Persistent Israeli efforts to involve the Phallangist forces in the war against the P.L.O. have not borne fruit. On 19 June Defense Minister Sharon met with Gemayel and his senior aides in Juneyh and asked that the Phallangists attack west Beirut. Gemayel refused. Four days later there was another meeting, and again he refused to commit himself, arguing that if he joined the war on the side of the I.D.F., he would lose the support of the entire Arab world, of which Lebanon was an integral part. Meanwhile, President Sarkis created, with American encouragement, a "National Salvation Group", consisting of representatives of the seven major Lebanese political, religious, and ethnic groups. In the following interview Gemayel explained that he did not join the war because "it is not my fight. " His goal was to free Lebanon. He also claimed that he did not ask the Israelis to come to Lebanon and was not responsible for their entry, but he said that their entry 'for us this was the only way to finish with all the problem. " He revealed that he talked to Arafat on the telephone on 26 June and pleaded with him to spare Beirut and "stop the whole zoo he is now doing in west Beirut. " Text:
David Brinkley: Now, an exclusive interview, by ABC News correspondent Geraldo Rivera, with the commander of the Lebanese army, Bashir Gemayel, in Beirut.
Geraldo Rivera: A member of Lebanon's National Salvation Committee, Bashir Gemayel is also the commanding general of the so-called Lebanese Forces, the Christian militia that has been battling the Palestinians and the Syrians, on and off, for the last eight years.
Bashir Gemayel: As far as we are concerned, we are looking for the liberation of our country. We are looking that all the foreigners out - Syrians, Palestinians and Israelis, and even the UNIFIL - we don't need any foreign armed presence in this country, as Lebanese, as a strong central government, as a strong central army, as once again the nation reunited we will take care of the security of our own country. We don't need anyone in this country and Arafat should understand that.
Q: Gemayel told me he received a telephone call last night. It was from his arch enemy, Yasser Arafat. What did you and Yasser Arafat talk about?
A: I told him that it's enough. I told him that he destroyed the Lebanese army, he destroyed the Lebanese state, he destroyed the Syrian army, he destroyed to a certain extent the Syrian state. I told him that he makes fun of the Saudis, of the Kuwaitis, of the Arabs, of the West of everybody. It may work, but now he is dealing with the Israelis and this will not work. And he will not be able to do with the Israelis what he has been doing with the Lebanese army and the Syrian army. He should understand all that and stop the whole zoo he is doing now in west Beirut, to save more than twenty or thirty or 40,000 Lebanese people who may be killed if he could continue to play his tricks and if he will continue to say with Habash and other people that Beirut will be a Stalingrad.
He may do Stalingrad in his own village, in his own country. He doesn't have any right to speak and to make any Stalingrad or any other Stalingrad in west Beirut. This is what I told him.
Q: How was the conversation? It seemed incredible to me, knowing the background, that you could speak.
A: He said that this is not the proper time to speak about all that on the phone. Well, but for the time being, it is not possible to meet in any case because you know what's the situation and he has to take his own decisions, first of all to save thousands and thousands of Lebanese from death. The situation in west Beirut is really awful, and it's because of the Palestinians, and it's a Palestinian responsibility, and he will have that on his conscience, in case he has any conscience, he will have all the responsibility for what is going on in West Beirut today.
And what was going on in Lebanon for eight years, he will have sooner or later to pay the price for that. I even don't know if we don't - if it will not be a good idea to have later on a Nuremburg to put on trial all the people - Lebanese and foreigners - who have been responsible for what's going on now in the country, and to pay the responsibility for the 100,000 Lebanese killed. After all, someone is responsible for all that. Who is this someone? This must be found.
Q: Is Israel your ally?
A: Here, our resistance was for eight years already, and now Shlomo Argov was assassinated, or they tried to assassinate Shlomo Argov in London. The Israelis reacted. I didn't ask them to come. I didn't - I was not responsible for their entry here. It was done - it was done not for the advantage of the Lebanese, but definitely for us this was the only way to finish with all the problem.
Q: Why didn't you join this fight?
A: It is not my fight. It is not my fight. I told you, the Israelis are not doing it for me. The Israelis don't need me maybe on the ground. They have the strongest army in the world, or in this part of the world. They know exactly what they are doing, and they are doing it for their own purposes.
My aim and my goal and my target is that this country be freed. We will establish a new political regime for both Christians and Moslems, a new basis of equilibrium, equal chances, equal rights, equal opportunities for everybody, a real modern state, democratic state, liberal state, with a real democracy, parliamentary system, the system of -liberal system in economics, and for the private property and so on and so forth. We are going to start building up this new country. And our turn in these developments will be that in due time we will have the legal authority in the hands of the real people of Lebanon and we can start again building from the very beginning the new country.
And when the country will be stabilized, it will be stabilization all around. Because the Lebanon was weak, the Syrians are here, the Israelis are here, and the war is not over yet. I will dare to say that the war has not started yet. The actual war has not started. The fight for Beirut has not started yet and the fight in the Beka'a have not started yet, and I don't know if it will start if the fire in the Beka'a will not lead to a major conflict between Israel and the Syrians.
A weak president means that a weak Lebanon, a weak Lebanon means destabilization for the whole area. Under President Reagan, under the new administration, I feel absolutely secure. I feel that both of us, the Americans and their national interests in Lebanon and in the Middle East are one, and we are, in the fight between the major superpowers, definitely we are on the side of the Occident and of the West, and this was started to be understood now.