Lebanese Lawmakers OK Peace Plan; Aoun Rejects It

Lebanese lawmakers reached agreement today on a peace plan for their country, but Christian leader Gen. Michel Aoun rejected the plan and vowed to continue his war with Syrian troops.

Radio stations said the plan calls for at least a partial withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and a limit on the powers of the Christian president.

Conference sources said a parliamentary committee led by House Speaker Hussein Husseini agreed on the phrasing of the plan after a round-the-clock debate attended by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Algeria.

The committee broke up in the morning and was scheduled to meet again later to present its draft agreement to the 63 legislators meeting in Taif.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, would not elaborate on the tentative accord. But Najah Wakim, an Orthodox Christian, and Hassan Rifai, a Muslim, told reporters that they were “optimistic” after the overnight session.

But Aoun said later: “We cannot rebuild our country under the shadow of an occupying force. Let those deputies understand that our Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence are not a matter for bargaining and negotiation,” he said in a speech carried on Voice of Lebanon radio. He vowed to pursue his “war of liberation” against Syria, which has 40,000 troops stationed in Lebanon.

Lebanese radio stations earlier quoted deputies as saying differences over presidential powers and the issue of Syria’s military presence in Lebanon had been resolved.

Voice of the People said that although the president would continue to be a Maronite Catholic, his powers would be curtailed. He would no longer have the power to issue general amnesties or dissolve Parliament at will.