Democratic Palestine : 12 (ص 19)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 12 (ص 19)
- المحتوى
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them will only be accomplished in the
presence of the Syrian forces.» The
request for Syrian forces is expressedly
for this purpose, because if the
Lebanese Forces take up this task they
will be faced with difficulty and repercus-
sions.
It is not unusual that A/ Nahar
should talk about «cleaning» West
Beirut and the Palestinian camps. How-
ever, it is unusual that the newspaper
should talk about a well-contrived plan
and a complete senario for the opera-
tion. There is no doubt that those
targeted are armed Palestinian and
Lebanese groups which refuse to
resolve the Lebanese crises on the
basis of cancelling Lebanon as an area
for military struggle against the Zionist
enemy.
The danger of this plan is not
whether it can be carried out. The
danger is that there is a prior decision to
execute such a plan. This means that if
the plan is not implemented now
because of local, regional or interna-
tional factors, it will be implemented
when the situation allows.
Initiating the battle of West Beirut
and the Palestinian camps a second
time will lead to a new situation where
the only losers will be the nationalist
forces, irrespective of who wins the bat-
tle. The only winners will be the
Lebanese fascist forces which cooper-
ate with Zionism, accepting the Syrian
option only temporarily until they once
again see an opportunity to declare their
alliance with Zionism and imperialism.@
The Kidnapping of Soviet Diplomats
a ee Se
Since we wrote the article below, 3 Soviet diplomats have been released in West Beirut, a source of great
rejoicing for all progressive forces. However, we still find it relevant to comment on the kidnapping, for
regardless of their identity or intentions, the kidnappers acted a
people.
gainst the interests of Lebanon and its
In late September, four Soviet dip-
lomats were kidnapped in West Beirut;
one was murdered in cold blood, and’
there were threats to kill the other three
and blow up the Soviet embassy.
Allegedly, this was intended to force the
Soviet Union to pressure Syria to
impose a ceasefire in Tripoli. Though
allegedly carried out in defense of the
Muslims and Islam, this act, whether
intentionally or not, ultimately serves the
enemies of Muslims and all Lebanese
patriots.
We need not discuss the identity of
the kidnappers or their real motives for
Carrying out this crime, except to say that
their hatred of the Soviet Union, based
on their religious sentiments, rendered
them politically color-blind. Rather we
will discuss three basic observations.
First of all, if the kidnappers’ main
aim was to pressure the Soviet Union to
actively seek and achieve a ceasefire in
Tripoli, then they had miscalculated mat-
ters. Considering the nature of the battle
of Tripoli, the Soviet Union did not have
the means to achieve an immediate
ceasefire. Moreover, the Soviet Union
has historically been an ally of the patrio-
tic and Muslim forces in Lebanon. It is
thus one of the parties to be negatively
affected by the continuation of this battle
and its anticipated long-term effects.
This is true regardless of any specific
considerations which determine the
Soviet position on the war in Tripoli.
Rather than such fighting, the Soviet
Union has a definite interest in the con-
tinued unity of all Lebanese forces not
tied to ‘Israel’.Moreover, the Soviet
Nationalist Beirut celebrates the return of the
Soviet diplomats
Union joins with the Lebanese patriotic
forces in opposing the imperialist-
Zionist-reactionary strategy in Lebanon,
for the success of this strategy will trans-
form Lebanon into a hostile base, similar
to ‘Israel’, Turkey, etc.
Secondly, the Lebanese conflict is
today distinguished by the unusually
large number of forces involved. Some
have widely varying reasons for their
actions and change their practice from
one political moment to the next. Under
such circumstances, the Soviet Union -
even if it had the ability to fulfill the kid-
nappers’ demands - cannot give in to
these demands, no matter how much
they value the lives of their diplomats. If
the Soviet Union were to submit to this
case of blackmail, it would bring upon
itself a series of such acts. In this
respect, its attitude to this sensitive
issue does not differ from that of other
countries with responsibilities and
interests around the world.
Thirdly, the kidnappers hoped that
practicing such crimes would create the
sort of environment that would encour-
age other groups to resort to violence to
settle old scores, motivated by religious
chauvinism. The recent killing of a
Lebanese communist, by a group claim-
ing to defend Islam, is another case in
point.
As was Clear in the communiques
issued by various organzations claiming
responsibility for the kidnapping, the true
motive for choosing Soviet diplomats
was religious chauvinism, not objective
political contradictions. Such actions
further complicate the Lebanese con-
flict, deepening the sectarian aspect by
simplistically dividing the world into faith-
ful Muslims and atheists. Political blind-
ness and failure to see where the
interests of Lebanon and Muslims lie,
leads these alleged defenders of Islam
to carry out such crimes. Such simplistic
religious outlooks cloud the picture and
overlook basic political realities, leading
these forces to resort to hostility against
the Soviet Union, without whom they
could never mount a serious opposition
to imperialism.
This crime should be condemned
by all those concerned about Lebanon
and its future. It is the duty of every
Lebanese and Arab patriot to demand
the immediate release of the three
remaining Soviet diplomats, and firm
punishment for the kidnappers and mur-
derers of their comrade.
19 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 12
- تاريخ
- نوفمبر ١٩٨٥
- المنشئ
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
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