Attaching social activity to guerrilla warfare has become imperative

By Kamal Sanjakdar

BEIRUT - Reform seekers, freedom fighters and resistance forces should adopt new methods in the struggle for their objectives.

This view is by far motivated by the leaps in technological advancements and the transition from the concepts of revolution to evolution in the mentality of many.

Nowadays, the first tactical goal an opposition movement, a guerrilla organization or a lobby should seek is a positive image for their demands.

This image should be achieved both locally and internationally through publicity and propaganda. The Internet and local and foreign media should be approached to fulfil this requirement.

A success story in that respect has been that of the Zappatist movement in Mexico. Their charismatic leader, sub-commandant Marcos, invested time and effort in media campaigns that rallied to his cause supporters from all over the world. “Political tourism” in support of the Chiapas rebels became a phenomenon in Mexico. 

In the absence of a powerful propaganda tool, all struggles would seem endless even in the eyes of their natural propagators and supporters.

In this respect, violence from the Israelis against the Palestinians is always perceived in the West as self-defense while Palestinian attacks are generally considered acts of terrorism.

Managing carefully the fight against opponents is also a must. Alteration between compromise and tension, gestures of goodwill and fair dealing should always be presented. Radicalism, revolutionary tendencies and violence are not appealing anymore especially in the current New World Order.

A good example of careful struggle management was the way the Lebanese Hizbullah managed its guerrilla resistance operations against Israeli occupation in South Lebanon.

Strikes were carefully studied, publicity for the party’s actions was scientifically organized while social and economic development projects for the frontline areas were launched.

Speaking about the efforts Hizbullah invested in frontline areas where it mostly operated and launched its offenses against Israelis, one cannot but notice that patriotic sentiments alone could not motivate the Lebanese population to go to war.

Even the aspect of religious duty attributed to guerrilla operations was not enough to make civilians want to stay living  in a fighting zone.

A party cannot ask people to go to martyrdom without taking care of their families and orphaned children.

It cannot expose civilian buildings to destruction and strikes without investing in their rebuilding. Every movement should hence bare the collateral damage its actions could generate.

Bearing the side effects of the struggle is not the only role of institutions affiliated to a party. Those should also embody the alternative or the agenda the party is promoting in order to win elections and take over power in the country.

The times of speeches and elaborate platforms without direct action are now over.

A movement would not mature without getting on the ground through affiliated institutions. Now how can a movement in the third world promote a global alternative without a newspaper, a network of schools and dispensaries and a research center? That question remains to be answered.

For all those who claim they are fighting for a change: start by building your alternatives.