VZCZCXRO6497
PP RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0770/01 1481214
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271214Z MAY 08 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2044
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000770 
 
(C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y) ADDING SENSITIVE CAPTION 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PINR LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON:  NASRALLAH EXTENDS HAND FOR PARTNERSHIP, BUT 
REMAINS FIRM ON WEAPONS 
 
BEIRUT 00000770  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (U) During a ceremony held in the Beirut southern suburbs to mark 
the eighth anniversary of the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from southern 
Lebanon, Hizballah SYG Nasrallah delivered a televised speech in 
which he extended to the GOL the hand for partnership and 
cooperation, but at the same time justified the possession of the 
resistance's weapons.  He announced a new "liberation strategy" for 
the Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba hills in addition to the "national 
defensive strategy" cited by President Sleiman in his inaugural 
address.  With no further elaboration, Nasrallah promised that 
Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails will return to Lebanon soon.  He 
welcomed the election of Michel Sleiman as president and promised a 
"quiet and calm" summer in Lebanon.  End summary. 
 
NASRALLAH ANNOUNCES LIBERATION 
STRATEGY, CALLS FOR PARTNERSHIP 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On May 26, at a Liberation Day ceremony marking the eighth 
anniversary of the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, 
Hizballah SYG Nasrallah delivered a televised speech in front of a 
large crowd in Beirut's southern suburbs.  In his speech, Nasrallah 
said the resistance does not have to wait for a national or popular 
consensus, but rather that it should carry weapons and proceed to 
fulfill its liberation duties.  He added, "We should not use the 
resistance's weapons for any internal political gain" and warned the 
government and army not to use its weapons against an opposition 
political party, such as Hizballah. 
 
¶3. (U) Nasrallah added a new condition to justify Hezbollah's 
weapons when he called for the formulation of a new "liberation 
strategy" for the Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba hills, in addition to 
the need for the arms as part of a "national defensive strategy." 
Nasrallah also called for a true national partnership and urged 
others to benefit from the thinking of late Prime Minister Rafiq 
Hariri, who was capable of incorporating Hezbollah's weapons into a 
national reconstruction plan following the end of the civil war. 
 
NASRALLAH WELCOMES 
SLEIMAN'S ELECTION 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (U) Nasrallah also welcomed the election of Michel Sleiman as 
president, which he said brings new hope for Lebanon.  He praised 
Sleiman's speech for its consensual spirit, saying, "This is what 
Lebanon needs:  consensus, partnership, and cooperation." 
 
NATIONAL UNITY CABINET 
WILL NOT BE LIMITED TO 
USUAL OPPOSITION PARTIES 
------------------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Nasrallah further added that a national unity cabinet 
should be formed based on true representation; this formation will 
be a success for all of Lebanon and not one party over the other. 
He noted that the opposition's share will not be limited to 
Hizballah, Amal, and Aoun's Change and Reform bloc, but will also 
include other opposition parties. March Druze MP Akram Shuhayyeb 
told Polstaff on May that he believed the opposition would nominate 
members of the Syrian Baath party and Syrian Socialist Nationalist 
Party (SSNP).  He said MP Saad Hariri should not accept the 
premiership if he will be surrounded by cabinet members from the 
opposition Syrian parties. 
 
HIZBALLAH DEMANDS 
COEXISTENCE 
----------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Nasrallah clarified that Hizballah neither asked for a 
change in the political structure of the state nor an amendment to 
the Taif Agreement despite that all victorious resistance efforts in 
the world either took control of power or demanded to have power. 
He added, "Hizballah does not want power in Lebanon, nor to control 
Lebanon, nor to rule Lebanon, nor to impose our project and thoughts 
on the Lebanese people, because we believe Lebanon is a special and 
pluralistic state.  The existence of this country only comes about 
through coexistence, and this is what we are demanding."  He 
repeated, however, that he is proud to be a member of the "Wilayat 
el-Faqih," (Islamic-dominated state), and Hizballah is its party. 
 
RETURN OF LEBANESE 
PRISONERS FROM ISRAELI 
JAILS 
---------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) In his speech, Nasrallah disclosed that a major breakthrough 
on the issue of Lebanese prisoners held in Israeli jails will be 
achieved.  He said, "Samir Qantar (the longest held Lebanese 
 
BEIRUT 00000770  002 OF 002 
 
 
prisoner) and others will soon be in Lebanon."  He did not elaborate 
on this issue. 
 
QUIET AND CALM SUMMER 
FOR LEBANON 
-------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Concluding his speech, Nasrallah promised to exert all 
efforts to have a quiet and calm summer, in contrast to the hot 
summer the USG and its "Pharaoh," President Bush, allegedly had 
promised for Lebanon.  He added that there are two dreams; a 
Lebanese dream and a U.S. dream, "so let us fulfill the Lebanese 
dream of a quiet and calm summer and not the U.S. dream of a hot 
summer." 
 
CELEBRATORY SHOTS 
CAUSE INJURIES 
---------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Following Nasrallah's speech, more than ten people were 
injured as a result of celebratory shooting and provocative actions 
in Beirut by Amal and Hizballah supporters.  The army intervened and 
contained the situation. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (U) By calling for a national strategy to liberate Shebaa Farms 
and Kfarshouba, Hizballah is seeking yet another justification for 
retaining its arms.  It suggests that Hizballah will maintain its 
self-assigned role as Lebanon's first line of defense, while leaving 
political and economic issues in the hands of the government.  While 
the speech otherwise differed little in tone or substance from 
previous speeches, the timing was not appreciated by many Lebanese, 
still celebrating the May 25 election of President Michel Sleiman, 
who had hoped for a more conciliatory tone.  Nasrallah's fiery 
speech and aggressive body language, along with skirmishes between 
Hariri's Future Movement and Amal in Beirut following the speech, 
instead seem to indicate that the honeymoon will be short-lived. 
End comment. 
 
SISON