Word: franjiehs
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...ominous political overtones. Tripoli is the home town and political base of Premier Rashid Karami, a Sunni Moslem. Since midsummer, Karami has headed a "rescue government" whose first priority is to end the religious strife that has paralyzed the nation. Zgharta is the home village of Lebanese President Suleiman Franjieh, a Maronite Christian and longtime political foe of Karami's. Indeed, the gunman alleged to have executed the Moslem bus riders is a distant relative of the President's.* Thus forces loyal to Lebanon's two highest officials were locked in a fight that was certain...
Meeting in emergency session with their six-man rescue Cabinet, Franjieh and Karami grappled with the question of whether to send in Lebanon's 18,000-man armed forces to end the fighting. Some political leaders were reluctant to do so, since the officer corps is dominated by Maronite Christians. Moreover, the army commander, Major General Iskandar Ghanem, an old friend of Franjieh's, had antagonized Moslems by ordering the army two years ago to attack militant Palestinians in Lebanon, and by his inability to protect the country from Israeli attacks (another one took place last week, aimed...
...Cabinet. This time, after the traditional quadrille of maneuvering with many of the country's 21 parties and nine parliamentary blocs, he managed the job in only five weeks. The country might be falling apart around them, but Lebanon's aging political leaders-including President Suleiman Franjieh, 65-painstakingly haggled and bargained their way through scores of meetings. In the end, they accepted a compromise formula that had been proposed at least three weeks earlier: an interim six-member Cabinet that excludes both the extreme right and the extreme left, but includes representatives of the country...
Three weeks ago, Premier Rashid Solh resigned. When the fighting broke out again, Franjieh named a military government headed by retired Brigadier General Noureddin Rifai to restore order. The appointment was in keeping with a long-standing rule that the Lebanese President should be a Maronite Christian (which Franjieh is), while the Premier should be a Sunni Moslem (as Rifai is). Lebanese Moslems were furious at the appointment, nonetheless, because Rifai represents the army, whose officer corps is predominantly Christian. The Palestinians and even the neighboring Syrians were also angry. Damascus quickly dispatched its Foreign Minister to Beirut to express...
First Mission. Rifai quickly resigned. Franjieh knew that the Moslems favored Karami, who had served as Premier in eight governments since 1955. But he happens to loathe Karami. The President approached two other ex-premiers for the job; both refused because of the extent of Karami's support. Shrugging, Franjieh accepted the inevitable...