Divisions Deep on New Lebanon Charter : But Some Deputies Report Reconciliation Progress in Saudi Talks

TAIF, Saudi Arabia —  Lebanese lawmakers began drawing battle lines Sunday in their drive to establish a new reform government, even as some deputies reported tentative agreement on the framework of a proposed “reconciliation charter.”

In their second day closeted behind the gates of a heavily guarded resort complex here, 62 members of the Lebanese Parliament began dividing into camps on the difficult issues of sharing power between Christians and Muslims and timing the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al Faisal, admitted that the closed-door talks were “frank and plain-speaking,” signaling the deep divisions that already have begun to emerge over long-term reforms designed to end more than 14 years of civil war.

Agreement on Key Points

But three Muslim deputies reported late Sunday that the Parliament had reached agreement on many of the major points of a “national reconciliation charter” proposed by an Arab League committee as a framework for allocating more political power to Lebanon’s Muslim majority.

“We have agreed to adopt the charter. It will be passed the way it is now, with some small parts changed,” Shiite Muslim deputy Abdel Maoula Amhaz said.

Deputy Saleh Kheir, a Sunni Muslim, said: “All the deputies have agreed with the charter, I think with no changes.”

The document proposed by a three-member Arab League committee outlines a formula for ending the political domination that the Maronite Christians have enjoyed since independence in 1943. It would add new seats in a Parliament divided evenly between Christians and Muslims and shift more power from the traditionally Christian president to the Cabinet.

The three Muslim deputies also said there was agreement Sunday to appoint a committee representing all the factions that have emerged in discussions so far to work out details of the charter and, more importantly, to attempt to resolve the divisive issues that remain.

Because there is no apparent accord on the critical issue of how quickly Syria would withdraw its estimated 40,000 troops from Lebanon, any agreement on the charter--if it exists--amounts to an agreement on obvious political reforms and on a framework for discussing the remaining issues, some analysts said.

Outlining Positions

In talks Sunday, more than two dozen deputies outlined their positions, and several factions began to fall into battle positions over some of the issues that have kept the Parliament widely divided for years, according to reports that have leaked from the secret sessions. According to one source, Georges Sadde, an influential right-wing Christian leader, insisted on a timetable for Syrian withdrawal, while Muslim leaders stood firm on the adoption of political reforms before Syrian troops move out.

In a statement released to reporters Saturday, former Muslim Premier Saeb Salaam said an immediate Syrian withdrawal “could provoke many dangers for which no one would assume responsibility.”

“Among the dangers that this could bring about would be the emergence of small confessional states run by the militias,” Salaam warned. “Let us set aside extremist views. Let us try to see the naked truth.” But Christian leaders have blamed outside interference for Lebanon’s current political crisis, and some have vowed to oppose any reforms until Damascus orders its troops home.

In a meeting with supporters in Beirut, the Christian forces’ commander, Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun, who heads one of two rival governments in Lebanon, called for Christian members of Parliament to hold firm for an immediate Syrian pullout, news agencies reported. “Our main and only goal is to liberate the nation and regain total control over Lebanese territory,” Aoun asserted. “There shall be no bargaining on the wishes of our people.”

Syrian troops and the Muslim militias they support now control about two-thirds of Lebanon, including Muslim West Beirut. The Arab League’s proposed charter calls for the Syrians to withdraw to eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley within two years of the time that a new unified government takes control.

Prince ‘Optimistic’

In a news conference before Sunday’s final session, Prince Saud said he is “optimistic” about the chances for some agreement, especially since a majority of the Parliament’s 73 surviving deputies flew to Saudi Arabia for the talks.

The Saudi foreign minister also announced that the tripartite Arab League committee that engineered the current, nine-day-old cease-fire in Lebanon is preparing a timetable for “reviving” Lebanon’s constitutional institutions, most of which have collapsed under more than a decade of intermittent civil war.

“This is not to say that all problems are finished, but I think a good beginning has been made, and I think it is reasonable to say we are optimistic,” he said. Besides the Saudis, Algeria and Morocco make up the committee.

Responding to questions about apparent divisions among the Lebanese deputies, Saud denied that there were any rifts that required “mediation” by their Saudi hosts.