Syrian officer retells how military coups dominated nation’s history

BEIRUT - Alternative staff

November 2003

 An officer in the Syrian Army, who was a coconspirator in the coup that ended the rule of late Syrian President Husni al-Zaim, was also a friend of late Syrian President Adib Sheishakly and a former strong ally of the Baghdad Pact leadership and the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP), has finally disclosed his experience in a book entitled Days that I Have Lived.

Eighty-three year-old former Colonel Mohammed Maarouf described his book as the product of his memory rather than a work of history. Released in January by the Ryad al-Rayyes Publishing House, the book is a first-hand account that may become a reference for researchers interested in further documenting the modern history of the region.

The book which has valuable information is not friendly for an average reader for it lacks the background information needed to introduce most people, organizations and events mentioned in it.

Maarouf’s story starts in the Alwite areas in northern Syria when, as a fit young man, he joined the French-sponsored Army of the Orient in 1939. Maarouf’s version about the Syrian struggle to win its independence from France is brief but reflects the role of the army during that period.

A remarkable account, however, was that about Maarouf’s mock coup d’etats when, as a commander of a small contingent in northern Lebanon under the French mandate, he disobeyed French orders and led a small military group into a hideout in Syria. The attempt was aborted later.

According to Maarouf, post-French mandate Syria was characterized by a corrupted Shukri al-Quwatly regime. Maarouf said that corruption came to the fore with the defeat of the Arab armies in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. At the time, Maarouf led a contingent in South Lebanon.

The defeat was coupled with heated debates in the Syrian parliament when MPs accused the government of the failure to fund and arm the military. As was the case in most Arab countries, military defeats and the ensuing popular frustration paved the way for officers to topple regimes and Syria was not an exception.

The first coup in Syria was led by Army Commander al-Zaim in March 1949 and terminated the rule of Quwatly. In August 1949, another coup by Sami al-Hinnawi toppled al-Zaim.

As a junior officer, Maarouf participated and planned al-Hinnawi’s coup. As a reward, he was appointed head of the Military Police whose duties included some intelligence activity. It was during his tenure as Military Police Commander that he made most of his enemies and friends who determined his later alliances.

Maarouf said that the coup was not intended to establish a military regime. Therefore, the military returned to its barracks and handed over power to civilians on top of them was president Hashem al-Atassi.

Along the lines of reform, Syria witnessed a debate over establishing a union with its neighboring Iraq then under the Hashemite rule and later under the command of its pro-Western prime minister Nouri al-Said.

Maarouf supported this union and the Baghdad Pact and during his later exile in Lebanon he enjoyed vast support of the Iraqi leadership in his pursuit to topple the Syrian successive regimes.

But the reform effort was short-lived for in October 1950, colonel Adib Sheishakly overthrew al-Atassi despite Maarouf’s prior warnings of Sheishakly’s movement and established his military dictatorship which lasted until 1954.

Maarouf said that Sheishakly invited him to join his coup, but since Maarouf refused, Sheishakly replaced him with his rival Hamid Saraj and sent him into exile in Beirut. As events unfolded and throughout his stay out of his country, Maarouf was determined to go back to Syria but to no avail until he received a pardon from late President Hafez Assad who seized power in 1970.

Even though Maarouf recounted events in a chronological order, the different parts of the book jump from one date to another without justifiable connection. In several instances, the author included his subjective opinion without supporting it.

In terms of style, the book is simple and rather narrative and there is no reason to believe that the writer omitted or changed some facts. Maarouf presents his information in striking and perhaps unprecedented frankness even if this meant he incriminated himself. Maarouf went as far as claiming that as Commander of the Military Police he influenced parliamentary elections to let the famous Akram Hourani win a seat.

The book is also a clear reflection of the endless conspiracies in Syria that were coupled with power corruption, personal rivalry, tribal influences and external intervention.