Lebanese President Amin Gemayel accused Israel and Syria today of “using local Quislings and mercenaries ” to try to split up the country between them.
Speaking on French television, Gemayel, once believed to be pro-Israel, was as critical about Israel as he was about Syria, He said the two countries, “the two super-powers in the Middle East (Israel and Syria) want the same thing; to rule over part of Lebanon.”
Gemayel, used the French name “Laval” for “Quisling,” when describing the “men hired by Israel and Syria to do their work.” Pierre Laval was Prime Minister of France between 1942 and 1944 and directed Marshal Petain’s policy of active collaboration with the Nazis, He was executed in 1945 after a French court found him guilty of high treason.
MILD WORDS FOR JUMBLATT
Gemayel was careful in his interview not to put Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in this category, He said; “I know Walid well, He is not a blood-thirsty person nor a bad patriot. He is probably manipulated by a foreign power (Syria).”
Gemayel’s words were mild enough to indicate that he has not given up hope of a reconciliation with the Druze leader now in control of practically all the Shouf mountains.
Gemayel admitted that the central government controls said he hoped his forces might soon control all of Lebanon. In a second interview scheduled to be broadcast late tonight, Gemayel says he counts on the aid of the multinational force to reinforce his regime.(Gemayel was also interviewed on ABC_TV today, See separate story.)
ARAFAT WANTS MULTINATIONAL FORCE TO LEAVE
Meanwhile, PLO leader Yasir Arafat, who last night returned to northern Lebanon, today called for “the immediate evacuation” of the force. In an interview with the Italian news agency, Ansa he said “The force was originally set up to protect the Palestinians but permitted their massacre at Sabra and Shatila, Now the force helps the central government of Gemayel to oppose Lebanese patriots fighting in the Shouf.”
The Syrians today also called for the withdrawal of the multinational force and warned the United States that Syria might “be forced to respond” should the U.S. troops in Beirut continue to fire on the Syrian-backed Druze militias. The warning was carried in the state controlled paper AI Thowra and was later repeated by a Syrian military spokesman quoted by Radio Damascus and monitored here.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
