Word: karami
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Meanwhile, a tug of war was developing over Lebanon's new Cabinet. Rashid Karami, 62, had been appointed Prime Minister two weeks ago and asked to form his tenth Cabinet since 1955. It was hoped that Karami, a pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim, would find that a new 26-member Cabinet would be large enough to accommodate all of Lebanon's myriad sectarian interests and make a political reality of the dramatic realignment in the country's balance of military power brought about when Shi'ite militiamen seized control of West Beirut in February...
After days of haggling with factional leaders and after several hours of talks with President Amin Gemayel, Karami unveiled his new plan last week. It surprised most Lebanese and enraged many. For although the proposed Cabinet prudently included representatives from all six of Lebanon's main religious groups, it had only ten seats, and it distributed them in a manner that did less to correct the underrepresentation of Shi'ites and Druze in Lebanese politics than to compound it. Shi'ite Leader Nabih Berri, 44, was given the relatively unimportant portfolio of Justice, Water and Electricity; Druze...
...Karami follows Chafik al Wazzan, who resigned in February just before fighting erupted between the Lebanese Army and Muslim militias. The battle almost toppled the Gemayel presidency. It also hastened the departure of the U.S. Marines and brought Lebanon more deeply under Syrian control. The Lebanese Prime Minister is traditionally a Sunni Muslim, just as the President is traditionally a Maronite Christian, but Karami met the far more important requirement of enjoying the strong support of Syrian President Hafez Assad. Gemayel made his decision after meeting with the Syrian leader two weeks...
While Wazzan's Cabinet had ten members, Karami will select at least 26 ministers in order to accommodate all interests. "The cake will be cut a bit thinner but a bit more equitably this time," summed up a Muslim politician. Two of Gemayel's strongest opponents, Druze Chieftain Walid Jumblatt and Shi'ite Leader Nabih Berri, are expected to get important positions, along with the principal Maronite leaders, Pierre Gemaye and Robert Franjieh. Camille Chamoun, the obdurate head of the Christian Lebanese Front, has said he will not serve under Karami, but even he seemed...
...Karami succeeds, it will be a victory for the Syrians, who are overseeing a shaky cease-fire in Beirut. The uneasy calm has allowed battle-weary residents to schedule a peace march, the city's first in recent memory, this weekend. Organizers hope to be able to assemble thousands of people on both sides of the "green line," which separates predominantly Muslim West Beirut from the Christian eastern sector. The demonstration may make good drama, but it will be up to Karami and his Syrian sponsors to make good the peace...