Syrian Communist Party
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The Syrian Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي السوري, translit=al-Ḥizb aš-Šuyūʿī as-Sūrī) was a
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
founded in 1924. It became a member of the National Progressive Front in 1972. The party split in two in 1986 with two separate parties claiming to represent the original Syrian Communist Party; the
Syrian Communist Party (Unified) The Syrian Communist Party (Unified) ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي السوري (الموحد) ), initially known simply as the Syrian Communist Party ( ''Al-Hizb Al-Shuyū'ī Al-Sūrī''), is a communist party in Syria. The party emerged from a ...
and the
Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash) The Syrian Communist Party () is an anti-revisionist Marxist–Leninist communist party in Syria. The party emerged from a split in the Syrian Communist Party in 1986, as formed by the anti-Perestroika faction led by Khalid Bakdash. Khalid B ...
.


Beginnings

The party evolved out of the Communist Party of Syria and Lebanon, founded in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
in 1924. It was suppressed shortly afterwards, but was revived after an interlude of several years. In 1936,
Khalid Bakdash Khalid Bakdash (occasionally spelled Khalid Bagdash or Khaled Bekdache, ar, خالد بكداش) (1912 – July 15, 1995) was a Syrian politician who lead the Syrian Communist Party (SCP) from 1936 until his death in 1995. In 1954, Bakdash became ...
, a
Damascene Damascene may refer to: * Topics directly associated with the city of Damascus in Syria: ** A native or inhabitant of Damascus ** Damascus Arabic, the local dialect of Damascus ** Damascus steel, developed for swordmaking ** "Damascene moment", the ...
who had been recruited to the party in 1930 and later studied at the
Communist University of the Toilers of the East The Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV) (russian: link=no, Коммунистический университет трудящихся Востока; also known as the Far East University) was a revolutionary training scho ...
in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, took control as secretary of the party, and set about building up its organisation.


Bakdash's leadership and organisational growth

The party was involved in opposition to the
Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
presence in Syria, and when the
Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...
took control of the country it was legalised. In 1944, the Syrian and Lebanese parties became separate organisations. Bakdash sought to present the Syrian Communist Party as an essential part of the national movement, in the context of Syria's struggle against the French mandate. The party adopted a moderate programme and opened its ranks to all those accepting it, rather than functioning as a restricted
Leninist Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishme ...
vanguard organisation. It built up a significant support base among the working class, Kurds and intellectuals. In 1954, after a series of military dictatorships that had lasted since 1949, Syria became a democracy, and in the elections held that year, Khalid Bakdash won a seat in parliament for the Damascus area, becoming the first communist elected to an Arab parliament. The party was cautious about proposals to unify Syria with
Gamal Abdal Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
's Egypt, the main political question of the 1950s in Syria. The
Egyptian Communist Party The Egyptian Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي المصري) (ECP) is a communist party in Egypt. History and profile The modern Egyptian Communist Party was formed in 1975 by a number of members of the former Egyptian Communist Pa ...
was banned under Nasser, and communists and other leftists had been jailed in large numbers. However, popular desire for unity was such that the party felt it could not afford to oppose it outright.


Suppression under Nasser and the Ba'ath, 1958-1970

The United Arab Republic (UAR) was formed in February 1958. Toward the end of 1958, a campaign of repression against the party began. Nasser was provoked to action by a harshly critical statement made by Bakdash, who called for transformation of the UAR into a loose federation. Communists were imprisoned and in some cases killed. The union ended in 1961 when a coup led to Syria's secession. The Communist Party was strongly identified with the secessionist tendency and suffered a loss of popular support and membership as a result. Worse was to follow, when the pro-unification coup of 1963 brought a military-based government consisting largely of Ba'thists and Nasserists to power and the party was once again repressed.


Legal operation in the National Progressive Front from 1972

In 1970,
Hafiz al-Asad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 197 ...
came to power in Syria and announced his intention of allowing limited political pluralism in the context of
popular democracy : ''Not to be mistaken with Irish or Marxist-Leninist People's Democracy. For the Italian party see Popular Democracy (United Left). For the Ecuatorian party see Christian Democratic Union (Ecuador)'' Popular democracy is a notion of direct demo ...
. This took the form of the National Progressive Front, established in 1972. Only parties participating in the Front would be allowed to operate: to join, they were required to accept the socialist and Arab nationalist orientation of the government. The Ba'th Party was guaranteed leadership of the Front and the new constitution, promulgated the same year, provided that it would "lead society and the state". Furthermore, only the Ba'th would be allowed operate in the armed forces and among university students. Faced with the choice between accepting these restrictions and the prospect of illegal operation, Bakdash and the majority of the party chose to join the Front. The more radical elements in the party were unhappy about participation in the Front. However, the breaking point did not come until 1976 and the Syrian intervention in the
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
on the side of rightist,
Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
-led elements against the nationalist bloc and its allies in the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
. This was too much for the radicals, and
Riyad al-Turk Riad al-Turk ( ar, رياض الترك, born 1930 in Homs) is a prominent Syrian opposition leader, former political prisoner for about 20 years in Syria, and supporter of democracy, who has been called "the Old Man of Syrian opposition." He w ...
led them into opposition. His faction was termed the Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau) or Syrian Communist Party (Riyad al-Turk).


The 1980s: repression and split

During the early 1980s, the Syrian government clamped down on political activity and the Communist Party was subject to severe restrictions, despite its participation in the NPF. It was prevented from publishing its newspapers ''Nidhal ash-Sha'b'' ("the People's Struggle") and ''an-Nour'' ("the Light"), and its activities were closely monitored by the security services. It effectively operated underground throughout most of the 1980s, with membership lists a closely guarded secret. In 1986, the anti-communist crackdown ended and the ban on the communist party was lifted by Assad as a concession to the Soviets. In 1986, Bakdash and deputy secretary
Yusuf Faisal Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...
differed over the policies of
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
and
glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
adopted by
Soviet Communist Party "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first)Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...
general secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
. Faisal was supportive of Gorbachev's reforms, while Bakdash was opposed. This led to another split in the party, with many of the party's intellectuals leaving with Faisal while much of its Kurdish base remained supportive of Bakdash. Both factions retained the name "Syrian Communist Party" and continued to participate in the NPF.


Timeline

*1924Communist Party of Syria and Lebanon formed *1954
Khalid Bakdash Khalid Bakdash (occasionally spelled Khalid Bagdash or Khaled Bekdache, ar, خالد بكداش) (1912 – July 15, 1995) was a Syrian politician who lead the Syrian Communist Party (SCP) from 1936 until his death in 1995. In 1954, Bakdash became ...
is the first communist to be elected to an Arab parliament. *1973"Political Bureau" group splits and forms separate party *1986Split between Bakdash and Faisal


References

{{Authority control Communist parties in Syria Political parties established in 1944 1944 establishments in Mandatory Syria 1986 disestablishments in Syria Political parties disestablished in 1986 Defunct political parties in Syria