End of the Beginning

By William E. Smith

One down, many problems to go, with the exodus of the P.L.O.

"As of today," declared Lebanon's Prime Minister Chafik al Wazzan, "there is no East Beirut and no West Beirut." Of course there were still two Beiruts: one Christian, one Muslim; the first largely spared the summer's fighting, the other pocked with rubble. But last week, as the twelve-day evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organization from West Beirut was completed with surprising ease 48 hours ahead of schedule, there were signs that life was beginning to return at last to the capital city.

The blare of auto horns replaced the bark of gunfire. Lebanese police, backed by soldiers, took over the streets of West Beirut, while the Lebanese army returned to barracks that it had not occupied for five years. As soldiers under the protection of French Foreign Legionnaires cleared away earthen barricades, the Sodeco crossing point between East and West Beirut was opened for the first time since 1978. It was quickly closed, however, when sniper fire from members of a small militia group, Partisans of the Revolution, caused a halt in traffic. But an hour later the leader of the group, Moustafa Turk, went to Prime Minister Wazzan's office to deliver a bouquet of flowers and an apology. There had been, he said, a "misunderstanding" by some of his men.

Nobody yet knew, or indeed might ever know, how many people had died in the ten-week battle of West Beirut. Lebanese government and hospital sources said last week that more than 17,000 Lebanese and Palestinians had been killed in the country as a whole since the invasion began. The Israelis claim this figure is greatly exaggerated.

There were no illusions about the fragility of the prevailing calm or the problems that still remain to be solved in the war-torn land. Grudge fights between Christians and Muslims caused several deaths, illustrating the difficulties President-elect Bashir Gemayel, former leader of the Christian militia forces, faces when he tries to pull together a country of feuding sects. On Wednesday, Gemayel had a secret meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Later, a French soldier attached to a United Nations unit was killed by sniper fire outside the city. A Syrian MIG-25 jet fighter was struck by an Israeli missile and crashed into a northern suburb. In eastern Lebanon, Syrian and Israeli armies still confronted each other. Though both sides said they hoped to avoid all-out war, each vowed it would not depart until the other left.

After rumors had spread for several days that he had already left Lebanon, P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat sailed Monday for Greece. In an emotional farewell, he told a crowd of well-wishers, "I am leaving this city, but my heart will always be in Beirut." Arafat was warmly greeted by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, whose government has strongly supported the P.L.O. Indeed, the Greek government welcomed Arafat with considerably more flamboyance than it accorded French President Franc,ois Mitterrand, who arrived the same day for a state visit. On Friday, Arafat flew to Tunis, where he may set up new headquarters. This week he is expected to attend the Arab summit conference in Fez, Morocco.

By the time the exodus was complete, more than 11,000 Palestinians had been evacuated from Lebanon, and 3,625 Syrian soldiers had been moved by convoy from West Beirut to the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. When U.S. Marine headquarters in Beirut was informed on Wednesday that the last chartered ship, the Mediterranean Sun, had received clearance from the Israeli navy to sail for the Syrian port of Tartus with 700 Palestinians, the Marine operator replied, "O.K., well done. Now let's go home." That afternoon U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger announced in Beirut that the Marines would be leaving the Lebanese capital within a few days. Mission accomplished.

#151;By William E. Smith. Reported by Robert Slater/Jerusalem and Roberto Suro/Beirut

With reporting by Robert Slater, Roberto Suro

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.