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The Arab Socialist Movement (Arabic: حركة الاشتراكيين العرب- Harakat al-Ishtirakiyīn al-'Arab) also known as Arab Socialist Party, was a political party in Syria that has split into several factions since the 1960s which continue to use the same name.
Arab Socialist Movement حركة الاشتراكيين العرب | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Omar Adnan al-Alawi (Damascus branch) |
| Founder | Akram al-Hawrani |
| Founded | 5 January 1950 |
| Headquarters | Damascus, Syria |
| Ideology | Arab socialism Arab nationalism Pan-Arabism Ba'athism (Damascus branch)[1] Anti-Islamism (Damascus branch)[1] |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National affiliation | National Progressive Front (Damascus branch) National Democratic Rally (Ayyash faction) National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change |
The Arab Socialist Movement traced its roots back to the "Youth Party", a 1930s radical anti-capitalist, pan-Arab group led by Othman al-Hawrani.[2][1] In its later form, it was formally established as "Arab Socialist Party" in the 1950s, and was led by Akram al-Hawrani from then on.[1] The party merged with the Ba'ath Party in 1953,[3] only to withdraw again in 1963.[4] It then split into several factions:
- One faction, known as Damascus branch[4] and headed by Abdul-Ghani Qannout, joined the Ba'ath Party-led National Progressive Front government in 1972[5][6] and has continued to support the al-Assad family's rule in Syria ever since.[4] It is active in Syria and Lebanon.[1] After Abdul-Ghani Qannout died in 2001, Ahmad al-Ahmad became the new secretary general; under him, the party continued its pro-government course, even during the Syrian Civil War.[4] Amid the conflict's civil uprising phase, the Arab Socialist Movement's Damascus branch organised pro-government rallies.[1] When the uprising escalated into a full insurgency, members of the party organised pro-government militias. Assistant secretary general Omar Adnan al-Alawi headed the National Defence Forces' Deir ez-Zor branch during part of the Siege of Deir ez-Zor (2014–17), and was wounded in combat.[1] Al-Alawi later aided[1] a member of the party's political office, Turki Albu Hamad, in founding the "Forces of the Fighters of the Tribes" militia.[4] Ahmad al-Ahmad died on 25 August 2016, leaving the office of secretary general vacant until the election of Omar al-Alawi as official party head on 24 May 2017.[1]
- Another splinter group was led by the former officer Abdul-Ghani Ayyash (died 2010), and joined the opposition in form of the National Democratic Rally.[2]
- One faction of Marxists, led by Akram al-Bunni, split off and formed the "National Council of Damascus Declaration for National Democratic Change", which was suppressed by the Assad government.[7]
- Another branch has also gained legal recognition and parliamentary representation in Syria, but under the name "National Covenant Party".[citation needed]
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