Rival Lebanon Cabinets Vie for Recognition

Lebanon’s rival Christian and Muslim cabinets launched initiatives Saturday to gain local and world recognition for their governments, as efforts to resolve the nation’s constitutional crisis seemed increasingly doomed.

The new U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, John McCarthy, arrived in Beirut on Saturday to head U.S. efforts to persuade both sides to try again to hold presidential elections. At the same time, however, 22 American diplomatic personnel were evacuated because of the disintegrating situation.

The mood throughout the country was reported to be despondent, with fears of a resumption of full-scale civil war reflected by reports that panicked Lebanese had cleaned out supermarkets of canned goods and bottled water this weekend.

Both the Christian cabinet, headed by the army commander, Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun, and the Muslim cabinet, led by Premier Salim Hoss, held meetings with envoys from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to outline their claims to power and to appeal for support. So far, no nation has offered recognition to either group.

The legality of the two governments is also being widely contested at home. But the already complex situation has become almost labyrinthine because of Lebanon’s unusual constitutional history.

Lebanon’s governmental structure is determined by the 1926 constitution, but the division of power among the nation’s 17 recognized sects is enshrined in the unwritten 1943 National Pact, agreed to by all parties when Lebanon gained independence from a French mandate.

“The National Pact is as important as the constitution and possibly even more so,” said Ghassan Salameh, a Lebanese political science professor at France’s Sorbonne University.

Under the constitution, the Aoun government has a greater claim to legality, according to Salameh. It was appointed by President Amin Gemayel before his six-year term ended Friday.

Despite claims by Hoss that Gemayel had no constitutional right to form another government to succeed him, the Hoss government does not have much claim to legitimacy, Salameh said, because it should have been formally dissolved when Gemayel’s presidency ended.

Agreement Violated

Under terms of the National Pact, however, neither is legitimate, Salameh explained. The pact stipulates that no single religious group can dominate a government. Thus the Aoun government, which is made up only of Christians, is a violation of an agreement strictly adhered to for 45 years.

Hoss still has one Greek Orthodox member in his otherwise Muslim cabinet. And Saturday he announced plans to appoint other non-Muslims, including a Maronite Christian, in an attempt to broaden his base of support and bolster his claim to legitimacy.

A U.S. official predicted that the real trouble “will stem from efforts by both cabinets to gain control of the institutions of the central government.” Both sides tried to do exactly that this weekend. At his first news conference Saturday, Aoun pushed that theme. “The Hoss cabinet has no legal status. I shall issue a directive to all civil servants not to take any orders from the Hoss cabinet or (they will) face legal prosecution.”

Meanwhile, after the first formal meeting of his cabinet since the succession crisis, Hoss released a statement announcing that his minister of defense had been ordered to notify Aoun “to stay out of politics or face disciplinary measures.” Hoss is reportedly under pressure from neighboring Syria to dismiss Aoun as commander of the army.

Former Business Center

A major factor in determining which cabinet gains greater control will be heavily influenced by the physical layout of the capital.

Muslim-dominated West Beirut was formerly the business and diplomatic center, where such vital institutions as the premier’s office, the Foreign Ministry and the central bank are located. The presidential palace and the Defense Ministry are, however, in Christian East Beirut.

For security reasons, Aoun, a Maronite Christian, has so far decided against going to the premier’s office in West Beirut, so he has started making use of the presidential palace.