BEIRUT - Rival Lebanese politicians took their disputes to the playing fields Tuesday with a friendly soccer match to mark the 35th anniversary of the outbreak of the country's 1975-90 civil war. There were no spectators in the stadium, however, because of a two-year old regulation prohibiting audiences at soccer stadiums following incidents of sectarian violence during games. "We are one team" was the slogan for the 30-minute match played by ministers and legislators and attended by the Lebanese president. On April 13, 1975, an ambush by Christian gunmen of a busload of Palestinians sparked a civil war that lasted 15 years, killed 150,000 people and caused $25 billion in damage. Almost two decades after war ended, the country enjoys a precarious peace but this small Mediterranean nation, home to 18 religious sects, is still sharply split along sectarian and political lines with occasional outbreaks of sectarian violence. A fragile national unity government headed by pro-Western Prime Minister Saad Hariri was formed in November which includes politicians from the Syria and Iran-backed Hezbollah. Marking the war's anniversary Tuesday, lawmakers from the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group and their allies played alongside politicians in the Western-backed parliamentary majority. "The message is that sports can unite the Lebanese, and this is a very important since politics unfortunately is not uniting them," lawmaker Sami Gemayel of the right-wing Christian Phalange Party told The Associated Press. The friendly match was advertised in the media through a TV clip showing politicians ��" each wearing a T-shirt the color of the political party they represent ��" lined up on a soccer field singing the national anthem in unison. However at Tuesday's game, the politicians were split into two teams, one wearing red and the other wearing white, the colors of the Lebanese flag, with the words "We are all one team" printed on the back.
