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Jassem Alwan

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Jassem Alwan
جاسم علوان
Alwan during his military trial, 1963
Personal details
Born(1928-07-04)4 July 1928
Deir ez-Zor,French Syria
Died3 January 2018(2018-01-03)(aged 89)
Cairo,Egypt
OccupationCommander of Qatana Military Base (1958-1961)
Military service
Years of service1946-1963
RankLieutenant Colonel

Jassem Alwan(Arabic:جاسم علوان,Jāsim ʿAlwān) (born 4 July 1928 – died 3 January 2018 inCairo[1]) was a prominentSyrian Armycolonel,particularly during the period of theUnited Arab Republic(UAR) (1958–1961) when he served as the Commander of theQatana BasenearDamascus.Alwan, a staunch supporter of UAR PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser,opposed Syria's secession from the union in 1961, leading two failed coup attempts to overthrow the secessionist government in 1962.

He participated in theBaathist-led 8 March coup that toppled PresidentNazim al-Qudsiin 1963, but after a Baathist attempt to purge Nasserist officers from the military, Alwan led an insurrection against the new government. It failed, and resulted in Alwan's imprisonment and sentencing to death until he was released in 1964 upon the intervention of Nasser and other Arab presidents. Alwan's aborted counter-coup was a significant episode leading to the deterioration of ties between the governments ofEgyptand Syria. From then on, Alwan lived in Egypt where he continued his activism against the Baathist government until he returned to Syria in 2005.

Early life and career

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Alwan was born to aSunni Muslimfamily ofBedouinorigins in 1928 in the city ofDeir ez-Zor,located along theEuphrates Riverin eastern Syria.[2][3]After studying for a period at theHoms Military Academy,Alwan joined theSyrian Armyin 1946. During the presidency ofAdib al-Shishakli,Alwan had been teaching at the academy.[4]According to Alwan, Shishakli had personally urged him to show preference for up and coming officers from Arab, Sunni Muslim background and to keep the number ofethnoreligiousminorities in the graduating class to an "absolute minimum", a request Alwan rejected.[3]Student officers who attended his class included prominent future military figures, such as PresidentHafez al-Assad,and generalsAli AslanandMuhammad Nabhan,all of whom wereAlawites.[3]Throughout the 1950s, Alwan had been involved in theArab nationalistmovement spearheaded byEgyptianpresidentGamal Abdel Nasser.[4]

Military career

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Commander of Qatana Base

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When Syria and Egypt merged to form theUnited Arab Republic(UAR) in 1958, Alwan became a high-ranking officer in the army, serving in the position of commander of theQatanaBase, located outside of Damascus.[4]He was promoted tolieutenant colonelin 1961.[5]On 28 September 1961, a military coup in Syria resulted in the dissolution of the union with Egypt. Alwan had not been at his base on that day, instead participating in a mission in Damascus city.[4]Tank units officially under his command played an important role during the coup as they headed north towards Damascus to link up with other mutineers from theDumayrbase before taking the capital. However, the Qatana units acted without Alwan's knowledge,[6]and he consequently blamed himself for the coup's success, concluding that he could have prevented it had he taken up his post in Qatana.[4]

Opposition to secession

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Alwan opposed the secessionist government of PresidentNazim al-Kudsi,which gained power following the coup, but the authorities did not arrest or purge him for fear of being accused of betraying the still-popular cause of Arab nationalism represented by Nasser, of whom Alwan was a staunch ally.[7]Soon after the secession, a loose coalition ofNasseristofficers led by Alwan and members of theArab Nationalist Movement(ANM),Baathistofficers led by theMilitary Committeeand politically independent unionist officers led byZiad al-Haririwas formed to remove Kudsi's administration and install a pro-union government. While the unionist coup was planned for 2 April 1962, the Nasserist officers under Alwan's leadership made their move on 31 March, launching the revolt from the army garrison inHoms.However, no other army units joined in to back the uprising, resulting in its quick end. A divided military and an unstable political situation prevented the government from pursuing decisive action against the coup officers. Instead, on 1 April, an agreement to between the military factions to deal with the coup participants peacefully was devised in Homs, wherebyAbd al-Karim al-Nahlawi(the officer who staged the secessionist coup, but soon after joined the pro-unionist officers), Alwan and a small number of officers loyal to them would be exiled.[8]

The 1 April proposal was rejected outright by Alwan who proceeded to encourage his independent and Baathist allies in the officer corps to move ahead with the original coup plan.[9]Thus, on 2 April, officers Alwan,Muhammad UmranandHamad Ubaydled the insurrection in Homs andAleppo,whileLu'ay al-Atassiled the revolt in Deir ez-Zor.[10]The flag of the UAR was raised over theCitadel of Aleppoand the unionist officers broadcast a request for Egyptian military intervention to aid their uprising.[11][12]Most of the Baathist officers,[11][10]particularly those stationed inal-Suwayda(led bySalah Jadid) and theIsraelifront,[10]refrained from backing the coup at the last minute, fearing the consequences of a quick reunification with the UAR and suspicious of Alwan's intentions based on his earlier coup attempt. Although, the Ba'ath Party was dissolved by Nasser during the UAR period and its leadership had initially supported Syria's secession, Baathist officers openly supported reunification efforts. However, their withdrawal from the planned coup revealed the conflicting feelings among the Baathists towards the reestablishment of the UAR, with many still opposed to an unconditional union with Nasser. As a consequence of the Baathist pull-out, Alwan's uprising failed once more and he was subsequently exiled toLebanon.[11]

Coup d'etat of 1963 and counter coup

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Main article:1963 Syrian coup d'état § Immediate aftermath
a monument to Alwan in his nativeDeir ez-Zor

A pan-Arabist coalition of officers led by the Baathists and joined by the Nasserists, including Alwan,[13]managed tosuccessfully overthrowthe government in Damascus on 8 March 1963, establishing the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC)—a body dominated by Baathists, but also including several Nasserists—to temporarily govern the country.[14]On 17 April a unity agreement between Egypt, Iraq and Syria was signed, stipulating a federal system with Nasser as president. Weeks later, dozens of Nasserist officers were purged by the Baathists, and the Nasserist members of the government consequently resigned.[15]At this time, Alwan, disappointed that the Military Committee was neither interested in a genuine power-sharing agreement nor having Nasser preside over Syria, initiated plans with the ANM and Egyptian intelligence officers to remove the Baathist government.[13]

Despite the purges and resignations, Nasserist officers still maintained a relatively strong position in the military, and on 18 July, Alwan, who had since returned from exile, led his third coup attempt.[16]His forces launched daytime assaults on the Army General Headquarters and the broadcast station in Damascus.[17][16]The Baathist Interior MinisterAmin al-Hafizpersonally defended the army headquarters and the ensuing battle resulted in hundreds of casualties, including several civilian bystanders.[17][13]Eventually pro-Baathist units and the party's National Guard quelled the rebellion.[17]

Alwan's operation ended in major bloodshed and at least 27 participating officers were arrested and executed.[16][17][18]Alwan and his deputy, ColonelRaef al-Maarri,evaded the authorities and went into hiding in theGhoutacountryside of Damascus. Their safe house was eventually discovered and besieged by security forces and both men were arrested and taken toMezzeh Prison.Alwan refused to testify in the military tribunal, and the court found him guilty of treason and sentenced him to death, along with al-Maarri, Captain Muhammad al-Nabhan and 16 Palestinians, who were also alleged participants in the failed coup. The death sentences were commuted on 10 December to life imprisonment.[19][20]Alwan was imprisoned for less than a year, before intervention on his behalf by Nasser, PresidentAbd al-Salam Arifof Iraq, PresidentHouari BoumedieneofAlgeriaand PresidentJosip Broz TitoofYugoslaviaresulted in his release on 5 December.[13][21]Alwan, al-Maarri, al-Nabhan and the co-accused Palestinian participants were exiled and three days later were escorted to the border with Lebanon, from which they headed to Egypt's embassy inBeirut.[22]

The failure of Alwan's revolt marked the end of significant Nasserist influence in Syria's military and civilian institutions and with the pro-Nasser forces largely defeated, the Military Committee of theBa'ath Partybecame the sole power center of the country.[16]

Exile in Egypt and return to Syria

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Alwan was given asylum in Egypt by Nasser where he continued his activities against the Baathist government in Syria.[13]He became Secretary-General of theArab Socialist Union's Syrian branch (ASU).[23][24]Later, after Amin al-Hafiz, who had succeeded Lu'ay al-Atassi as president, was overthrown by aregionalistfaction of the Ba'ath Party (as opposed to thepan-Arabistfaction to which Hafiz belonged) led by Salah Jadid and Hafez al-Assad in February 1966, Alwan eventually joined Hafiz, his former enemy, to establish a diverse coalition of dissidents opposed to the ruling Baathists of Syria.[13]

In 1982, Syrian dissidents formed an opposition coalition inParis,Francecalled theNational Alliance for the Liberation of Syria(NALS). The coalition included independents, Arab nationalist groups, such as Alwan's ASU and Hafiz's Iraq-based Syrian Ba'ath Party as well as theMuslim Brotherhood's Syrian faction and the Islamic Front led by Sheikh Abdul Fatah Abu Ghuda.[25][26]They were financially supported by PresidentSaddam Husseinof Iraq.[13]In November 1984, Alwan attended a conference of thePalestinian National Council(PNC), leading a delegation of 13 NALS coalition members. Most of the group's activities centered on attempts to de-legitimize the government of President Hafez al-Assad,[26]who had ascended to the presidency in a 1970 coup.

Iraqi funding for the dissident coalition's members in Egypt, like Alwan, ended as a result of Egyptian presidentHosni Mubarak's participation in theGulf Waragainst Iraq in 1991. The honorary status and the diplomatic passport Alwan held in Egypt were subsequently cancelled, but he continued to live inCairo.Alwan eventually returned to Syria in April 2005, during the presidency ofBashar al-Assad,after personal intervention by former Syrian defense minister,Mustafa Tlass.[13]Tlass wrote in his memoirs that he had disagreed with the revocation of Alwan's civil rights, as well as the rights of other exiled dissidents. Alwan was greeted ceremoniously at theDamascus International Airportand was then escorted to theCham Hotelin the city.[27]According to anti-government activists, Syrian security forces raided Alwan's home in Deir ez-Zor on 9 August 2011, during the ongoingSyrian Civil War.[28][better source needed]

References

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  1. ^"Syrian politicians recall mass adoration of Nasser".gulfnews. 14 January 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-06-18.Retrieved2018-06-27.
  2. ^Petran, 1972, p. 157.
  3. ^abcVan Dam, 1996, p. 29.
  4. ^abcdeMoubayed, p. 37.
  5. ^Simon, Mattar, Bulliet, 1996, p. 132.
  6. ^Oron, 1961, p. 607.
  7. ^Seale, 2004, p. 69.
  8. ^Mufti, p. 137.
  9. ^Mufti, pp. 137-138.
  10. ^abcRabinovich, p. 34.
  11. ^abcMufti, p. 138.
  12. ^"Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies".7–8.Pakistan American Foundation. 1985: 314.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  13. ^abcdefghMoubayed, p. 38.
  14. ^Mufti, pp. 147-148.
  15. ^Mufti, p. 153.
  16. ^abcdMufti, p. 157.
  17. ^abcdSeale, p. 83.
  18. ^Rabinovich, p. 70.
  19. ^Jassim Alwan Interview Part 2.Al Jazeera.
  20. ^Chronology of Arab Politics.1.Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut. 1963. p. 263 and p. 393.
  21. ^Chronology of Arab PoliticsArchived2023-04-02 at theWayback Machine.2.Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut. 1964. p. 377 and p. 412.
  22. ^Mideast Mirror.16.Arab News Agency. 1964. Page 78.
  23. ^Mideast Mirror.(1965). p. 22.
  24. ^"Chronology of Arab Politics".3(3–4). Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut. 1965: 228–229.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  25. ^Ismael, 1998, p. 197.
  26. ^abRabinovich, 1987, p. 648.
  27. ^Moubayed, Sami.Soft de-Baathification in SyriaArchived2009-07-27 at theWayback Machine.Al-Ahram Weekly.Al-Ahram Organisation. 2005-05-18.
  28. ^Syrian Revolution: Military operations stopped in Hama but the death machine is still onArchived2013-03-25 at theWayback Machine.Egyptian Chronicles.2011-08-10.

Bibliography

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