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French minister faces problems on Lebanon mission

PARIS: French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, dispatched by President Jacques Chirac to try to win a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese guerrillas, faced daunting obstacles on his mission on Monday.

De Charette was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Ehud Barak in Jerusalem on Monday evening and visit Syria and Lebanon on Tuesday, but Israeli spokesmen made clear that air raids would continue until the Hizbollah guerrillas were put out of action.

Interviewed on France Inter radio, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Dani Shek said: "I am not sure the time is yet ripe for major diplomatic action."

If France were able to persuade Lebanon, Syria and Iran to end Hizbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel durably, "I suppose the Israeli government would not be hostile, but I do not know what Mr de Charette is proposing or what he can do here," Shek said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri said after talks with Chirac on Sunday night that he could not disarm Hizbollah, which was resisting Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.

He told a news conference on Monday the Israeli bombing only strengthened the Shi'ite Moslem Hizbollah, backed by Iran.

Hariri voiced fears that the fighting could continue until Israel's May 29 general election, which he said had prompted the upsurge of violence, endangering the entire Middle East peace process.

While Shek said he hoped Hizbollah would "get the message" within a few days, Israeli ambassador to France Avi Pazner told Europe 1 radio that "Operation Grapes of Wrath" would continue until the militia was militarily disabled.

De Charette's mission was a stiff test of Chirac's ambition to play a bigger political role in the Middle East, just one week after the French president proclaimed support for Lebanon's sovereignty and independence on his first visit to the region.

French officials said de Charette had been in touch before leaving Paris with the United States, the dominant power in the region, which has declared unequivocal support for Israel.

Asked whether Washington supported the French drive for an immediate ceasefire, a Foreign Ministry official said they had shared concerns. Chirac had telephoned President Bill Clinton on Friday and both leaders agreed on the need to reduce tension.

The last major flare-up in southern Lebanon in 1993 was only halted when the United States intervened with Syria to broker an unofficial agreement under which Israel and Hizbollah agreed not to attack civilian targets.

The official said de Charette had also sent messages to the foreign ministers of Iran and Syria appealing for restraint.

French commentators questioned whether Paris carried the political weight to achieve Chirac's ambitions.

"Chirac hasn't had much luck with his diplomatic calendar, celebrating the 'Lebanese renaissance' a few days before these 'grapes of wrath' which show his friend Hariri's government has never had so little mastery over his own country and been so dependent on Damascus," Liberation daily said.

"Among the casualties of these bombardments may soon be France's new 'Arab policy'," the left-wing daily said.-Reuter