot continue 
issuing mere statements of condemnation for the violence," 
declared Abdullah. "It is insufficient to express sympathy 
for the victims.  Let us resolve to come up with a practical 
plan of action to stop the war and bring back the peace. We 
must help to rebuild Lebanon and Palestine.  We must address 
the humanitarian situation." 
 
¶4.  (C) Abdullah offered thinly veiled criticism of the 
United States and the West and avoided casting any blame on 
Hizbollah.  He declared that "this war has been labeled as 
part of the global war on terror.  Reference has been made to 
an arc of extremism stretching across the Middle East and 
beyond and the need for the Western world to boldly confront 
that.  Hizbollah has been branded an extremist terrorist 
organization.  Certain countries have been blamed for 
supporting Hizbollah.  We also hear some Western leaders 
talking about bringing into being a new Middle East. We know 
what that means.  To me, all these signal a grave situation 
which can bring about even graver consequences."  He added 
 
that "Israel is being supported by some others in pursuing 
their secret design." 
 
¶5. (U) Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Prime Minister 
Begum Zia of Bangladesh took a softer approach and suggested 
a UN sponsored conference be held to find ways and means to 
enhance the authority of the Lebanese government and 
immediate reconstruction of its economy and infrastructure. 
Zia declared: "We are not here to incite passion of 
retaliation and more bloodletting.  On the contrary, we have 
assembled here to issue a firm call to the Israeli leadership 
to bring an immediate halt to the violence that it has let 
loose." 
 
¶6.  (U) Sounding a pessimistic outlook for the future, 
Pakistani PM Shaukat Aziz stated that "the failure of the 
international community, especially the United Nations and 
the world powers to halt this outrage is adding to popular 
anger in the region and around the world. . . .This paralysis 
is dangerous and can have incalculable consequences for 
long-term peace and security in the sensitive Middle East 
region and in the world."  The OIC's Secretary General, 
Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu, echoed a similar refrain: "I am afraid 
that the anger of the Muslim masses is being transformed into 
permanent hatred against the aggressors and their implicit 
and explicit protectors." 
 
¶7. (U)  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in 
Kuala Lumpur on the morning of August 3.  He reportedly 
commented that "although the main cure is the elimination of 
the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate ceasefire 
should be implemented." 
 
¶8. (C) Comment:  Despite press reports that the Meeting of 
Friends would take the form of an OIC Executive Committee 
meeting (only seven countries), Abdullah presided over a much 
larger gathering, thus including the most strident 
anti-Israeli voices including Syria and Iran.  Such an 
expansion will likely skew any final report (still pending as 
of late afternoon August 3) that must express a consensus of 
the attendees. 
LAFLEUR