Jassem Alwan

Jassem Alwan
جاسم علوان
Alwan during his military trial, 1963
Personal details
Born 1928 (age 86–87)
Deir al-Zor, Syria
Nationality Syrian
Occupation Commander of Qatana Military Base (1958-1961)
Religion Islam
Military service
Rank Lieutenant Colonel

Jassem Alwan (Arabic: جاسم علوان‎ given name also spelled Jasim) (born 1928) was a prominent colonel in the Syrian Army, particularly during the period of the United Arab Republic (UAR) (1958–1961) when he served as the Commander of the Qatana Base near Damascus. Alwan, a staunch supporter of late UAR President Gamal 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 the Baathist-led 8 March coup that removed government in 1963, but after a Ba'athist attempts to purge Nasserist forces in the military, Alwan led an insurrection against the new government. It failed, 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 break between the governments of Egypt and Syria. From then on he lived in Egypt where he remained an activist against the Ba'athist government until returning to Syria in 2005.

Early life and career

Alwan was born to a Sunni Muslim family of Bedouin origins in 1928 in the city of Deir al-Zor, located along the Euphrates River in eastern Syria.[1][2] After studying for a period at the Homs Military Academy, Alwan joined the Syrian Army in 1946. During the presidency of Adib al-Shishakli, Alwan had been teaching at the academy.[3] 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 of ethnoreligious minorities in the graduating class to an "absolute minimum", a request Alwan rejected.[2] Student officers who attended his class included prominent future figures, such as president Hafez al-Assad, and generals Ali Aslan and Muhammad Nabhan, all of whom were Alawites.[2] Throughout the 1950s, Alwan had been involved in the Arab nationalist movement associated with Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.[3]

Military career

Commander of Qatana Base

When Syria and Egypt merged to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958, Alwan became an important officer in the army, serving the position of Commander of Qatana Base, located outside Damascus.[3] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1961.[4] 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.[3] Tanks 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 the Dumayr base before taking the capital. However, the Qatana units acted without Alwan's knowledge,[5] 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.[3]

Opposition to secession

Alwan opposed the secessionist government of Nazim 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.[6] Soon after the secession, a loose coalition of Nasserist officers led by Alwan and the Arab Nationalist Movement, Ba'athist officers led by the Military Committee and politically independent unionist officers led by Ziad al-Hariri was 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 in Homs. However, no other army units joined 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 between the military factions was devised in Homs whereby Abd al-Karim al-Nahlawi (the officer who staged the secessionist coup, but soon after joined the pro-unionist officers), Alwan and a small number officers loyal to them would be exiled.[7]

The 1 April proposal was rejected outright by Alwan who proceeded to encourage his independent and Ba'athist allies in the officer corps to move ahead with the original coup plan.[8] Thus, on 2 April officers Alwan, Muhammad Umran and Hamad Ubayd led the insurrection in Homs and Aleppo, while Lu'ay al-Atassi led the revolt in Deir al-Zor.[9] The flag of the UAR was raised over the Citadel of Aleppo and the unionist officers broadcast a request for Egyptian military intervention to aid their uprising.[10][11] Most of the B'aathist officers,[10][9] particularly those stationed in al-Suwayda (led by Salah Jadid) and the Israeli front,[9] refrained from backing the coup at the last minute, fearing 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, Ba'athist officers openly supported reunification efforts. However, their withdrawal from the planned coup revealed the conflicting feelings among the Ba'athists towards the reestablishment of the UAR, with many still opposed to an unconditional union with Nasser. As a consequence of the Ba'athist pull-out, Alwan's uprising failed once more and he was subsequently exiled to Lebanon.[10]

Coup d'etat of 1963 and counter coup

A pan-Arabist coalition of officers led by the Ba'athists and joined by the Nasserists, including Alwan,[12] managed to successfully overthrow the government in Damascus on 8 March 1963, establishing the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC)—a body dominated by Ba'athists, but also including several Nasserists—to temporarily govern the country.[13] 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 Ba'ath, and the Nasserist members of the government consequently resigned.[14] At this time, Alwan, disappointed that the Military Committee was not interested in a genuine power-sharing agreement nor having Nasser preside over Syria, initiated plans with the ANM and Egyptian intelligence to remove the Ba'athist government.[12]

Despite the purges and resignations, Nasserist officers in the military still maintained a relatively strong position and on 18 July, Alwan, who had since returned from exile, led his third coup attempt.[15] His forces launched daytime assaults on the Army General Headquarters and the broadcast station in Damascus.[16][15] The Ba'athist Interior Minister Amin al-Hafiz personally defended the army headquarters and the ensuing battle resulted in hundreds of casualties, including several civilian bystanders.[16][12] Eventually pro-Ba'athist units and the party's National Guard quelled the rebellion.[16]

Alwan's operation ended in major bloodshed and at least 27 participating officers were arrested and executed.[15][16][17] Alwan and his deputy, Colonel Raef al-Maarri, evaded the authorities and went into hiding in the Ghouta countryside of Damascus. Their safe house was eventually discovered and besieged by security forces and both men were arrested and taken to Mezzeh Prison. Alwan refused to testify during the military trial, and the court found him guilty of treason and sentenced him to death, along with 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.[18][19] He was imprisoned for about one year, before intervention on his behalf by Nasser, President Abd al-Salam Arif of Iraq, President Houari Boumediene of Algeria and President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia resulted in his release on 5 December.[12][20] Alwan, Maarri, Nabhan and the co-accused Palestinian participants were exiled and three days later were escorted to border with Lebanon, from which they headed to Egypt's embassy in Beirut.[21]

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 the Ba'ath Party became the sole power center of the country.[15]

Exile in Egypt and return to Syria

Alwan was given asylum in Egypt by Nasser where he continued his activities against the Ba'athist government in Syria.[12] He became Secretary-General of the Arab Socialist Union's Syrian branch (ASU).[22][23] Later, after Amin al-Hafiz, who had succeeded Lu'ay al-Atassi as president, was overthrown by a regionalist faction of the Ba'ath Party (versus the pan-Arabist faction to which Hafiz belonged) led by Salah Jadid and Hafez al-Assad in February 1966, Alwan eventually joined with Hafiz, his former enemy, to establish a diverse coalition of dissidents opposed to the ruling Ba'athists of Syria.[12]

In 1982 Syrian dissidents formed an opposition coalition in Paris, France called the National Alliance for the Liberation of Syria. The coalition included independents, Arab nationalist groups, such as Alwan's ASU and Hafiz's Iraq-based Syrian Ba'ath Party as well as the Muslim Brotherhood's Syrian faction and the Islamic Front led Sheikh Abdul Fatah Abu Ghuda.[24][25] They were financially supported by Saddam Hussein.[12] In November 1984 Alwan attended a conference of the Palestinian National Council leading a delegation of 13 coalition members. Most of the group's activities centered on attempts to delegitimize the government of Hafez al-Assad,[25] who had gained the presidency in 1970.

Iraqi funding for the dissident coalition's members in Egypt, like Alwan, ended as a result of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's participation in the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991. The status of honor and the diplomatic passport Alwan held in Egypt were subsequently cancelled, but he continued to live in Cairo. Alwan eventually returned to Syria, now presided over by Bashar al-Assad, in April 2005 after personal intervention by former Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass.[12] Tlass had written in his memoirs that he disagreed with the revocation of Alwan's civil rights, as well as the rights of other exiled dissidents. Alwan was greeted ceremoniously at the Damascus International Airport and was then escorted to the Cham Hotel in the city.[26]

According to anti-government activists, Syrian security forces raided Alwan's home in Deir al-Zor on 9 August 2011, during the ongoing Syrian civil war.[27]

References

  1. ↑ Petran, 1972, p. 157.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Van Dam, 1996, p. 29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Moubayed, p. 37.
  4. ↑ Simon, Mattar, Bulliet, 1996, p. 132.
  5. ↑ Oron, 1961, p. 607.
  6. ↑ Seale, 2004, p. 69.
  7. ↑ Mufti, p. 137.
  8. ↑ Mufti, pp. 137-138.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Rabinovich, p. 34.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Mufti, p. 138.
  11. ↑ "Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies" 7–8. Pakistan American Foundation. 1985. p. 314.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Moubayed, p. 38.
  13. ↑ Mufti, pp. 147-148.
  14. ↑ Mufti, p. 153.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Mufti, p. 157.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Seale, p. 83.
  17. ↑ Rabinovich, p. 70.
  18. ↑ Jassim Alwan Interview Part 2. Al Jazeera.
  19. ↑ Chronology of Arab Politics. 1. Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut. 1963. Page 263. Page. 393.
  20. ↑ Chronology of Arab Politics. 2. Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut. 1964. Page 377. Page 412.
  21. ↑ Mideast Mirror. 16. Arab News Agency. 1964. Page 78.
  22. ↑ Mideast Mirror. (1965). Page 22.
  23. ↑ "Chronology of Arab Politics" 3 (3-4). Political Studies and Public Administration Department of the American University of Beirut. 1965. pp. 228–229.
  24. ↑ Ismael, 1998, p. 197.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Rabinovich, 1987, p. 648.
  26. ↑ Moubayed, Sami. Soft de-Baathification in Syria. Al-Ahram Weekly. Al-Ahram Organisation. 2005-05-18.
  27. ↑ Syrian Revolution : Military operations stopped in Hama but the death machine is still on. Egyptian Chronicles. 2011-08-10.

Bibliography

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