1.
GV PAN:Arab League headquarters.
0.10

2.
MV: representatives standing talking
0.13

3.
MV: Mahmoud Riad - wearing glasses - (Secretary-General of the Arab League) arriving with lebanese representative.
0.22

4.
MV: representatives arrive and take seats at table (2 shots)
0.34

5.
MV ZOOM IN TO CU: of Riad and head of table
0.42

6.
MV: representatives seated talking
0.45

7.
MV PAN: Riad and representatives seated around table.
0.51

8.
MV: representatives seated talking.
1.15

9.
GV PAN: representatives seated talking.
1.23


If Egypt decided to respond to Mr. Arafat's cal, it would be the first Arab country to give anything but local support to the Palestinians. Syria denies taking sides in Lebanon and claims to be filling a mediation role. But the syrians have gone to great lengths to avoid opposing the right-wing forces who are fighting the Palestinians in Lebanon.




Initials RH/JB/DK/1805



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was reported on Monday (12 July) to have sent and urgent appeal to Egypt for help in Lebanon. The call came one day after the Arab League Council met in Egypt to discuss mediation efforts in Lebanon.

SYNOPSIS: The meeting took place at the League's headquarters in Cairo, where permanent representatives heard a report from their Secretary-General, Mahmoud Riad, on his efforts at mediation in Lebanon. Mr. Riad - wearing glasses - has been leading a three - man delegation which has been trying to mediate between rival forces in the civil war. The semi-official Cairo newspaper, Al-Ahram listed four main items in the Secretary-General's report. One of those was Lebanese President Suleiman Franjiehs insistence that no Arab force should go to Lebanon without his consent.

Another item on the report, according to Al-Ahram, was proposal to hold a summit, with the task of working out a stable solution to the crisis. But all previous ceasefires have been broken. After his week of mediation efforts Mr. Riad returned to Cairo and was asked if the Arab League peacekeeping force in Lebanon was making any progress. He replied that the aim of the force was to restore peace, but it could not do so while ceasefire calls were ignored.