Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 3)
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- Democratic Palestine : 22 (ص 3)
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Editorial
AMAL’S WAR ON THE CAMPS AIMS AT IMPOSING
SECTARIAN SOLUTIONS IN ALL LEBANON
Facts are accumulating to indicate the true nature of the sec-
tarian Amal movement and of the schemes it aims to imple-
ment in Lebanon. The most prominent indication is Amal’s
continuing war against the Palestinian people and revolution in
Lebanon. Another major indication is the war unleashed by
Amal against the Lebanese Communist Party and other
patriotic forces in West Beirut. Still another indication is found
in the statements of Israeli leaders about their contacts with
Amal responsibles in South Lebanon, to encourage Amal to
prevent any attacks against ‘Israel’ from the South. Clinton
Bailey, a leading Israeli Arabist and responsible for contacts
with Amal, has explained: «There are Shiite leaders in South
Lebanon who realize that in the long run, they and we are
natural allies to an extent because both of us want peace and
stability in South Lebanon» (Newsweek, February 16, 1987).
What Amal has been doing against the Palestinian revolu-
tion and civilians in Lebanon can only be explained in one way:
Amal wants to prove itself capable of preserving the security of
‘Israel’ from southern Lebanon. As a result, Amal would be
assigned to represent the southerners without being challenged
by the South Lebanese Army or any other Israeli proxies.
Having achieved this, it would be easier for Amal’s leadership
to ask for more leading posts in the Lebanese state hierarchy,
without any change in this state’s sectarian nature. Clearly,
fulfilling this aim of Amal would be at the expense of all the
struggle and blood shed by Lebanese patriots for the sake of
building a new, progressive Lebanon to replace the present un-
just, sectarian system.
Amal’s leaders, of course, say that they are fighting Yasir
Arafat’s men in order to prevent him from implementing his
capitulationist policies using Lebanon as a base. It is insulting
to human intelligence to listen to these claims, because even
idiots know that the Palestinian revolution consists of factions
other than that led by Arafat. By now, even idiots have become
familiar with the fact that Amal’s war against the Palestinian
camps is directed against evety living creature in these camps.
For what other reason has Amal deprived the camps of food,
water, and medical supplies for almost five consecutive
months, while continuing, day and night, to shell and burn
these camps?
Who in the world would believe that infants less than one
year old are implementing «Arafat’s capitulationist policies»
and thus deserve to be starved to death by Amal’s siege? What
mind can understand or imagine the horror created by Amal in
Palestinian mothers, which drives them to burn their children
and themselves to avoid the slow death imposed by Amal’s
starvation of the camps?
After more than two months of siege against Rashidiya
camp, the Palestinian fighters launched their operation in
Maghdousheh, to defend the camps. From that time Amal has
said it will not lift the siege unless the Palestinian forces
withdraw from Maghdousheh. When the Palestinians
withdrew from Maghdousheh, Amal intensified its Shelling of
the camps and tightened the siege.
A few days ago, Amal launched a new, dirty war against the
Lebanese Communist Party and other patriotic forces in West
Beirut. Amal leader Nabih Berri did not hesitate to again use
the timeworn pretext of ‘Arafat’. Speaking from Damascus, he
claimed that the reason for this offensive against the Lebanese
communists was that their general secretary, George Hawi,
had missed Arafat, and wanted to bring him back to Beirut!
Berri’s comment is so stupid that it doesn’t deserve comment.
However, what does require comment is the reason behind
Amal’s latest war against Lebanese patriots. It is significant
that this war broke out immediately after the spread of rumors
that a deal is being secretly prepared between the Phalangist
President of Lebanon, Amin Gemayel, and the Amal leaders.
For the Amal leaders to prove themselves capable partners to
the fascists and their imperialist and Zionist masters, their
militiamen had to ‘clean’ West Beirut of all patriotic forces,
especially the Lebanese communists.
The specific reasons behind Amal’s war on Lebanese
patriots and progressives are the following: First, by
dominating the western side of the capital, Amal aspires to
become the decisive political power there, as the fascists did by
spreading their hegemony over East Beirut. Second, Amal is
striving to gain credibility in the eyes of the imperialists by
fighting the communists and other anti-imperialist forces. This
is a parallel to Amal’s attempt to gain credibility in the eyes of
the Zionists by fighting the Palestinians.
The question is whether Amal’s leadership is aware of the
lessons of history, most particularly in Lebanon. Are they
aware of what the Zionists did when they were invited into
Lebanon by the Phalangists? Didn’t the Israelis arrange their
occupation in Lebanon as they wanted, regardless of the
Phalangists’ ambitions? Didn’t Begin summon _ Bashir
Gemayel and demand that he sign a ‘peace’ treaty to legalize
Israeli hegemony in Lebanon, even though Bashir felt this
contradictory to his plans as president of Lebanon?
What will prevent the Zionist leadership from reneging on
their promises to Amal after the latter has done their dirty
work for them? What will prevent US imperialism and the
fascists in East Beirut from doing the same? Amal risks to be
drained in its own dirty wars, and weakened to the point that it
cannot impose its ambitions on its supposed partners. Most
importantly, did the Amal leadership ask itself whether it is
any longer accepted by any sector of the Lebanese patriotic
masses? Amal’s failure around the camps and in West Beirut
generally provides the answer.
The disasterous results of Amal’s attempts at hegemony, for
Palestinians.and Lebanese alike, only prove certain truths that
were known in advance by the revolutionary forces. More than
ever it is clear that the key to solving the Lebanese crisis, while
simultaneously restoring Lebanese-Palestinian relations, is
unity in struggle against the plans of imperialism, Zionism and
the fascist forces. This requires Palestinian-Lebanese coor-
dination, based on a clear nationalist program, for rebuilding
Lebanon on a non-sectarian basis, while furthering the
Palestinian struggle for a democratic state in Palestine. - هو جزء من
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