With Syria’s grip loosening, leftists should reconsider

BEIRUT - Abbas Hashem

January/February 2006

By the late 1980s, the Syrian regime embarked on an assassination spree that resulted in purging known leftist intellectuals such as Hussein Mroue and Mahdi Amel among others. The Syrian purge was coupled with the downfall of the number one supporter of leftists in Lebanon, the Soviet Union. It also marked the beginning of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon that lasted until April 26, 2005.

Living under Syrian tutelage stirred a dilemma among the leftist leadership, intellectuals and rank and file. Should the left contend to this existence under the pretext of fending off external danger? Or should it seek democracy first as a means for the liberation of the Arab people and the key to fending off all kinds of danger, whether external or internal.

The leftist division survives to this day and has, since its eruption, witnessed several developments. The first and foremost of these developments was the resignation of George Hawi, the Lebanese Communist Party's (LCP) leader and strong figure, in 1992. Hawi was quoted as saying that he better "leave the boat before it wrecks," in reference to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Following Hawi, several communist voices started calling for the rejection of the soviet model and the revival of the party's role as a spearhead in the fight for Lebanon's sovereignty and independence.

The first breach among the leftists, however, occurred among the rank and file of students with the spontaneous creation of what came to be called as the Independent Leftist Groups (among them was No Frontiers). These groups scored some initial success which in turn encouraged opposition factions within the LCP to revolt against the leadership and start calling for the renewal of the structure, thought and perceptions of the left.

At the time, the gap between the LCP leadership and leftist intellectuals was further widening. To add insult to injury, the LCP leadership expelled a number of its student members in an attempt to shut up opposition voices within the party.

The expelled students, however, had different ideas and showed signs of determination and strong will as they created what came to be known as the Communist Students' Organization. The organization led to further breaches within the LCP.

Divisions within the LCP reached their climax in 2004 when during the Ninth Assembly; quasi-Stalinists found their way to top echelons of the leadership after the party witnessed wide mismanagement of its elections and democratic process. The undemocratic elections for their part saw officials tampering with membership lists in order to keep their loyalists enlisted while scratching the names of the supporters of their opponents.

This time, LCP's opposition factions walked out on their party and alongside other leftist intellectuals as well as the ILGs, formed what came to be known as the Democratic Left Movement (DLM).

Later on, partisans of Hawi also joined the DLM during the Independence Uprising. With the receding activity of this revolt and Hawi's assassination, Hawi's partisan's formed the back bone of what is known today as the Forces of Salvation and Change.

Clearly, the assassination of Hawi and before him DLM's founder Samir Kassir fell along the same lines of those of the assassinations of the 80s. The Syrian regime was sending the leftists the following message: Oppose us and you shall die!

Today, as the DLM prepares for the holding of its first assembly in March, the Forces of Salvation and Change are seriously considering leaving the LCP and probably joining DLM. Will the two (DLM and the Forces of Salvation) merge to form the largest leftist party in Lebanon? And, in this case, what would be the fate of the remaining leftist intellectuals and student groups? Will they join the DLM, or will they stay on the sidelines and on their own?

To date, there is enough evidence to make us believe that 2006 will be the year that will witness the rebirth of the left in Lebanon. Perhaps it is time that all leftists join in.

Abbas (Kozo) Hashem currently serves on the Executive Bureau of the Democratic Left Movement. He was also a member of No Frontiers, AUB's independent student group, until 2003. He wrote this article for Alternative.