VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLB #1249/01 3281119
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 241119Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6098

UNCLAS BEIRUT 001249 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM EAID PTER OREP LE
SUBJECT: EDUCATION LEADS TO DEMOCRACY, MPS TELL CODEL PRICE 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Lebanese parliamentarians from all sides of 
the political spectrum told visiting Codel Price November 10 
and 11 that they welcomed the United States Congress' support 
for the Lebanese parliament.  They suggested that technical 
assistance, particularly through a staff resource center, and 
discussing shared experiences would be the most useful 
cooperation.  Parliamentarians stressed that only a unique 
Lebanon-specific brand of democracy would succeed in their 
country, and cited education and eradicating poverty as the 
best means to build a "culture of democracy" in Lebanon. 
Civil society representatives echoed similar themes in a 
November 11 roundtable meeting with the Codel, describing a 
variety of programs being implemented to engage the Lebanese 
population.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) As part of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) 
program, Codel Price, accompanied by Ambassador and poloffs, 
met with Lebanese members of parliament (MPs) from a 
cross-section of political parties and with civil society 
groups on November 10 and 11.  Codel members were HDP 
Chairman David Price (D-NC); Rep. David Dreier (R-CA), 
Ranking Member; and Representatives Lois Capps (D-CA), Keith 
Ellison (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Charles Boustany 
(R-LA). 
 
FORTUITOUS TIMING 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Rep. Price told MPs that the United States Congress 
looked forward to resuming and enhancing its relationship 
with the Lebanese parliament, which had been postponed since 
2007 due to a political vacuum and the absence of a 
functioning Lebanese parliament.  Although Codel Price was 
unaware upon departure from Washington, DC, that they would 
arrive the day after a new Lebanese cabinet was named, they 
welcomed the fortuitous timing. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Rep. Dreier noted that the U.S. House Democracy 
Partnership sought to help Lebanon build a strong parliament 
that could serve to "check and balance" the government.  The 
U.S. Congress and the Lebanese parliament had "tremendous" 
expertise and could both benefit from collaboration, he 
emphasized.  Codel Price noted that Lebanon's democracy would 
serve as an example to other countries in the region that 
sought to develop their own unique brand of democracy. 
 
PARLIAMENT OPEN TO COORDINATION 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Majority and opposition parliamentarians alike 
expressed willingness to work with members of Congress to 
improve the resources and skills of parliament staff and MPs. 
 Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) MP Walid Khoury noted that, as 
a full-time surgeon and MP, he would benefit from 
parliamentary resource assistance on budgetary issues.  He 
supported practical collaboration with the U.S. House or 
Senate because Lebanese parliamentarians have good intentions 
but lack an understanding of the steps necessary to achieve 
their goals.  FPM MP Alain Aoun agreed that the U.S. Congress 
could help most through its "know-how" and technical support. 
 Amal MP Anwar Khalil expected that the UN Development 
Program's (UNDP) collaboration with the Westminster 
Foundation would soon provide parliamentarians technical 
support on budget and finance issues, and he welcomed U.S. 
assistance to expand the program's capabilities to serve all 
parliamentary committees.  Rep. Capps, noting that the U.S. 
Congress relied on extensive staffs to function well, agreed 
that a technical resource center would aid Lebanon's 
parliament.  Rep. Hirono assessed that partnership was the 
best tool to learn about another country. 
 
¶6. (SBU) During a separate meeting between Congressional 
staffers and parliamentary staff on November 11, Bilal 
Charara, General Secretary of Foreign Affairs at the Lebanese 
parliament, welcomed the possibility to renew the 
parliament's partnership with the U.S. Congress.  Charara 
specifically mentioned adding 250 computers and upgraded 
software (including databases) for the parliamentary library, 
providing technical training, and linking the library with 
others in the region as the assistance priorities of the 
parliament.  While seminars in the U.S. were useful, Charara 
argued that the money spent on travel expenses and per diem 
could be better used if parlayed into acquiring needed 
equipment.  HDP staff member John Lis explained that HDP 
could assist the parliament by providing technical assistance 
and training in which Congressional members of HDP share 
their expertise.  On the Westminster Foundation project, Lis 
said perhaps the U.S. Congress could assist with budget and 
analysis training.  In addition, he informed his 
interlocutors that the HDP would like to organize a visit of 
U.S. Law Library of Congress staff to Beirut to work with the 
parliament's librarians.  Parliamentary staff expressed 
enthusiasm for such a program and said they looked forward to 
having the State University of New York's Center for 
International Development (SUNY/CID) begin implementation of 
a parliamentary resource center as soon as possible. 
 
PRESERVE IDENTITY 
OF LEBANESE DEMOCRACY 
--------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Justice and Administration Committee chairman and 
long-time HDP partner MP Robert Ghanem emphasized that 
democracy was "a must" in Lebanon.  Opposition Tashnaq MP 
Pakradunian posited, however, that Lebanon's democracy was 
"unique" and, while MPs sought to learn from the experiences 
of visiting members of the U.S. Congress, nothing but a 
"unique" Lebanese "brand" of democracy would succeed in the 
country.  Several attendees assessed that sectarianism had 
taken a negative toll on Lebanon's democracy, and 
Amal-aligned MP Anwar Khalil claimed that Parliamentary 
Speaker Nabih Berri had committed to convening a committee to 
eliminate religious political divisions, as stipulated in the 
1989 Taif Agreement.  Rep. Price agreed that "one size" of 
democracy did "not fit all," but noted that certain core 
values, such as the importance of an individual voice, were 
essential to all.  Meanwhile, Rep. Ellison urged participants 
to find ways to do their part in achieving progress on 
"shared values" and suggested that Lebanese MPs engage with 
the Lebanese diaspora to promote the needs and objectives of 
the Lebanese government. 
 
EDUCATION A CRUCIAL TOOL 
------------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) MPs from all parties focused on the importance of 
education in strengthening democracy.  Ghanem said that 
Lebanon needed to build a "culture of democracy" among youth 
through education.  U.S. investment in education in Lebanon, 
particularly through the American University of Beirut, was 
its most successful effort to advance democracy in the Middle 
East, Future Movement MP Bassem el-Shab said.  He argued that 
sectarianism had damaged Lebanese democracy and that 
Lebanon's often-sectarian school system needed reform as 
well.  According to FPM MP Ibrahim Kenaan, forming a 
"national vision" through education and dialogue was an 
important step to ensuring stability and preventing outside 
interference in Lebanon's affairs.  Rep. Capps, citing the 
extensive California education system, agreed that education 
was critical to bettering society. 
 
FIGHT POVERTY 
TO BUILD DEMOCRACY 
------------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Attendees also noted the importance of economic 
development in building democracy and fighting terrorism. 
Khalil called poverty the "worst adversary of any democracy," 
saying that people must "feed themselves before they can feed 
a democratic society."  The United States could help reduce 
Lebanon's internal economic disparity, he said, by focusing 
on rural areas where high rates of illiteracy and poverty 
caused instability.  Lebanese Forces MP Joseph Maalouf said 
U.S. insight into how to achieve proper, balanced growth on a 
national level would be helpful.  Rep. Dreier noted that 
economic growth could create a "common bond" among the 
population -- another tool, he said, to build democracy and 
fight terrorism. 
 
ENGAGING CIVIL SOCIETY 
---------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) On November 11 Codel Price met with civil society 
representatives, who noted that the 90% turnout rate for the 
parliamentary elections showed that the Lebanese believe they 
play a role in determining their country's leadership.  They 
assessed that many citizens still do not know what terms like 
"democracy" and "freedom" mean, however, and the lack of 
common definition hinders dialogue.  Participants also 
emphasized education as a door to stability and opportunity. 
Many organizations worked with both youth and women to 
address disadvantages and trigger a positive ripple benefit 
in their families.  Several people stressed the incremental 
nature of development, saying that it took time and patience 
to get government buy-in for projects, but they highlighted 
the progress their organizations had made despite these 
barriers. 
 
¶11. (U) Codel Price has cleared this cable. 
DAUGHTON