Word: jumblatt
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...next few days." The first fruit of the talks, however, was supposed to be a general cease-fire in Lebanon. At week's end that had not yet been achieved, even though Assad was exerting considerable pressure on Gemayel's chief opponents in Lebanon, Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt and Nabih Berri, head of the Shi'ite Amal militia. By Saturday, however, Jumblatt and Berri had dropped their demand for Gemayel's resignation...
...Assad-Gemayel talks will be the attempted resuscitation of the moribund Geneva negotiations among all Lebanese factions over the formation of a government of national unity. A spokesman for Gemayel predicted that the conference would begin by the end of this week, "if not sooner." Opposition Leaders Jumblatt and Berri would most likely be invited to join the new government, which Syria has promised to help by extending its rule to parts of Lebanon currently outside Gemayel's control...
Syria rejected the plan, and some of Gemayel's Lebanese enemies dismissed it as too little, too late. In Damascus, Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt insisted that Gemayel must not only resign but be put on trial for "crimes against the Lebanese people." On the other hand, Syria, which is helping to arm Gemayel's foes, is believed amenable to letting the President stay on, and it invited a revised plan which the Saudis proposed and conveyed to Beirut. If Gemayel does cling to office, it may be as the figurehead leader of a drastically reshaped government heavily influenced...
...leading civilian contenders for the job would include Raymond Eddé, age 70, a Maronite political exile living in Paris, and Suleiman Franjieh, 73, a Maronite who served as President of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976 and is now an ally of Jumblatt's in the Syrian-backed National Salvation Front. Eddé, who went into exile because of fears of assassination, is the country's most popular politician, mainly because of his gilt-edged reputation for honesty. He is also stubborn, which would probably earn him a veto from Syria. Franjieh, on the other hand, is obviously...
Schismatic problems within the Amal may be compounded by growing tensions between Berri and his Druze allies, led by Walid Jumblatt. After joining forces to rout the Lebanese troops from West Beirut, the two factions may soon find themselves jousting for supremacy in a new political order. Now that the Amal has joined the ranks of the principal players in Lebanon, it is discovering the frustrations that come with power...