Left forces end of Camille Chamoun’s mandate in 1958

BEIRUT - Hamid Assaf

January 2003

The modern history of Lebanon is not exactly a bed of roses .This small Middle Eastern republic has had its share of civil strife. Lebanon is famous for its 15 years of civil war which began in 1975 and only ended with the Taif accord 15 years later. This civil war which destroyed the country had part of its origins back in 1958 and in particular the clashes between the President Camille Chamoun and opposition groups led by the left.

Chamoun, the second president who in 1952 was able with the help of the Socialist Front, lead by late leftist leader Kamal Jumblatt, to overthrow President Bashara al-Khoury.

Al-Khoury, who was successful in extending his mandate for an additional three years had become a target for the opposition that criticized the corruption of the bureaucracy, which was headed by his brother Salim al-Khoury, also known as Sultan Salim.

Jumblatt and Chamoun were able to remove al-Khoury in a bloodless uprising and elect Chamoun as the new president.

But Chamoun, the Golden Boy of Arab Nationalism, was an extremely charismatic person who was able to rapidly rise within the ranks of the Lebanese political system. Chamoun, a lawyer by profession, came from a modest background and was extremely instrumental in the first Lebanese government that amended the constitution and declared Lebanon’s independence.

Jumblatt saw in Chamoun as an eligible candidate to reform the Lebanese political system.

It was not long before Chamoun bit the hand which fed him and helped him to reach power.

As soon as he became president, Chamoun started to establish for himself and his clique a power base, which contradicted the reformation program put forward by Jumblatt and the Socialist Front.

One of the major confrontations came during the 1956 parliamentary elections when Chamoun defeated all of his opposition through rigging results of the elections giving himself the majority of votes in Parliament.

On top of the disagreement was Chamoun’s endorsement of the Baghdad Pact. The pact, ratified in February 24, 1955, was a treaty of mutual cooperation between the Kingdom of Iraq, the Republic of Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Dominion of Pakistan and the Kingdom of Iran.

The pact appeared as a consequence of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West. Chamoun endorsed the pact because he believed it would benefit Lebanon through establishing special relations with the West. Meanwhile, Jumblatt’s anti-imperial policy and his support of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser (1952-1970), lead him to oppose Chamoun’s move.

The standoff took a military form as the opposition came out against Chamoun. The country was divided into two groups: A pro-Chamoun group including Pierre Gemayal’s Phalange Party, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the army. The opposition included Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and late premier Saeb Salam’s supporters who took to the streets and clashed with the forces of Chamoun.

Chamoun accused Nasser of conspiring with the opposition to overthrow him. He also accused Nasser of supplying the rebels with arms through Syria, then in unity with Egypt under the name of the United Arab Republic.

Chamoun, who felt cornered, appealed to the United States for help. America immediately welcomed the president’s invitation to intervene.  US President Dweight Eisenhower addressed the American nation to justify his country’s involvement in Lebanon by saying: “Yesterday morning, I received from President Chamoun of Lebanon an urgent plea that some US forces be stationed in Lebanon to help maintain security.”

The landing of the US Marines on the Lebanese coast saved Chamoun but saw his dream of extending his presidential mandate disappear when Foud Shihab was elected president.