Afif Al-Bizri
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Afif al-Bizri () (1914 – 28 January 1994) was a
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
n career military officer who served as the chief of staff of the Syrian Army between 1957–1959. He was known for his
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
sympathies, and for spearheading the union movement between Syria and
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
in 1958.


Career

After graduating from the Military Academy of
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, in 1935, Afif al-Bizri pursued advanced military training in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. His time there is credited with exposure to
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
, where he met several French communists. He never officially joined the
Syrian Communist Party The Syrian Communist Party () was a political party in Syria founded in 1944 as a division of the Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party, which later split into the Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party. In 1972, it became a memb ...
, but was said to hold "radical
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
views". In 1941, he left to
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
and joined Rashid Ali al-Gaylani's
revolt Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
against the British. He returned to Syria after Gaylani's revolt was suppressed by the British. He served in the French-created "Troupe Speciale," but deserted his post to join the Syrian rebels in 1945, which led to his arrest and deportation to Lebanon by the French authorities. After Syria's independence in 1946, Bizri resumed his military career as an instructor of topography at the Homs Military Academy. He fought as a volunteer in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, and was appointed by then-Chief of Staff of the Syrian Army, Husni al-Zaim, to the delegation that negotiated the Syrian-Israeli armistice agreement of 1949.


Pan-Arabism by Gamal Abdal Nasser

Starting in the mid-1950s, Bizri was advocating a
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
ideology in the army. After
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian president
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
allied himself with the Soviet Union, Bizri joined his Arab nationalism movement, and was later appointed by President Shukri al-Quwatli, as chief of staff of the Syrian Army, as an appeasement to Nasser. His term was characterized with the spread of
Pan-Arabism Pan-Arabism () is a Pan-nationalism, pan-nationalist ideology that espouses the unification of all Arabs, Arab people in a single Nation state, nation-state, consisting of all Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa from the Atlantic O ...
in the Syrian Army ranks. Many of the officers who were promoted under him were loyal to Nasser. He also clashed with anti-Nasser politicians including Minister of Defense Khalid al-Azm and Prime Minister Sabri al-Assali, whom was forced to follow a pro-Nasser policy under threat of arrest. In 1957, he led a military tribunal into what came to be known as the "Iraqi Conspiracy." The tribunal accused many anti-Nasser politicians with receiving illicit funds from anti-Nasser Arab governments including Iraq,
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
and
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, as well as plotting the assassination of Nasserist and Socialist leaders including Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj, Akram al-Hawrani,
Khalid Bakdash Khalid Bakdash (occasionally spelled Khalid Bagdash or Khaled Bekdache, ) (1912 – July 15, 1995) was a Syrian-Kurdish politician who was the founder of the Syrian Communist Party (SCP) and lead it from 1936 until his death in 1995. In 1954, Bakd ...
, and Afif al-Bizri. The tribunal handed down death sentences to twelve politicians including members of the parliament, Adnan al-Atassi and
Mikhail Ilyan Mikhail Ilyan or "Elian" (Arabic: ميخائيل اليان), was a Syrian politician who served as foreign minister of Syria in the 1940s. Biography He was born in Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo ...
. The sentences were commuted after the intervention of Arab governments, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and President Quwatly. Bizri led the officer delegation that pleaded with Nasser for a full union between Syria and Egypt in 1958. He personally participated in the talks that eventually led to the establishment of the
United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...
on February 1, 1958. However, Bizri fell out with Nasser soon after the union because Nasser appointed his friend Egyptian General Abdel Hakim Amer as governor of Syria. Nasser distrusted Bizri's communist leanings, and eventually dismissed him from office in June 1959, and outlawed the communist party soon after. Bizri supported the 1961 coup that brought down the UAR. He returned to Syria from his exile, but was refused a post in the army due to his history.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bizri, Afif al- 1914 births 1994 deaths Chiefs of staff of the Syrian Army Nasserists People from Sidon Syrian Arab nationalists Syrian communists