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Lucia A Keegan  09/20/2006 10:01:31 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Lucia A Keegan

Cable 
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UNCLAS        PARIS 06247

SIPDIS
cxparis:
    ACTION: UNESCO
    INFO:   ECON AMBU AMB AMBO DCM SCI POL

DISSEMINATION: UNESCOX
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: CHARGE: AKOSS
DRAFTED: POL: DROSTROFF
CLEARED: SCI: NCOOPER

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OO RUEHC RUEHTV RUEHLB
DE RUEHFR #6247 2611615
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 181615Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1431
INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 0554
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0441

UNCLAS PARIS 006247 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
STATE PASS TO NPS - STEPHEN MORRIS AND PAUL HOFFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNESCO SCUL LE PREL
SUBJECT:  MINOR DAMAGE TO LEBANESE WORLD HERITAGE SITES 
 
 
¶1. Summary:  UNESCO officials reported that damage to key Lebanese 
World Heritage sites was much less than expected, based on an 
initial report by UNESCO experts.  End summary. 
 
¶2. A press conference was held this morning, September 18, at UNESCO 
headquarters to present the findings of a special mission of 
cultural preservation experts sent to Lebanon September 10-15 to 
examine damage at Lebanese World Heritage sites that had been 
damaged in the recent conflict. 
 
¶3.  The team, led by former UNESCO Cultural Assistant Director 
General, Mounir Bouchenaki, was invited by the Lebanese Ministry of 
Culture, to visit Lebanon's listed World Heritage sites: Baalbek, 
Tyre, Anjar, and Byblos. 
 
¶4.  According to Bouchenaki, the Baalbek site did not suffer any 
major visible damage.  One stone block of the Jupiter Temple complex 
fell as a result of nearby bombing, and certain cracks had 
apparently widened.  Outside of the World Heritage site, some 
traditional homes and parts of the old souk were, however, damaged. 
 
¶5.  In Tyre, The seaside site did not suffer any visible damage. 
There was, however, some damage to the Roman era frescos in the 
site's caves, where some of the frescos were detached from the walls 
due to vibrations from the bombings. 
 
¶6.  At Anjar, the ramparts, palace and mosque had no visible 
damage. 
 
¶7.  The most immediate concern was for the problems the team found 
at Byblos, where the port had suffered from an important oil spill. 
While most of the oil has been removed, the UNESCO team fears that 
the oil residue on the stone foundations of the harbor must be 
removed quickly and by hand to avoid any lasting damage.  The team 
estimates that a team of 20-25 young Lebanese, trained on stone 
conservation could clean the stone in 8-10 weeks maximum, before 
winter. 
 
¶8.  ADG Francoise Riviere told the press conference that USD 75,000 
has been set aside for initial funding of the World Heritage 
emergency work.  She said that she is also in discussions with the 
Italian government and with the European Union regarding additional 
funding for the repairs. Riviere mentioned a possible donation of up 
to USD 1 million from the European Union.   She estimated that USD 
100,000 should be sufficient to repair the damage surveyed at this 
point.  A second mission will be sent in the future to develop more 
complete studies on damage to the Lebanese World Heritage sites, as 
well as to create a "risk map". 
 
¶9.  Photos and a video report on the sites that were visited are 
currently on the UNESCO website, www.unesco.org. 
 
¶10.  Comment:  The tone of the press conference was in keeping with 
UNESCO's recent efforts to treat Lebanon as a technical problem that 
can be solved without resort to politics.  Both Riviere and 
Bouchenaki batted away questions from Middle Eastern journalists 
that attempted to pin blame on Israel and in one case asked why 
UNESCO is not asking Israel to pay for the cleanup of Byblos.  A 
member of the Israeli UNESCO delegation told Charge after the 
meeting that he, too, was satisfied with the even-handedness of the 
meeting. KOSS