VZCZCXRO9780
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0520/01 1071445
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161445Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1536
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000520 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO/YERGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL PHUM PGOV SY IS LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: ON CIVIL WAR ANNIVERSARY, CIVIL SOCIETY 
MOVEMENT GROWS 
 
REF: BEIRUT 00488 
 
------- 
 Summary 
 ------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) April 13 marked the 33rd anniversary of the outbreak 
of the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war and a number of civil 
society organizations marked the occasion with public events. 
 Commemorative events have been held in the past, but this 
year's events are drawing more participants and public 
attention than before, which some link to anxiety resulting 
from the current political impasse. The range of programs was 
extensive: a photography exhibit and reception with family 
members whose loved ones "disappeared" during the civil war, 
a lecture about international experiences with post-war truth 
and reconciliation committees, a march with hundreds of 
participants along the former "Green Line," an exhibit 
displaying political posters from the civil war period, and a 
week-long outdoor artistic downtown event which gives average 
Lebanese citizens an opportunity to give voice to their war 
memories.  These events reflect the growing strength of civil 
society, concern feel about the current political vacuum and 
the desire to avoid another civil war, and the long-term need 
for reconciliation and remembrance initiatives to promote 
societal healing.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------- 
Searching for Answers 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) One conference participant summarized this surge of 
events eloquently.  "There are unhealed wounds in the 
Lebanese psyche which are being exacerbated by the current 
political instability.  The amnesty laws of the 1990's failed 
to deal with war crimes in a meaningful way and we see the 
perpetrators of these crimes every day on TV because they are 
still in power.  We don't want a repeat of the civil war in 
order to settle grudges, but we do want answers."  Some 
family members also told us that the Special Tribunal for 
Rafik Hariri's murder has overshadowed effort to find justice 
for "the ordinary people of Lebanon." 
 
¶3. (SBU) Another important theme emerged, which is the need 
to educate Lebanese youth on what the civil war really meant. 
 There have been recent violent street skirmishes between 
youth from opposing political parties.  Those who lived 
through the civil war want the youth (many of them born since 
the end of the civil war) to fully understand the 
ramifications of their actions during this vulnerable period 
in Lebanon. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
"Missing" Exhibit a Personal Experience for the Families 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Umam Documentation and Research Center, run by 
independent Shia activist Lokman Slim (reftel) and his wife 
Monika Borgmann, is an NGO founded in 2004 to deal with 
Lebanon's civil war memories.  With a belief that an act of 
parliament or the Taef Accords are unable to adequately 
"close the files" on war crimes, Umam has an ambitious 
program in 2008 to "respectfully examine the past."  Umam is 
also committed to archiving primary sources of information, 
including posters, pamphlets and first-person interviews, 
which document Lebanon's past.  (Note:  Youth leaders have 
also raised this issue with the Charge.  There is no single, 
objective source of information which is used in Lebanese 
schools to discuss the country's modern history.  The history 
texts used in Lebanese private and public schools stop in 
¶1943.  End Note.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) The "Missing" photography event was put together by 
Umam staff, who visited with the family members of hundreds 
of Lebanese citizens who disappeared during the civil war. 
Umam staff told us that putting the exhibition together was 
an emotional experience.  Families longed to share stories 
about their loved ones and were eager to donate large amounts 
of documents on the cases to the Umam archives.  On April 10, 
over 500 people gathered for the gala opening of the exhibit. 
 The majority of the attendees were women: the mothers, 
wives, sisters and daughters of the disappeared.  Many 
approached the Charge to share with her their personal 
stories.  One of the most striking aspects was also the 
diversity of the crowd.  Though Lokman Slim is an independent 
Shia, the majority of the missing victims were Sunni and 
Christian.  Slim has told us that he places national issues 
before confessional identification and this exhibit showed 
 
BEIRUT 00000520  002 OF 003 
 
 
that his words are backed up by action. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Lecture Focuses on Truth and Reconciliation Experiences 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In conjunction with the "Missing" exhibit, Umam 
partnered with the German Embassy and the International 
Center for Transitional Justice for a lecture on the truth 
and reconciliation models followed in Germany and South 
Africa.  The German Ambassador to Lebanon, Hansjorg Haber, 
spoke eloquently on Germany's painful and long-term process 
of coming to terms with the Holocaust. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Haber was followed by Dr. Alan Boraine, former Vice 
President of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation 
Committee.  Boraine stressed that each country's experience 
would be unique, but Lebanon was clearly in a "transitional 
phase" as it emerges from civil war and Syrian occupation and 
seeks to successfully transform the nation's institutions 
democratically.  He called for accountability, in order to 
provide family members with the answers they had been seeking 
for years.  He also called for institutional reform, which he 
defined as ensuring that the state and government were of 
service to the entire nation without discrimination.  He also 
urged the government of Lebanon to "take responsibility for 
the victims."  Boraine said the GOL should help educate 
orphans, provide services to fractured families and take the 
lead in planning and funding a national memorial for war 
victims.  Boraine also announced that his current 
organization, the International Center for Transitional 
Justice, had opened an office in Beirut to help the Lebanese 
nation work through the complex truth and reconciliation 
process. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Hizballah Allows Memorial March Along the Green Line 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) On April 13, hundreds of Lebanese citizens marched 
to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the outbreak of the 
civil war.  Opposition supporters, who have been camped in 
tents in the downtown area for more than 16 months, raised 
their barricades to allow the march to peacefully proceed 
along the "Green Line," which divided Christian and Muslim 
neighborhoods during the civil war.  The march ended when the 
group planted an olive tree symbolizing peace in one of the 
city's public gardens.  Local staff tell us that 
commemorative events have been held in the past, but that the 
2008 events, such as this march, are drawing more 
participants and public attention than ever before. 
According to the march organizer, Melham Khalaf, "We are 
going through a phase in which the whole country feels in 
danger.  This is a turning point for Lebanese civil society." 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Political Posters Viewed as "Signs of Conflict" 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶9. (SBU) An American University of Beirut professor, Dr. 
Zeina Masri, has assembled an exhibit which focuses on the 
political posters produced by warring factions during the 
civil war.  According to Masri, the graphic signs became a 
regular part of life for Lebanese citizens as political 
parties strove to legitimize their battle for power and 
territorial control.  The exhibit is being praised for 
visually articulating the desires, fears and collective 
memory of this period.  Most striking, perhaps, is that 
Hizballah lent posters from its own archive to be displayed 
as "works on loan" during the exhibit, which is on display at 
Beirut's "Planet Discovery" science museum in the Solidere 
neighborhood renovated by late PM Rafiq Hariri. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Unique Image Draws Crowd in Downtown 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶10.  (SBU) A display of 600 toilets in a downtown Beirut 
empty lot has generated considerable public attention in 
Lebanon.  This installation is part of a week-long program 
titled "Isn't 15 years in the toilet enough? and sponsored 
by the Lebanese Association for Hman Rights, with quiet 
financial support from AI/OTI.  During the civil war, often 
the bathroom was the only location in a family home secure 
from flying bullets and shrapnel.  People spent long periods 
of time during the 15 year conflict huddled in that room and 
the "seating" provided by the exhibit's toilets are meant to 
physically remind people of that experience.  During the 
 
BEIRUT 00000520  003 OF 003 
 
 
opening ceremony on April 13, attended by the Charge and 
Special Assistant, moving and personal testimonies on the 
civil war were shared.  The crowd listened silently as one 
Shia participant rose to admit that he had been part of the 
armed militias which had split apart the country.  He 
admitted that he had injured and killed some of his neighbors 
and he publicly asked for forgiveness.  The crowd gave him a 
warm round of applause and many guests said that Lebanon 
needed more of these personal and local acts of contrition. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Another guest spoke at length with the Charge about 
his family's experience.  His father and his cousin 
disappeared during the war and had been featured in the 
"Missing" exhibit. He said that he was able to condone 
General Aoun's civil war behavior because at least he had 
been following a soldier's code of conduct.  However, he said 
that he could not understand how Walid Jumblatt and Samir 
Geagea, who led militias accused of human rights abuses 
during the war, continue to be received as national leaders 
by the international community.  He added that it was 
extremely difficult to listen to these leaders in the press 
every day, knowing their backgrounds, and he said that it 
would be in the best interest of Lebanon if they would step 
aside and let younger members speak for the Jumblatt and 
Geagea constituencies.  Interestingly, he said he had nothing 
against the Hariri family and the Future Party.  His "dream 
solution" would be to have Aoun and Hariri unite to lead 
Lebanon in the future -- a scenario which seems highly 
unlikely. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Lebanese civil society does seem to be spreading 
its wings this spring, after long years spent under Syrian 
repression and after recovering from the shock of the 2006 
war.  Post will be exploring ways to support this 
reconciliation and remembrance work in the future.  Most of 
the events and exhibits have taken place in Beirut, but it 
will be important for these exhibits to travel throughout the 
country in an effort to continue this important dialogue. 
End Comment. 
SISON