Democratic Palestine : 7 (ص 8)
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- Democratic Palestine : 7 (ص 8)
- المحتوى
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In mid-November we conducted an interview with Comrade George Hawi, General Secretary of the
Lebanese Communist Party.
Communist Party
TS
For a National Democratic Front
to Abolish Confessionalism
The Reagan Administration has made no secret of
its intention to try and reverse the major advances
of the national movement in Lebanon. How does
the Communist Party see the upcoming US
strategy?
There is no question that the US will begin to act more
aggressively, now that the presidential elections are over.
While it continues to act to increase tension on a global scale,
and to steer away from negotiations with the Soviet Union on
limiting the arms race and other peace-related issues, we
expect the US administration to concentrate on two main reg-
ions: Central America and the Middle East. The US is clearly
poised for aggression against Nicaragua and increased inter-
vention in El Salvador. It is threatening Cuba which stands in
solidarity with the liberation movements in that region.
In addition we anticipate that Washington will soon tum to
the Middle East as the other major target of its aggression,
using its two surrogates: Israel on the one hand and Arab reac-
tion on the other. As in the past, Lebanon is likely to be the focal
point. By this, we do not simply mean the local Lebanese
dimension of the struggle going on, but also the Palestinian
movement, Syria’s role in Lebanon and, by extension, its
status in the region as a whole.
The US will first try to sabotage the achievements of the
nationalist forces in order to regain the initiative and eventually
realize its previous objectives. The Lebanese regime, which
was forced to abrogate the May 17th treaty with Israel, has for
the time being opted for the so-called Arab approach, meaning
relatively good rapport with Syria. Under strong pressure as a
result of the defeat of the so-called Lebanese Forces (the
Phalangists) and the sectarian army in the Shouf mountains
and subsequently in Beirut, the regime has seemingly opted
for national dialogue, first at the Lausanne and Geneva confer-
ences and later in the context of the government of national
unity. In effect, it had no choice given the unity of the nationalist
and progressive forces, and their solidarity with Syria and with
the forces of the Palestinian revolution that chose to participate
in the struggle under the banner of the Lebanese National
Resistance Front in southern Lebanon, in the Beqaa, in Mount
Lebanon and elsewhere.
In reality, however, the regime is dragging its feet and pre-
venting any progress towards genuine national unity in antici-
pation of new developments that might lead to a change in the
situation. It is actively trying to create division among the vari-
ous Components of the anti-fascist camp and at the same time
rebuilding its sectarian army as well as the «Lebanese
8
Forces». On the other hand, it is seeking to defuse Arab sup-
port to the Lebanese progressive movement by soliciting
Syria’s cooperation.
As a result, we expect further deterioration of the situation
in Lebanon. We believe the US is intent on causing such
deterioration so as to open the way for eventual direct interven-
tion, which may initially take the form of political pressure, while
constantly maintaining the option of military action. This, we
believe, is what lies behind the current political impasse in
Lebanon, and the failure of the Gemayel regime to effectively
deal with the three major requisites for a political solution: put-
ting into effect a viable security plan, pursuing the objective of
an unconditional Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon, and
agreeing to genuine reforms in Lebanon's political system.
Instead, by deceitfully talking of the priority of one task over the
others, the regime ends up dealing with none: the liberation of
the South must take priority over democratic reforms; the sec-
urity arrangements preclude efforts to liberate the South, and
so on.
The regime seems determined to block any real progress,
and this is likely to lead to further confrontation in Lebanon,
particularly in the South and the Kharroub district (along the
coast and southeast of the capital), and perhaps other areas of
the country, paving the way for US involvement in some form.
Such designs for Lebanon will also coincide with
increased efforts to liquidate the Palestinian issue. The call for
convening the Palestinian National Council in Amman can only
be interpreted in this context as a determination by the right-
wing of the PLO to accomodate current and anticipated US
initiatives. As such, it threatens to split the Palestinian move-
ment and signals a major new development in the emergence
of an Arab reactionary pact that will eventually group Egypt,
Jordan, Iraq and Morocco, as well as the right-wing elements
in the PLO. This pact is to serve as a tool for US policies aimed
at encircling Syria, the Lebanese progressive movement and
the revolutionary forces in the PLO, in preparation for a fresh
US initiative based on the Reagan plan.
On a broader scale, the US will use increased pressure on
such countries as Democratic Yemen, Libya and Algeria to
prevent them from acting in solidarity with those of us that are
confronting the imperialist strategy. This strategy will therefore
consist first of trying to bring political pressure to bear on Syria
in order to force it to agree to US-Israeli terms for resolving the
Middle East conflict. Given Syria's commitment to preventing
an imperialist settlement, we anticipate that the US will then
threaten the use of force, or even actually use force, by prompt-
ing an Israeli military action against Syria, as well as against - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 7
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