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GV Leader of Lebanese Pha???gist Party, Pierre Gemay???, arrives at Patriarch of Lebanon's residence and is greeted by religious leaders.
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SV INTERIOR Newsmen taking photographs of meeting.
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SV & CU From right to left Ge???ayel, Camille Chamoun, Chairman of the Lebanese Front, and patriarch Antoine Khoraiche talking during meeting. (3 SHOTS)
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CU Gemayel speaking in Arabic after the meeting.
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Lebanon's President Elias Sarkis arrived in Paris on Monday (27 November) for talks with French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing aimed at obtaining arms and other aid to help restore political stability in Lebanon.




Initials JS/1650



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In Lebanon, rightist leaders met on Sunday (26 November) the thirty-fifth anniversary of Lebanon's independence from France, to discuss ways of restoring political stability to the country. After the meeting, the leader of the right-wing Phalangist party, Monsieur Pierre Gemayel, said he was prepared to visit Syria to try to end the conflict between rightists and Syrian forces in Lebanon.

SYNOPSIS: The meeting was in the house of the Maronite pat???arch of Lebanon at Bkerke, north of the capital of Beirut. Monsieur Gemayel was one of three prominent rightist figures to attend. Middle East observers believe M. Gemayel is one of Lebanon's Christian militants showing signs of wanting to patch up differences with Moslem leaders.

M. Gemayel discussed the internal conflict in Lebanon with former President Camille Chamoun, veteran leader of the National Liberal party, and patriarch Antoine Khoraiche. M. Chamoun recently advocated scrapping the Lebanese National Charter, saying that only a federal system could preserve unity and prevent further clashes. Without a federal system, he said, there was no alternative to partitioning the country.

After the meeting, M. Gemayel said partition in Lebanon would be "a catastrophe for everyone". M. Gemayel, who is chief of Lebanon's biggest right-wing militia force, offered to go to Syria to try to end the conflict between the two sides. He also said he was trying to arrange a summit of Lebanese rightists and Moslems, and was confident an agreement on co-existence could be reached at the summit.