WORLD : Aoun Accepts 7-Point Peace Plan

Christian leader Michel Aoun today accepted a seven-point Arab peace plan aimed at ending the 6-month-old blood bath between his forces and Syrian troops, who control 70% of the country.

Arab League envoy Lakhdar Ibrahimi made the announcement after an hourlong meeting with Maj. Gen. Aoun at his office in a bunker under the bomb-ravaged presidential palace.

Acting Prime Minister Salim Hoss, a Sunni Muslim who heads a Syrian-backed Cabinet vying for legitimacy with Aoun’s Christian government, and Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini, a Shiite Muslim, have already accepted the plan. It calls for a cease-fire, lifting of blockades and opening Beirut airport. It also invites the 73 surviving members of Lebanon’s 99-seat Parliament to meet outside the country to formulate political reforms. These would give the country’s Muslims, an estimated 55% of the population, an equal share of power with the traditionally dominant Christians.