by Salim Mujais
Saadeh’s awareness of the deviations in the SSNP policies was based on multiple sources. Indeed, Assad Ashqar had written to Saadeh from Egypt explaining the rationale that motivated the changes.54 With the re-establishment of contacts with the SSNP leadership in Syria, Saadeh started receiving correspondence from Party leaders that was discordant with the declared position of the “National Party.” Maaruf Saab in a letter dated July 13, 1946, described to Saadeh what he perceived were deviations in ideology and policy, and worrying aspects related to the administration of the Party.
Saadeh was careful in his public pronouncements to frame some of the observed changes within the context of continuity of policy until he could fully assess the magnitude and intent of these changes.55 He wanted to avoid any public display of perceived disagreements with the declared policies of the SSNP leadership in Syria. Despite his reservations, Saadeh spared no effort to support the SSNP in Syria and to promote a tightening of the bonds between the diaspora branches and the center in Syria. In preparation for issuing a new periodical in Beirut, the SSNP initiated a subscription campaign to raise funds. Saadeh encouraged branches to contribute money to SSNP headquarters in a special campaign separate from their regular membership dues. He directed branches to establish direct connections with the expatriates’ office in Beirut and follow the directives they received from that office.56
In the course of his preparations for the voyage home, Saadeh addressed two communiqués to his constituency in Syria. The first was on the occasion of the public gathering on September 1, 1946, called for by the “National Party” under the rubric “Day of Reform.” The second was in January 1947. The missives leave no doubt about Saadeh’s views about the prevalent political situation in the homeland.
On September 1, 1946, the SSNP held one of its general public meetings in Dhour el-Shweir under the heading “Day of Reform.” The first of September in Lebanon was traditionally celebrated as Lebanese Independence Day under the French Mandate since it was on that date that General Gouraud had declared the formation of “Le Grand Liban.” In his letter to the assembled SSNP members, Saadeh congratulated them on their steadfastness and struggle and contrasted their work with that of other political parties.57 Evoking the date of the meeting, Saadeh condemned the date of September 1 as commemorative of the fake or imaginary independence declared by Gouraud and hailed by sycophants and reactionary sectarian groups. He asserted that Gouraud had not only separated Lebanon from the hinterland but given it little true independence. While acknowledging that the present state was “the first tangible result of our faith in our cause and our patience in adversity”, he stressed, “this reform is not the last reform we want, and this independence is not all the independence we desire.”
In January 1947, he addressed a second letter to the SSNP constituency that was reflective of his position vis-à-vis the governments of the Syrian states and foreign powers.58 The letter carried themes that would become causes of contention within and without the SSNP. His aim was to illustrate again how the elements of true sovereignty and independence were obtained only within the ranks and ideology of the SSNP rather than through the accidents of international politics. “I say this to make it clear that the sectarian and feudal arrangements that have replaced occupation and the mandate in the north are not the result of the struggle of Syrian nationalists nor are they acceptable to them.” It was therefore critical for Saadeh to assert the position of the SSNP and to counter the subversive influence of the political narrative advanced by the new political entities and acquiesced in by the SSNP leadership in Syria.
RETURN PREPARATIONS AND CHALLENGES
In April 1946, Saadeh received the first letter from Thabit directly. He expressed to his lieutenant his joy at the resumption of direct contact, and his appreciation of the conditions that may have led the SSNP leadership to adopt alterations in the outward manifestations of the Party.59 He approved the effort to obtain a license from the Lebanese government to operate publically as a necessity to establish stability and to allow the Party to undertake public initiatives to increase its influence. He expressed reservations about pronouncements related to the ultimate goal of the Party appearing in speeches and articles by Party leaders, but suggested postponing tackling the subject until his return to Syria. He gave Thabit a summary of what had transpired in his life. He then broached the issue of his return to Syria, and whether he needed to accelerate liquidating his financial assets.60
By May 1946, Saadeh received news that the SSNP leadership had filed a request with the Lebanese government to issue him a passport.61 He was informed later there were likely to be delays due to the resignation of the Cabinet and the political instability in the country.62 In the absence of an official Lebanese diplomatic mission in Argentina, Saadeh approached the French Embassy to explore alternatives.63 The ambassador received him very amicably on June 10, 1946, and promised to facilitate his obtaining travel documents after contacting the relevant Lebanese officials.64 The procedure required that a telegram be sent by the French to Beirut with the requisite information; it would then be necessary to await the Lebanese officials indicating their consent or refusal by return telegram. Despite repeated letters informing the headquarters in Beirut of the delays by the Lebanese government officials, no progress was achieved. Saadeh asked SSNP members in Brazil to contact the Lebanese diplomatic mission in Brazil on his behalf and discuss with them the matter of issuing him a passport. The Lebanese ambassador Yussef Sawda flagrantly opposed this even though Thabit had assured Saadeh that there was no opposition from the central Lebanese government.65 The discordance between Thabit’s assertions and Sawda’s position, however, suggest either that the Lebanese government was deceiving Thabit, or that there were factions within the government working at counter purposes. It was clear that the Lebanese government and its representatives in Brazil were denying Saadeh his citizenship rights in contravention of Lebanese law and international law.
By August of 1946 having not received any communication from the SSNP, he wrote to SSNP members in various parts of the world urging that they contact the SSNP headquarters to alert them to the breakdown in communication.66 On August 16, he finally received a letter from Thabit explaining that the delay was partly due to “political matters” and in the letter urged Saadeh to continue preparation for his return. Saadeh promptly started writing to various SSNP branches in Argentina, Brazil and Africa asking them to assume certain responsibilities to facilitate his return projected for October-November 1946.67 On September 5, he confided in Thabit that he felt there had been an inordinate delay in resuming contact with him, as there were communication channels that could have been used, particularly via the African Gold Coast branch that may have led to his return in early 1946. While Saadeh was circumspect with Thabit, he was receiving letters from SSNP members expressing concern and dismay at the policies declared by the SSNP headquarters.68
Saadeh managed to sell his store 69 by October 15, and moved to Buenos Aires in November 1946.70 It is ironic that the French who were largely responsible for the long sequestration of Saadeh in Argentina would be the instrument of his release from this captivity. The French did accommodate him by issuing him a laissez-passer on January 8, 1947 allowing him to travel to Brazil. In Sao Paulo, and with the aid of the SSNP branch, he managed to wrestle from the Lebanese consulate travel documents which would allow him to return to the homeland.
February 1947, Saadeh bids farewell to friends as he departs Brazil for Syria
CAIRO INTERLUDE
Saadeh left Sao Paulo on February 13, 1947 heading to Rio de Janeiro where he stayed until the 15th of the month. He reached Portugal on February 16, and finally arrived in Cairo on the morning of February 18.71
In Cairo, Saadeh stayed at the pre-eminent Shepherd's Hotel where diplomats, politicians and financial and cultural elite of the city used to conglomerate in earlier times. His presence was conspicuous as he was meeting with Syrian expats, students, and his lieutenants who traveled f
rom Beirut to meet him. Among the people who he met was the occasional newspaper reporter in the pay of the Lebanese government sounding him on his views and intentions. The daily al-Ahram duly reported his presence in Cairo and his intent on returning to Syria.
The battle for the leadership of the SSNP started in Cairo when Saadeh met with Nehmeh Thabit and Asad Achqar. Saadeh discovered that the leadership conceived of the ‘National Party’ not as a political accommodation but rather as a full departure from the concept of Syrian nationalism and a unified national cause. Further, based on this framework, they had entered into alliances and arrangements with Lebanese politicians to operate along such lines and consequently join with the government in an alliance in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Since Saadeh’s return and precedent views created uncertainty in the minds of their allies, Thabit and Achqar sought to alleviate those doubts by introducing amendments to the SSNP constitution that would limit Saadeh’s authority and allow for continuation of their political strategy since they had virtual monopoly over the organization of the SSNP.
Saadeh in Cairo in February 1947 meeting with Syrian students studying in Egypt.
* * *
1 Letter to Ibrahim Tannous July 22, 1939, Complete Works, Volume 9, pp. 105-108.
2 Letter to Rachid Chakkour, May 29, 1939, Complete Works, Volume 9, page 88.
3 Letter to George Bunduqi, January 17, 1940, ibid., page 222.
4 Sadar an Maktab al-Zaim, page 244-246.
5 Souria al-Jadida, Issue 40, November 25, 1939, I’tiqal arkan Qawmiyeen (Arrest of Nationalist Leaders), Jihadan wa qiyadatan (Two struggles and two leaderships), Complete Works, Volume 3, 432-33, 434-438.
6 The receipt of correspondence relaying the news suggests that until this date Saadeh had maintained regular contacts with the SSNP leadership in Syria. Letter to George Bunduqi, November 28, 1939, Complete Works, Volume 9, page 199.
7 Jean Dayeh, Tajribat Fakhry Maaluf, Dar Nelson, Beirut, 2004, page 269.
8 Letter to Assaf Abi Murad, January 18, 1940, Complete Works, Volume 9, page 223.
9 Peyrouton wrote in a cable to the High Commissioner in Beirut: “I have received a request for a Lebanese passport for all destinations for Mr. Khaled Abdul Wahed, of Tripoli, Lebanon, secretary of Antoun Saadeh, leader of the Parti Populaire Syrien... Can I respond favorably to the request? It would be of interest to understand the status of the applicant in addition to that of Antoun Saadeh”. AMAE-N, Ambassade à Buenos Aires, Cable from the French Embassy Buenos Aires to the High Commission in Beirut, February 22, 1940. File Antoun Saadeh.
10 Letter to Ibrahim Tannous, May 27, 1940. Complete Works, Volume 9, page 268-272.
11 Sadar an Maktab al-Zaim, page 278.
12 Ibid., page 284.
13 Ibid., page 300.
14 Ibid., page282.
15 When in 1941 Germany issued its communiqué in support of “Arab peoples”, Arslan quickly endorsed it. Saadeh warned against such wholesale endorsement that may have been motivated by service to German interests rather than Syria’s national cause. Takrar al-Aghlat al-Madiyat (Repeating Old Mistakes), Complete Works, Volume 4, pp. 143-45.
16 In his writings about the Arslan cousins, Saadeh avoided using their traditional titles of Emir as he had done with other notables with titles. He considered this practice as a direct consequence of the reform principles of the SSNP and its call for the abolition of feudalism in all its forms and derivatives including pseudo-aristocratic titles. Inhiyar Dawlat al-Alqab: Nazra fi al-Aristocratiya as-Souria (The Collapse of the Titles’ Sate: A View of Syrian Aristocracy), Complete Works, Volume 6, pp. 15-19.
17 Li’bat al-Mu’tamar al-Araby (The Ploy of the Arab Congress), Complete Works, Volume 4, pp. 172-76.
18 Shakib Arslan was a self-promoter who ladled public accolades to sycophants who would return the favor. Such for example was his attitude towards Rashid Khoury, the mercurial religion hopper, who was praised by Arslan for his adoption of Islam (Khoury’s return to Christianity (albeit of the Arius kind) is conveniently ignored). Rasula al-Mahazel, Complete Works, Volume 4, pp. 184-87.
19 Saadeh labelled Shakib Arslan as “the agent of German propaganda in the Arab World”. Souria wal-Iradat al-Ajnabiyah (Syria and Foreign Schemes), Complete Works, Volume 5, pp. 218-21.
20 Arslan kept his name in print between the world wars by producing a journalistic and literary corpus of formidable proportions: he wrote 20 books and 2000 articles. Raja Adal, “Constructing Transnational Islam: The East-West network of Shakib Arslan” in Intellectuals in the Modern Islamic World, edited by Stephane Dudoignon, Komatsu Hisao and Kosugi Yasushi, Routlidge, London, 2006, pp. 176-210.
21 Complete Works, Volume 4, page 208
22 Letter to Juliette, May 10, 1941, Rasa’el ila Dia’, page 78. Letter to Juliette, May 15, 1941, ibid., page 79.
23 Associacion Commercial Sirio-Palestina: Las Industrias de las Collectivades de Habla Arabe en Chile, Santiago, Chile, 1937. The national fervor of the community also manifested itself in periodicals such as al-Watan published by Daoud Mujais between 1920 and 1928. Mercedes del Amo: La Literatura de los Periodicos Arabes de Chile. MEAH, Seccion Arabe-Islam 55:3-35, 2006.
24 The Business guide estimated that there were over 10,000 Syrians in Chile. Like most Syrian communities in the Americas, they worked predominantly in commercial activities with emphasis on trade, industry and small enterprises. The community also had a sizeable body of professionals particularly in healthcare with around 75 professional physicians and pharmacists. Guia Social de la Colonia Arabe en Chile (Siria – Palestina – Libanesa), recopilacion y direccion Ahmad Hassan Matar, obra Auspiciada por el Club Palestino, Imprenta Ahues Hnos, Santiago, Chile, 1941.
25 The eight articles appeared biweekly in the issues of az-Zawba’a starting on August 15, 1942 and ending on December 1, 1942. In the preface to the first edition, Saadeh indicates that he had made some minor corrections to the text. Further edits were made to the second edition published after his return to Syria in 1947.
26 Jureij, Gibran: Min al-Ju’bat (From my Files), Volume 4, Beirut, 1993, p.225.
27 Ibid., p.226.
28 Ibid., pp. 250-262.
29 Ibid., p.278.
30 Ibid., p. 435.
31 Dispatch from US Embassy in Constantinople to the Office Chief of Staff, Military Intelligence Division, January 2, 1925.
32 Military Attaché Report, Military Intelligence Division, War Department General Staff, Ankara, December 31, 1940.
33 Jureij, Gibran: Min al-Ju’bat, Volume 4, p.519.
34 Ibid., p.558.
35 Ibid., p.524.
36 Ibid., p.545.
37 Ibid., p.661.
38 Ibid., p.667.
39 Ibid., p.716.
40 Jureij, Gibran: Min al-Ju’bat (From my Files), Volume 5, Beirut, in press, p.14.
41 Ibid., p.15.
42 Ibid., p.59.
43 N.E. Bou-Nacklie, “The 1941 Invasion of Syria and Lebanon: The Role of the Local Paramilitary”. Middle Eastern Studies, Volume 30, No. 3, July 1994, pp. 512-29.
44 Jureij, Gibran: Min al-Ju’bat, Volume 5, p.61.
45 Ibid., p.160.
46 Aviel Roshwald: “The Spears Mission in the Levant: 1941-1944”, The Historical Journal, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Dec., 1986), pp. 897-919.
47 Journal officiel de la France libre, February 23, 1943.
48 Catroux made explicit statements that the Lebanese were not to blame for the events and that the whole affair was orchestrated by foreign elements! La Syrie et le Liban entreront-il dans la guerre? Journal des Debats, December 2, 1943. Numerous editorials in the French press asserted the belief that the heavy-handed British involvement was to blame. For Vichy editorialists see Journal des Debats, November and December, 1943.
49 Letter to Amin Al Ashqar December 20, 1945; Letter to Rafiq al-Halabi December 25, 1945. Complete Works, Volume 10, pp. 508-10, 514-17, respectively.
50 Letter to Nehmeh Thabit, January 19, 1946
, ibid., page 5.
51 Letter to Ghassan Tueini February 21, 1946, ibid., pp. 25.
52 Letter to Ghassan Tueini, February 21, 1946. Complete Works, Volume 11, pp. 25-31.
53 Ibid..
54 Letter to Nehmeh Thabit, September 5, 1946. ibid., pp. 216-29.
55 az-Zawba’a, issue 85, page 1: Khitab Ra’is al-Majlis al-A’la (Speech of the president of the High Council). Complete Works, Volume 7, pp. 141-43.
56 Letter to Yacoub Nassif, April 7, 1946, ibid., pp. 55-6.
57 Saadeh’s letter was read at the time of the gathering by Fayez Sayegh and was published the next day in Sada an-Nahda, Issue 132, September 2, 1946. Tahiyat az-Zaim mina al-Mahjar lil-Muhtashidin fi Yawm al-Islah (Greetings from the Leader to the Assembled on Reform Day), Complete Works, Volume 7, pp. 171-73.
58 This second letter was not made public at the time by the SSNP leadership in Syria fearing that it might alarm the Lebanese government. Saadeh ordered it published after his return in the SSNP internal Bulletin in June of 1947. Risalat mina az-Zaim ila al-Qawmiyin (Letter from the Leader to the Nationalists), ibid., pp. 178-83.
59 Such as the change in the flag, the new name of the Party, the elimination of the forms of salute, and the separate printing of the reform principles.
60 Letter to Nehmeh Thabit, April 20, 1946, Complete Works, Volume 11, pp. 83-87.
61 Letter to Naaman Daw, May 29, 1946, ibid., pp. 105-6.
62 Letter to Jibran Jreij, June 20, 1946, ibid., pp. 109-10.
63 Note to the Ambassador, French Embassy files. Also, letter to Buenos Aires SSNP director, Aug 16, 1946, Complete Works, Volume 11, pp. 172-74.
64 Letter to Ghassan Tueini, Nov 11, 1946, ibid., pp. 263-66.
65 Letter to Ghassan Tueini, November 11, 1946, ibid., pp. 263-66.
66 Letter to Boulos Massaad in Cairo, August 2, 1946, ibid., pp. 141-2; Letter to Mohammad Shamnaq in Homs, August 9, 1946, ibid., pp. 160-61; and Letter to Ghassan Tueini, August 4, 1946, ibid., pp. 143-59.
