Militias Reportedly Initial Lebanon Peace Agreement

The state radio said Thursday that Lebanon’s three most powerful militias have agreed on a Syrian-mediated pact to end the 10-year-old civil war. The radio said a peace accord could be signed within a week.

Christian, Shia Muslim and Druze militia representatives have initialed the accord, which now awaits the signatures of the three militia leaders, sources close to the negotiations said.

It would be first pact signed by the militia leaders who control the guns in Lebanon. Several previous agreements concluded by politicians with little or no military power have collapsed, some on the same day the truce was signed.

Scores of Truces

There also have been scores of cease-fire declarations along Lebanon’s various war fronts, but none lasted for more than a few weeks.

Christians and Muslims battle almost daily in Beirut, in the hills to the east of the capital and in southern Lebanon.

Sources close to the negotiations said the latest peace pact includes measures for the rehabilitation of the 32,000-man Lebanese army, which itself is divided along sectarian lines, leaving President Amin Gemayel, a Christian, powerless.

The announcement of agreement came after the militia negotiators were reported to have resolved the last point of contention during a Christmas Day session with Syrian Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam in Damascus.

“Barring unforeseen developments, the accord will be signed before the year’s end or within the first few days of next year,” Nabih Berri, justice minister and leader of the Shia Amal militia, told the state radio.

Confirm Breakthrough

Spokesmen for Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party and the Lebanese Forces Christian militia confirmed the breakthrough in the long-stalled peace talks.

Christian-controlled radio stations said that Berri, Jumblatt and Elie Hobeika, commander of the Lebanese Forces, will sign the final armistice draft either Saturday or Monday in Damascus.

Although the three parties involved in the negotiations said they agreed not to disclose details of the accord until it is signed, sources said it is mainly directed toward giving Muslims a share of power equal to that of the Christians. The Christians have dominated the government, Parliament, the army and the judiciary since Lebanon’s independence from France in 1943.

The negotiations started in October and stalled over the length of a transitional period during which Lebanon’s present sectarian government system would be phased out.

Problem Left to Parliament

The Christians demanded a 16- to 19-year transitional period to abolish the distribution of top government and army posts along sectarian lines. Amal and Druze negotiators insisted on a 10-year period.

A Muslim radio station, the Voice of the Nation, said the dispute was resolved when the three sides agreed Wednesday to leave this sticking point for Parliament to resolve.

Sources close to the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said general elections for a new legislature would would be held within a year of the signing of the accord. Muslims and Christians would have an equal number of seats, the sources said.

Christians have a 6-5 edge in the current 99-seat Parliament, which was elected in 1972 for a four-year term. No elections have been held since because of the civil war in which more than 100,000 people have been killed.

Syria, Lebanon’s main power broker, has brought pressure on both Christians and Muslims to conclude the new agreement.