Gemayel must make way for political reform—Jumblatt

Press, 7 August 1985, Page 11

Gemayel must make way for political reform—Jumblatt

NZPA-AP Beirut President Amin Gemayel faced more calls to step down yesterday on the eve of talks aimed at giving Lebanon's Muslims equal power and ending the country’s 10-year-old civil war. In an interview .in Beirut's Leftist “As-Safir” daily, the Druse leader, Walid Jumblatt, Lebanon’s Minister of Tourism, and Mr Gemayel's longtime foe. demanded that the President, a Maronite Catholic, step down. Mr Jumblatt, who heads the powerful Progressive Socialist Party militia, emphasised that Mr Gemayel should 'resign to make way for political reforms aimed at giving Muslims an equal share of the Christiandominated Government. Mr Jumblatt’s demand, echoed by the Shi’ite Amal militia leader, Nabih Berri, Mr Gemayel’s Minister of Justice, fuelled political manoeuvring before today's talks between Muslim leaders in Shtaura in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley, in east Lebanon. Berri and Mr Jumblatt are expected to announce the formation of a national Unity Front at Shtaura to meet Christian leaders for peace talks.

Fifteen Muslim parties are expected to join the coalition. Party sources said they would demand a new constitution giving Muslims. 55 per cent of Lebanon’s 4 million people, an equal share of political power with Christians who have dominated the Government since independence from France in 1943. Yesterday jets, believed to be Israeli, caused sonic booms over the Bekaa Valley. They were appar-

ently on reconnaissance missions. The planes drew missile fire from Syrian troops in the valley and Palestinian guerrilla positions. But none was reported hit. Israeli warplanes attacked the bases of Palestinian guerrillas in the Bekaa last week, bringing to nine the number of retaliatory strikes this year. The Israeli military command in Tel Aviv reported that two soldiers and three guerrillas were killed in a pre-dawn clash in south Lebanon, near the Shi’ite Muslim village of Majd alSalim, 4kms from the Israeli border. The Israeli fatalities were the first announced by Israel in 3% months, although Lebanese guerrilla groups claim they have killed several Israelis in that period. Yesterday Lebanese Army search teams found no trace of a Cypriot ship reported to have sunk under mysterious circumstances off Beirut. The police said they picked up a distress signal from a vessel identifying itself as the Lorine and saying it was under attack in the Mediterranean.