BACKGROUND OF THE CURRENT CRISIS On the eve of Yankee imperialism's interventionist landing of thousands of marines in Lebanon, we received from one of our Lebanese comrades a long letter of background material, the following excerpts from which will no doubt prove useful to a clearer understanding of the grave situation there, analyzed in the Editorial Note, "The Crisis in the Middle East" : In March 1957 the United States succeeded in getting the Eisenhower Doctrine accepted by the Lebanese government. It was the only government of an Arab state that dared take this step openly and unreservedly. It became by this fact a tool of the imperialists in their struggle against the Arab liberation movement. Under this government Lebanese territory became the hotbed of imperalist plots and conspiracies against the liberation movements of other Arab countries, especially Syria. All imperialist agents who, after the discovery or failure of their plots, had to flee from Egypt or Syria, found refuge in Lebanon and enjoyed the protection and support of the Lebanese government. This policy of barefaced service to the imperialists roused popular discontent and a strong opposition. Whereupon the government had recourse to various measures of oppression and deception. The situation in the country grew very tense, and the assassination of Massil el-Matouis, the publisher of the opposition newspaper, by agents of the government, was the spark that caused the explosion. The funeral of Matouis was transformed into a mass demonstration which, because of the government's brutal measures of suppressing it, turned into a general strike and then into a popular uprising. All attempts by the authorities to "reëstablish law and order" have till now failed. Faced by this critical situation, the government called for help to the United States, and Washington lost no time in answering this appeal. The first shipment of arms was sent by air lift on May 16th, and the American Sixth Fleet received the order to keep close to the Lebanese coast. The situation all through the Middle East was thereby aggravated. Moscow soon reacted: an official declaration via TASS on May 19th made it know that "the Soviet leaders were of the opinion" that American meddling in the affairs of Lebanon not only would have grave consequences within the Lebanese state, but also threatened peace in the whole Middle East. The situation is difficult. The fighting continues and its outcome is still uncertain. But whatever turn events may take, one thing is sure: this struggle demonstrates much-flaunted myth of a Maronite "nationality" is a lie. The Maronites claim to be the descendants of the ancient Phonicians. Christian masses established themselves on Mount Lebanon during the epoch of the Arab and Turkish Empires because they felt threatened as a religious minority. In May and June of 1860 there occurred frightful massacres of Christians, on Mount Lebanon by the Druzes, and at Damascus by the Moslems. These acts of terror were directly inspired and organized by the Turkish leaders to provide a distraction from their own difficulties. Such horrible memories cannot be easily forgotten by the descendants of and their leaders naturally exploit such a psychology tor their own purposes
The French created the state of Lebanon by joining thi autonomous territory of the Maronites, during Turkish domination under the pressure Western powers, to the neighboring territories with a Moslem majority. The French imperialists then continued in accentuated form the tactic already applied previously: the Maronites received preferential treatment materially and culturally; everything was done to "Europeanize" them more, to separate them from their compatriots of the Arab East, to make them a fifth column against the Arab liberation movement. A large part of the Maronite leaders did not wish to give up their special position. But since declining French imperialism no longer has today power of attraction them, they became the "good boys" of American imperialism and its only sure strong-points among the Arabs of the East. These Maronite leaders were pulling so far away from the cause of the Arab East that Archbishop Ignace Mubark in 1947 declared: "Christian Lebanon looks kindly upon the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine." Naturally this man could not, as a result of his pro-Zionist position, remain in his country; he went to Rome and is there under the protection of the Pope. What shows the degree to which this pro-imperialist Maronite leadership,
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL turned against the Arab national movement, has lost its hold over the masses, and how much they recognize more every day that, as a part of the Arab people, they must find their place in the general tendency of the Arab East, is the fact that the patriarch of the Maronite church, Bulus el-Maouschi, and the last conference of bishops of this church, took a stand against President Chamoun and in favor of the opposition that is now fighting. is the expression of pressure from the ranks. The opposition which has risen arms in hand is not at all homogeneous. In it are associated different ideological and political currents, of the left and right, to prevent the Chamouns, Sohls (Sohl, incidentally, is a Moslem), and Maliks from making Lebanon into an imperialist enclave steadily drawing away from the Arab people. The fighting shows that, behind the Chamoun-Sohl government, apart from American aid, there is nothing except the "Greater-Syrian National Party" created by the fascist Antoine assassinated some years ago, in which are organized Christians as well as Moslems, and the "Phalange, " the organization of the Maronite gilded youth. It is not true that this is a fight between Christians and Moslems. The journalist who was assassinated by Chamoun's agents and whose funeral was the beginning of the uprising, wron was a Maronite. Ex-president Churi, who is now one of the leaders of the opposition, is also a Maronite. So too is the president of the foreign affairs commission of the Lebanese
71 Philippe Takla. And there is the already mentioned position of the priests of the Maronite church. On the other hand, behind Chamoun stand important Moslem
The Moslem kings of Iraq and Jordan are raising their voices in favor of Chamoun, not to protect Christians, because they must defend their class brothers. The reactionary Beirut newspaper El Chajat, whose owner and editors are Maronites, does not dare to take a stand in favor of the government and stays neutral. The continuing struggle is carried out with unequal means. The Lebanese government is currently receiving arms (tanks, airplanes, artillery) from the United States. Even if it were true that the insurgents are receiving arms from the United Arab Republic, the obvious fact remains that they have no planes and very little heavy armament. If, in spite of this, been confirmed by an English Labour MP who visited Lebanon, that means that the masses are behind the Although the insurgent opposition is not homogeneous and some of its leaders are not even in favor of unity of the Arab East but only against the absolute transformation of Lebanon into an imperialist fortress isolated from the Arab world, the outcome of the combats is of a decisive importance both for American imperialism and for the Arab national movement.
Peru
HUNGER STRIKE WINS