Maarouf Saad
Maarouf Saad معروف سعد | |
---|---|
Secretary-General of Popular Nasserite Organization | |
In office 1973–1975 | |
Preceded by | Post established |
Succeeded by | Mustafa Saad |
Personal details | |
Born | 1910 or 1914 Popular Nasserite Organization |
Maarouf Saad (
Early life
Saad was born to a
That year, he took part in organizing
As he grew close to al-Solh in 1945, Saad was accepted into the security forces as a police officer. He served this role until 1957.
Political career
Early years
In 1957, Saad was elected to represent Sidon in the Parliament of Lebanon, beating his opponent Nazih al-Bizri.[8] In 1958, tensions between the mostly Muslim and Druze opposition and the mostly Christian supporters of President Camille Chamoun—stemming from Chamoun's enmity with the United Arab Republic (a union between Egypt and Syria established in February), the government's attempts at containing political opposition, and the deployment of the US Sixth Fleet—erupted into countrywide civil strife in May.[6] Saad was among many Lebanese notables from the United National Front opposition coalition to have visited Damascus and congratulated UAR President Nasser on the union's formation.[9]
Saad used his Lebanese support base and allied Palestinian militias to gather arms and organize a defense of Sidon from government control, which he accomplished with ease. He headed a central command that oversaw an array of committees such as security, courts, military training and propaganda. With over 1,000 militiamen under his command, Saad led successful skirmishes against pro-government forces and prevented all government attempts at entering Sidon for the five-month duration of the crisis. While he frequently dispatched some of his men to aid opposition forces in neighboring areas, Saad's forces rarely launched attacks against regions outside Sidon.[6] Saad regarded the 1958 crisis a "popular armed uprising", claiming the opposition was forced into it after initially advocating a general strike to pressure Chamoun to step down from the presidency.[6]
In the 1968 election he won the highest number of votes for the Sidon seat, defeating Bizri for the fourth consecutive time.[10] While Bizri gained the support of most of the city's middle and upper classes and had the backing of the government, Saad—who normally represented the opposition to the national government—drew substantial support from Sidon's poorer residents.[1] During his time in parliament, Saad was noted for his support for the cause of social justice and the Palestinian right of return. In Sidon, Saad gained a reputation for being a staunch opponent of discrimination and promoter of a comprehensive peace and social justice in the country. He co-founded the international Assembly of World Peace and helped contribute to the Organization for Solidarity of Asian and African People.[11]
Wane of influence and tensions with PLO
While Saad was one of the staunchest Lebanese supporters of the Palestinian cause, he was also a critic of the PLO guerrillas' increasingly defiant attempts to gain control over Sidon, where Saad was traditionally dominant. In 1969 he was sharply criticized by the
In August 1970, a group of PLO guerrillas from the Fatah and as-Saiqa factions based in the nearby Ain al-Hilweh camp came into conflict with Saad's Nasserist partisans, resulting in the death of one Nasserist fighter. The guerillas subsequently detained Saad in the camp and shut down his supporters' office in Sidon. A general strike in the area was declared as protest to Saad's detention and calls by incensed residents for the closing of guerrilla offices in Sidon were made. Saad was consequently released days later after intervention by an envoy sent by President Nasser.[12]
Saad lost the 1972 parliamentary election. He alleged that Prime Minister Saeb Salam's support for Bizri in retaliation for Saad's participation in anti-government protests prior to the election caused his defeat.[13] However, Salam's support for Bizri was only a partial reason for Saad's loss of votes. Another factor was that the roughly 1,000 voters of Palestinian origin in Sidon switched from their traditional support for Saad to Bizri during the election. By that time, the PLO had become much stronger in the area and did not require the political cover Saad had traditionally lent them. This became another source of tension between Saad and the PLO, who were then targeting Saad's traditional voting base: the pan-Arabist sympathizers of the Old City of Sidon and local leftists. This also contributed to the waning of Saad's reputation as the "man of the people" in the city.[12]
Saad had become the chairman of Sidon's municipal council in the early 1970s,
Death and aftermath
In late 1974, the fishing enterprise Protéine, owned by former president and Saad opponent Chamoun, attempted to streamline fishing off of Sidon's coast,
Saad's killing brought his family and the PNO widespread public sympathy and boosted their reputation among the Lebanese left and the Sunni Muslim community.[5] Despite his previous tensions with the PLO, Saad's funeral in Sidon on 7 March became a scene of Lebanese-Palestinian solidarity and was the second largest public show of support for the PLO in Lebanese history,[16] quickly becoming a huge anti-government protest. Subsequently, countrywide small-scale clashes erupted between Saad's supporters—Lebanese and Palestinian, including the PLO—and the Lebanese Army.[11] Sidon was shut down for weeks because of the violence and a bomb destroyed Protéine's office in Beirut. By late March, 19 people had died in the confrontations.[11] By 13 April, the skirmishes evolved into open warfare between rival forces in the country.[5]
Saad's assassination is attributed by many analysts to have been the spark that set off the
Personal life
Saad had two sons, Mustafa and Ousama, and five daughters, Mona, Jamileh Saad Younes, Wafaa, Shahnaz Saad and Roula Saad, some of whom became involved to various degrees in Lebanese politics as part of the PNO.[19] Mustafa served in the Lebanese parliament until his death in 2002 and during the civil war, founded a military wing for the PNO. Ousama succeeded his brother as Sidon's MP after his death and was reelected in 2005. He lost to the Future Movement candidate in 2009, but stayed the secretary-general of the PNO and maintained an active Nasserist presence in the city of Sidon within the broad March 8 coalition in Lebanese politics. On 6 May 2018, he took advantage of the new electoral law and was reelected to the parliament. Meanwhile, Mona Saad continues to head the Maarouf Saad Social and Cultural Foundation. [20]
See also
- List of assassinated Lebanese politicians
- List of political families in Lebanon
References
- ^ a b c d Zuwiyya, 1972, p. 62.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography". Archived from the original on 4 March 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Maarouf Saad Cultural Center. - ^ Khalaf, 2013, p. 135.
- ^ Morgan, 2004, p. 127.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dib, p. 259.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Khalaf, 2013, p. 136.
- ^ Documents, Correspondence & Photos. Mohamed Ali Eltaher. Elaher. 2013.
- ^ Zuwiyya, 1972, p. 61.
- ^ Gendzier, 2006, p. 235.
- ^ Zuwiyya, 1972, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mardelli, p. 260.
- ^ a b c Khazen, 2000, p. 277.
- ^ Khazen, 2000, p. 276.
- ^ a b Joint Publications Services, 1975, p. 71.
- ^ a b c Lebanon Bomb Critically Wounds Militia Leader. The New York Times. 21 January 1985.
- ^ a b Khazen, 2000, p. 268.
- ^ Conflict Studies Issues 67–68. Current Affairs Research Service Centre. 1976. p. 12.
- ^ Reich, 1990, p. 208.
- ^ Sidon Faces Election Battle after Announcement of 2 Separate Alliances. An-Nahar. 16 May 2010.
- ^ Zaatari, Mohamed. Ousama Saad declares he will stand in vacated Sidon seat. The Daily Star. 29 July 2002.
Bibliography
- Dib, Kamal (2004), Warlords and Merchants: The Lebanese Business and Political Establishment, Garnet & Ithaca Press, ISBN 9780863722974
- Gendzier, Irene L. (2006), Notes from the Minefield: United States Intervention in Lebanon and the Middle East, 1945–1958, Columbia University Press, ISBN 9780231140119
- Joint Publications Research Services (1975), Translations on Near East and North Africa, Issues 1321–1332, ISBN 9780231505369
- Khalaf, Samir (2013), Civil and Uncivil Violence in Lebanon: A History of the Internationalization of Communal Conflict, Columbia University Press, ISBN 9780231505369
- El-Khazen, Farid (2000), The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon: 1967–1976, Tauris, ISBN 9781860643200
- Mardelli, Bassil A. (2012), Middle East Perspectives: From Lebanon, iUniverse, ISBN 9781475906721
- Morgan, Clive R. (2004), A British Banker in the Arab World: The Memoirs of Clive R. Morgan, O.B.E., F.C.I.B., F.R.S.A., AuthorHouse, ISBN 9781467096652
- Reich, Bernard (1990), Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 9780313262135
- Zuwiyya, Jalal (1972), The Parliamentary Election of Lebanon 1968, BRILL, ISBN 9781467096652