Berri Urges Gemayel to Give Up Post

Muslim militia leader Nabih Berri on Monday urged Lebanese President Amin Gemayel, a Christian, to resign as Muslim and Christian militiamen battled in the streets of the capital, injuring nine people.

The nine, including an 11-year-old boy, were injured in shelling and sniper attacks along the Green Line, which divides mostly Muslim West Beirut from the mainly Christian eastern sector, and in other street violence.

Shelling Sunday night killed one person, bringing to 20 the number of people killed this month in Muslim-Christian battles along the line.

Berri, head of the Shia Muslim militia Amal and also Lebanon’s justice minister, told reporters that Gemayel’s regime should be replaced because it negotiated a May, 1983, agreement with Israel. The agreement led in June to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon after a three-year occupation.

Gemayel canceled the agreement last year under pressure from the Muslim majority.

Berri Back From Syria

“What is the use of Lebanon’s liberation from Israel if the regime that called it and brought it to Lebanon still exists?” Berri asked after returning from a visit to Syria.

“Its replacement with a democratic regime that will link the citizen to his land in a patriotic way is extremely urgent,” he added.

Berri did not mention Gemayel by name, but Lebanese politicians frequently speak of the “regime” in referring to Gemayel and the Christian Falangist Party founded by the president’s father, Pierre.

Berri’s remarks were seen by some analysts as possibly an attempt to pressure Gemayel into requesting more Syrian help in stopping the Green Line fighting.

Syria, the main foreign power broker in Lebanon with about 30,000 troops in the east, arranged a security plan that took effect in West Beirut last week in an attempt to halt clashes between Muslim militias.

Security Panel Meets

Berri’s comments were his first attack on Gemayel since he joined Premier Rashid Karami’s Cabinet more than a year ago.