A Lebanese military court Thursday sentenced five Christian activists to a week in prison for defaming the Syrian army but Christian general Nadim Lteif, coordinator for a faction of supporters of exiled former army chief General Michel Aoun, was acquitted of the charge. Two other members of this faction, including engineer Hikmat Dib, and three members of the banned Lebanese Forces (LF), including a student leader, Salman Samaha, received one-week sentences. Army intelligence detained the six men last August, without the knowledge of the Lebanese Government, during a roundup of more than 200 Christian activists opposed to the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. Some were released on bail while others, including Samaha, spent three months under arrest.

A former LF official, Tewfiq Hindi, and two journalists, Habib Yunes and Antoine Basil, were among those arrested. They were sentenced in March to between three and four years in jail for "contacts with the enemy" - Israel. They have appealed and a verdict in their case was expected later Thursday.

Syria intervened in the Lebanese civil war in 1976 and still has some 20,000 troops stationed in Lebanon, where it exercises virtually unbridled influence over the Government. The Christian camp has been losing ground since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, with LF leader Samir Geagea jailed for the past seven years and Aoun exiled to France since 1991.

Another long-expected development was the expulsion of former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel from the main Christian party, the Phalangists, founded by his father. The party leadership said it was suing Gemayel for "defamation, denigration and threats." Karim Pakradouni, the leader of the Phalange asked the Ministry of the Interior to bar "all activities or meetings organized under the name of the Kataeb (Phalangists in Arabic) or use of its symbols without the [leadership's] permission.".

Gemayel became President of Lebanon in September 1982, taking over from his assassinated brother Bashir, and served for six years. He went into self- imposed exile in France in 1992, fearing for his safety after the end of the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990, but returned to his country in August 2000 to contest the political stance of his party, accusing it of being too cooperative with Syria, the main power-broker in Lebanon. He also tried to retake control of the party, founded by his father Pierre in 1936, calling for the boycott of the leadership elections in October 2001 and refusing to recognize the results.

Pakradouni, the new leader, was one of the chiefs of the Christian Lebanese Forces militia during the civil war and maintained cordial ties with Syria. The LF has now been banned. The statement published Thursday accused Gemayel of insulting the new leadership and setting up a "parallel Kataeb organisation."

The former President is currently traveling outside Lebanon, but is expected to return soon. His top aides refused to make any comments on his sacking from the party.

Information Minister Ghazi Aridi sought to play down the importance of this week's high-profile appearance in Lebanon of Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The billionaire royal oversaw the opening of a new Mövenpick Hotel on Wednesday at a huge ceremony attended by President Emile Lahoud. Observers think that the Prince, who holds Lebanese citizenship, may become a possible rival of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Responding to a question about the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle that would herald the replacement of Hariri's Government, Aridi quipped that if the Cabinet changed every time a hotel is opened, Lebanon should expect 15-20 changes of Government over a short period. He said the matter had been blown out of proportion by the media, which saw the Prince urge Lebanon's Government to produce a five-year or ten-year economic plan - a move Hariri opposes. "I don't read tourism, I read politics," Aridi said, adding that he cannot give an opinion about the economic plan presented by the Prince during his speech, because he didn't see any plan.

As regards Lahoud's participation in the ceremony, Aridi said the President was entitled to do whatever he wants. When reporters asked him why his answers were uncharacterically short, he replied: I think when you check what I said you will understand what I mean. "I'm not a hotel owner or an investor and I don't have capital. I wish I did."