Dr Salim Nazzal.The Lebanese communists in the third republic, a long way to go!

from Dr Salim Nazzal -

The political initiative of Khalid Hadade, the secretary of the Lebanese communist party in the 82nd anniversary of the party to restore the role of the Lebanese communists is perhaps late though a step that deserves attention

The Lebanese communists in the third republic, a long way to go



The political initiative of Khalid Hadade, the secretary of the Lebanese communist party in the 82nd anniversary of the party to restore the role of the Lebanese communists is perhaps late though a step that deserves attention. It has come in a time the left wing forces recognized that its role in the political life has been greatly reduced. This is expressed lately in the several calls from various Arab left wing circles to restore the role of the progressive forces in the Arab political life. Since its establishment in 1924 the Lebanese communist party struggled to expand its influence to the popular bases which the party claims to be defending. The communists were not without ideological and political adversaries: the national Lebanese trend which stresses on the distinctive identity of Lebanon, the Syrian national party which aims to unite the four territories of the historical Syria (Lebanon,Palestine,Jordan and Syria), and the Pan Arab trend which aimed to unite all Arab speaking peoples in one state. One of the major critiques towards Arab communism is that most of the analytical literature of Arab communist parties is notable for its inability to make any considerable contribution to the Marxism thought. And despite its praise to the dialectical materialism it tended to be uncritical in its content and to the social conditions it produced it.
In the practical side the Lebanese communist party was accused of being the party of the intellectuals which was thought to be the reason behind it’s repeatedly failure to be represented in the Lebanese parliament supported this claim.
This however was not an easy task in a country its politics decided or influenced by its religious sects, and for sure it was not an easy task in a country which does not have a traditional labor class in big factories of which Marx thought of.This of course does not mean to underestimate its efforts in playing a significant role in defending the poor classes such as defending the tobacco farmers from the monopole of the French Regei company, and the battles of the chocolate factory workers to improve their wages. During the civil war the party played a significant role in the Lebanese national movement, an umbrella organization which allied it self with the PLO in Lebanon. But this role has declined after the expulsion of the PLO from Lebanon after the 1982 Israeli invasion despite its role in initiating the resistance against the Israeli occupation. In the view of the communist leader Mari Nasif Al Dibs, the problem of the communists that , despite their position in resisting Israel failed to become an attractive choice for the masses. Al Dibs is right .Yet the question which she did not answer why the communists are in retreating position. In this question it is difficult to ignore two factors which must have played a major role in the decline of the progressive trend in Lebanon and the Middle East .The first factor is the fall of the Soviet Union and its negative impact on the Arab communist parties. The process towards revising this position did not take place before the 6th conference of the Lebanese communist party which raised voices calling to move from “the dependence on Moscow to a position more adapted to local circumstances and sensitivities, which could be characterized as a distinctive “Lebanese or Arab Communism”
In other words the Lebanese communist party thought that the future challenge is to develop a sort of distinctive Lebanese Marxist discourse which means that the party was in process to shape a new identity. In fact the problem of new identity seems to be the problem of some of the party major leaders. The general secretary George hawi left the party and until his mysterious assassination last year Hawi sought to play a national Lebanese role. Ilias Attala, the leader of the Lebanese communist resistance under the Israeli invasion in 1982 splited from the party and established (The left Democrat ) which went in alliance with the predominately right Lebanese coalition of the 14th march forces. All this has come in a period that witnessed the emergence of Islamic resistance which attracted the masses. As an example, the communist party lost the influence it traditionally had in south of Lebanon after the emergence of Hizbu Allah .This could be an additional factor which led to the withdrawal of the communist’s role in the resistance movement which further weakened its position .However despite the communist position to distance it self from the current conflict between the Hezbollah led 8th of March forces and the 14 march coalition it is obvious that the party is near in distance to Hizbu Allah and the 8th of marsh coalition. This put the party in the view of some observers as a party without any distinctive policy. This might explain Hadade initiative to wake up the party in order to play an active role in the Lebanese political life. The question is whether it is possible to consider Hadade call a wishful thinking or the beginning of a long term plan towards restoring the role of the secular progressive forces is a question that is difficult to answer. But what is not difficult to expect that under the current circumstance which is pushing the Lebanese politics towards more sectarian divisions and the weak attraction of communism, the Lebanese communist party has a long way to go.


Dr. Salim Nazzal is a Palestinian historian. He has written extensively on social and political issues in the Middle East .E mail:  gibran44@hotmail.com