Key Lebanese Militia Chiefs Assail Gemayel : After Talks in Damascus, Berri and Jumblatt Say They Will Work to Overthrow President

BEIRUT — The leaders of Lebanon’s principal Muslim militia groups Saturday denounced President Amin Gemayel and indicated that they would work to overthrow his regime.

The angry statements from Nabih Berri, head of the Shia Muslim militia Amal, and Walid Jumblatt, head of the Druze militia, were significant because the two leaders were fresh from a visit to Damascus and their remarks apparently carried Syrian approval.

The Syrians have not officially indicated how they will respond to the overthrow of Elie Hobeika, the 28-year-old head of the Christian militia called the Lebanese Forces. But they are clearly far from pleased.

After exhaustive negotiations, Hobeika signed a peace agreement with Berri and Jumblatt on Dec. 28 with the full blessing of Syria’s President Hafez Assad. Last week, Hobeika was ousted by forces loyal to Gemayel and Samir Geagea, who was Hobeika’s second in command.

Damascus radio made only an oblique reference to the Lebanese crisis Saturday. It accused the United States of being behind those who are “hostile to the course of national entente” in Lebanon.

A Losing Wager

“Those who are betting on the United States and Israel will certainly be losers,” the radio said, in what appeared to be a veiled reference to Christian supporters of Geagea. A former medical student, Geagea retains close ties to the Israelis and is detested in Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syrian leadership held talks in Damascus with Lebanese Premier Rashid Karami, who is a Sunni Muslim, Parliament Speaker Hussein Husseini, who is a Shia, and Education Minister Salim Hoss, a Sunni. No details of the discussions were released.

Berri appeared Saturday at a news conference in West Beirut and virtually called for Gemayel’s ouster.

“There is no hope for a solution without the shortening of Gemayel’s term,” said Berri, who is also Lebanon’s minister of justice. “There is no possibility of any solution with the existence of Gemayel.”

Virtually all of Beirut’s press gave front-page coverage to remarks by Jumblatt warning that “whoever cooperates with the Lebanese regime, whoever accepts a compromise, is a traitor.” The Druze warlord, who is minister of tourism in the Lebanese Cabinet, said that the “last true chance of peace” had collapsed with the overthrow of Hobeika on Wednesday.

Neither Berri nor Jumblatt have ever evinced particular fondness for Hobeika, but there had been hopes, encouraged by Syria, that the signature of the three major militia chiefs on a peace agreement would lead at least to a durable cease-fire while political arrangements were being discussed.

The Damascus agreement called for the abolition of sectarianism in Lebanon, where power has been shared by Muslims and Christians under an unwieldy formula devised by the French in 1943.

Gemayel and a number of Christian leaders balked at several of the Syrian-brokered agreement’s concessions to the Muslims, notably those that would reduce the powers of the president. Gemayel was also piqued that he had not been consulted in the drafting of the pact.

Heavy Fighting Lessens

Despite the sharp exchanges of words, there was an apparent lessening Saturday of the heavy fighting that raged for two days in the area near Gemayel’s hometown of Bikfaya, northeast of Beirut.

Muslim militiamen belonging to the Syrian National Social Party had attacked areas near the village of Douar outside Bikfaya and were repulsed by Christian brigades of the Lebanese army.

The government said 11 soldiers were killed and 26 were wounded in the clashes. Muslim casualties were not given.

Army units and Druze fighters--followers of an offshoot sect of Islam--exchanged artillery fire in the area around Souq el Gharb, which is near Gemayel’s presidential palace in Baabda. There were no reports of casualties.