Democratic Palestine : 13 (ص 17)
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- Democratic Palestine : 13 (ص 17)
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Relations on the Arab official and mass levels
How have the PFLP’s political relations progres-
sed on both the Arab official and mass levels?
What factors influenced these relations?
The PFLP has a long history going back to the Arab
National Movement. This movement was very influential in the
Arab people's struggle, especially in the Mashraq (Arab East),
the Gulf and Arab Peninsula, due to its national unification
ideology. Reliance on this great heritage of militant mass strug-
gle helped reinforce the Front and the Palestinian struggle.
In the Front’s history, there was a period of transformation
from the nationalist ideology of the petit bourgeoisie to the for-
mation of a strict, militant party adopting Marxism-Leninism.
This period witnessed hesitation about the following stage.
Signs of differences and confusion began emerging on three
levels:
One: Differences emerged with the late Abdel Nasser with
whom the Arab National Movement'’s relations had been very
strong in terms of action and relations on the Arab level. Toa
certain degree, Nasser acknowledged this transformation, but
he could not take the criticism articulated by the PFLP’s 2nd
congress (February 1969}, concerning the reasons for the
1967 defeat. This left its mark on the relations, especially as
the Front’s position was distorted by the regime’s media and
institutions. Later, the relations were severed when Nasser
accepted the Rogers plan and there were demonstrations in
Amman (organized by the Palestinian resistance) against this
plan.
Two: The Arab National Movement had split into two
trends. One adopted scientific socialism, while the other stuck
to its original thinking. Yet even the trend that had adopted the
new ideology was split in two over the validity of the concept of
transformation. The group that did not believe in this concept
sought to form a new party and later became the DFLP.
Third: The Arab communist parties, which were an effec-
tive force in the Arab mass movement, viewed this new trend
with skepticism concerning two issues. The first was the thesis
that it was possible to transform a petit bourgeois force into a
revolutionary democratic one, and then go on to develop into a
communist party. This issue elicited a broad discussion, rang-
ing from supporters of the concept to opponents. Later, with
time, the validity of the transformation thesis was proven.
The second issue concerned the means of struggle, and
the perspective of the struggle against the Zionist enemy,
whether or not it can be defeated. Some communists had
reservations about armed struggle that to us was the highest
and main form of struggle. Armed struggle was termed adven-
turist or Guevarist. This view was weakened and gradually
vanished, but it was one of the main subjects of debate at the
time. As to the perspective of our struggle with the Zionist
enemy, some of these communist parties have still not settled
this question politically, theoretically or in terms of struggle.
In addition to these external reactions to the new trend,
there were internal factors which played a role in weakening
the Front in the early years. Among these was the split, led by
a team of infantile leftists who propounded theses such as for-
bidding any work within the trade unions, ruling out national
unity with the bourgeoisie, limiting armed struggle to the
occupied homeland, and the right of the minority in the party to
express its opinion to the masses in the streets. In addition, this
group had an infantile approach to educating the masses in
Marxism-Leninism, and negative practices that led to weaken-
ing the credibility of the Front and alienating the masses. Later,
with time, this thinking and practice was proven wrong.
In the years following 1970, there was an important trans-
ition in the path of the Front, especially after the 3rd congress.
The program adopted, and the vision that was outlined of the
next stage, constituted a leap in the life of the Front and the
range of its role, based on the dialectical link the program
established between the general and the specific, the Palesti-
nian national and pan-Arab dimension. The Front gained
respectability due to its accuracy and credibility in this field. Its
position was reinforced by its high militant ability in confronting
the imperialist-Zionist enemy in the region and internationally.
The Front was distinguished by its principled relations with
communist parties, revolutionary democratic forces and Arab
nationalist forces.
On the official level, the documents of the Front defined
the level and mode of relations with the Arab regimes in a way
to serve the national struggle. Especially concerning the
national bourgeois regimes, we outlined a policy of alliance
and conflict. The exception to this policy is found in our rela-
tions with Democratic Yemen, which are based on political and
ideological convergence and supported historically by joint
militant relations that date back to before the October 1964
revolution.
Today, on the PFLP’s 18th anniversary, we can assess
what we have accomplished on the basis of our documents,
especially the documents of the 4th congress and their accu-
racy. The PFLP is in a very strong, effective position in its rela-
tions with the Arab national liberation movement, as a Marxist-
Leninist faction with its own class, national and pan-Arab
analysis and vision of the struggle.
Relations with national liberation movements
How do you evaluate the Front’s political relations
with the national liberation movements of the
world, from 1967 until now? What changes have
occurred in this field?
Since its foundation, the PFLP has given this matter a
great deal of importance. We realized that the revolutionary
forces hostile to Zionism, imperialism, reaction and fascism,
must unite their efforts in a broad international front. Despite
the importance of this awareness, the matter was not
thoroughly studied from a theoretical point of view. We lacked
organization, continuity and follow-up in overall relations.
These relations were sometimes determined by immediate
tactical gains or spontaneous initiatives. These initiatives
involved a mixture of trends ranging from forces that were
ideologically conscious of the requirements and outlook of the
struggle, to Trotskist trends, Maoists, New Left forces, etc.
In the mid-seventies, there was a change in this field. The
Front settled its view of these relations on the basis of political-
ideological vision and protracted militant alliance. This is one of
the aspects of the progress made in the transformation pro-
cess where we arrived at a mature understanding of the three
forces of world revolution. As specified in the documents of the
4th congress, these are the Soviet Union and the other
socialist countries, the national liberation movements in the
three continents, and the working class parties in the capitalist
countries. This resulted in organizing the militant relations bet-
ween the front and the national liberation movements. Cooper-
ation was programmed to serve the common goal of reinforc-
ing militant unity against imperialism and the danger it poses to
the people of the world, who are struggling for independence,
social progress and world peace, to save humanity from
imperialism’s wars and evil practices. Today we can register >»
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- Democratic Palestine : 13
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