Afif al-Bizri ( ar, عفيف البزري) (1914 – 28 January 1994) was a
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
n career military officer who served as the chief of staff of the
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
between 1957–1959. He was known for his
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
sympathies, and for spearheading the
union movement
The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right political party founded in the United Kingdom by Oswald Mosley. Before the Second World War, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the British Empire, but the Uni ...
between Syria and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in 1958.
Career
After graduating from the Military Academy of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
, in 1935, Afif al-Bizri pursued advanced military training in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. His time there is credited with exposure to
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, where he met several French communists. He never officially joined the
Syrian Communist Party, but was said to hold "radical
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
views".
In 1941, he left to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and joined
Rashid Ali al-Gaylani
Rashid Ali al-Gaylaniin Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyid Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyid Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany (" Sayyad" serves to address higher standing ...
's
revolt against the British. He returned to Syria after Gaylani's revolt was suppressed by the British. He served in the French-created "Troupe Speciale," but deserted his post to join the Syrian rebels in 1945,
which led to his arrest and deportation to Lebanon by the French authorities.
After Syria's independence in 1946, Bizri resumed his military career as an instructor of topography at the
Homs Military Academy
Homs Military Academy is a military educational and training institution located in Homs, Syria.
Homs Military Academy was founded in 1933 by France during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon.
During the period of French administration the Ac ...
. He fought as a volunteer in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, and was appointed by then-Chief of Staff of the Syrian Army,
Husni al-Zaim, to the delegation that negotiated the
Syrian-Israeli armistice agreement of 1949.
Pan-Arabism by Gamal Abdal Nasser
![Nasser with Syrian Delegation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Nasser_with_Syrian_Delegation.jpg)
Starting in the mid-1950s, Bizri was advocating a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
ideology in the army. After
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ian president
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
allied himself with the Soviet Union, Bizri joined his
Arab nationalism movement, and was later appointed by President
Shukri al-Quwatli
Shukri al-Quwatli ( ar, شكري القوّتلي, Shukrī al-Quwwatlī; 6 May 189130 June 1967) was the first president of post-independence Syria. He began his career as a dissident working towards the independence and unity of the Ottoman E ...
, as chief of staff of the Syrian Army, as an appeasement to Nasser. His term was characterized with the spread of
Pan-Arabism in the Syrian Army ranks. Many of the officers who were promoted under him were loyal to Nasser. He also clashed with anti-Nasser politicians including Minister of Defense
Khalid al-Azm
Khalid al-Azm ( ar, خالد العظم, Khālid al-Aẓim; 11 June 1903 – 18 November 1965) was a Syrian national leader and five-time interim Prime Minister, as well as Acting President from 4 April to 16 September 1941. He was a member of o ...
and Prime Minister
Sabri al-Assali
Sabri al-Asali ( ar, صبري العسلي; 1903 – 13 April 1976) was a Syrian politician and a three-time prime minister of Syria. He also served as vice-president of the United Arab Republic in 1958.
Early life
Al-Asali was born into a wea ...
, whom was forced to follow a pro-Nasser policy under threat of arrest.
In 1957, he led a military tribunal into what came to be known as the "Iraqi Conspiracy." The tribunal accused many anti-Nasser politicians with receiving illicit funds from anti-Nasser Arab governments including Iraq,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, as well as plotting the assassination of Nasserist and Socialist leaders including
Abdel Hamid al-Sarraj
Abdel Hamid Sarraj ( ar, عبد الحميد السراج, September 1925 – 23September 2013) was a Syrian Army officer and politician. When the union between Egypt and Syria was declared, Sarraj, a staunch Arab nationalist and supporter ...
,
Akram al-Hawrani,
Khalid Bakdash
Khalid Bakdash (occasionally spelled Khalid Bagdash or Khaled Bekdache, ar, خالد بكداش) (1912 – July 15, 1995) was a Syrian politician who lead the Syrian Communist Party (SCP) from 1936 until his death in 1995. In 1954, Bakdash became ...
, and Afif al-Bizri.
The tribunal handed down death sentences to twelve politicians including members of the parliament,
Adnan al-Atassi and
Mikhail Ilyan.
The sentences were commuted after the intervention of Arab governments,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, and President Quwatly.
Bizri led the officer delegation that pleaded with Nasser for a full union between Syria and Egypt in 1958. He personally participated in the talks that eventually led to the establishment of the
United Arab Republic
The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...
on February 1, 1958. However, Bizri fell out with Nasser soon after the union because Nasser appointed his friend Egyptian General
Abdel Hakim Amer
Mohamed Abdel Hakim Amer ( arz, محمد عبد الحكيم عامر, ; 11 December 1919 – 13 September 1967) was an Egyptian military officer and politician. Amer served in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and played a leading role in the m ...
as governor of Syria. Nasser distrusted Bizri's communist leanings, and eventually dismissed him from office in June 1959, and outlawed the communist party soon after.
Bizri supported the 1961 coup that brought down the UAR. He returned to Syria from his exile, but was refused a post in the army due to his history.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bizri, Afif al-
1914 births
1994 deaths
Chiefs of Staff of the Syrian Army
Nasserists
People from Sidon
Syrian Arab nationalists
Syrian communists