The Unified Egyptian Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي المصري الموحد) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
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 ...
. The party was founded in February 1955 through the merger of the
Democratic Movement for National Liberation (HADITU) and six splinter organizations (including HADITU-Revolutionary Tendency, ''an-Najm al-Ahmar'', ''an-Nuah'' and Communist Vanguard).
The talks regarding the merger were held without the HADITU leader
Henri Curiel (in exile in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
) being aware of them. Once the merger was finalized Curiel and HADITU leader Kamal Abd al-Halim (a close associate of Curiel) were excluded from membership in the new party. Curiel and Abd al-Halim were allowed to enter the party in 1956, and after the 1956 war Curiel was included in its
Central Committee
Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
.
[ Beinin, Joel. ]
Was the Red Flag Flying There?: Marxist Politics and the Arab-Israeli Conflict in Egypt and Israel, 1948-1965
'. Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
* George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer ...
: University of California Press, 1990. p. 114
The Unified Egyptian Communist Party was largely supportive of the government of
Gamal Abdul 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 ...
. One of its main competitors in the Egyptian communist movement, the
''ar-Raya'' faction, repeatedly criticized this stand. Furthermore, ''ar-Raya'' criticized Curiel's role in the Unified Egyptian Communist Party, branding it a direct continuation of the old HADITU.
The party favoured a peaceful settlement of the conflict with
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, but were largely supportive of the anti-imperialist positions of Nasser. The party identified
American imperialism as the driving force behind the conflict, and Israel as the key imperialist force in the region. Notably, Curiel differed with the party regarding the analysis of the regional conflict. He had retained the old HADITU view, blaming Arab reactionaries for the 1948 war. The party sought to open relations with the
Israeli Communist Party
The Israeli Communist Party, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Maki (), is a communist political party in Israel and forms part of the political alliance known as Hadash. It was originally known as Rakah, an acronym for ''Reshima Komunistit H ...
in 1956, but the Israeli party never replied to the request (considering the Unified Egyptian Communist Party outside the limits of communist political orthodoxy). During the
1956 Suez War
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
, the party mobilized popular resistance activities in
Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
.
The Unified Egyptian Communist Party opened a publishing house, ''Dar al-fikr'', in early 1956. In April 1956 the party issued a report, labelled "Imperialism is the principal enemy". The report called for the support to Nasser's government, and to defend it against imperialist intrigues. Whilst expressing criticisms regarding limitations on democratic freedoms in Egypt, the party subordinated these demands for the sake of constructing anti-imperialist unity.
Towards the end of 1956, the three main communist factions in Egypt (the Unified Egyptian Communist Party, ''ar-Raya'' and the
Workers and Peasants Communist Party) began talks regarding unification of the Egyptian communists. The talks were assisted by a representative of the
Italian Communist Party (Velio Spagno) and a representative of the
Iraqi Communist Party
The Iraqi Communist Party ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي العراقي '; ku, Partiya Komunista Iraqê حزبی شیوعی عێراق) is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the ...
(Amr Abdullah). During the talks, the ''ar-Raya'' group demanded that Jews be excluded from the leadership of the unified party. The Workers and Peasants Communist Party and the followers of Curiel opposed this demand. The majority of the Unified Egyptian Communist Party did however cede to the demand, and in June 1957 the party and the ''ar-Raya'' group merged to form the
United Egyptian Communist Party. Curiel's exile 'Rome Group' was disbanded in October 1957 by the new party.
Organs
The party issued an underground newspaper, ''Kifah ash-sha'ab'' ('People's Struggle'). Furthermore, the exile Rome Group of Curiel published a French translation of ''Kifah ash-sha'ab'', as well as an Arabic monthly bulletin (''Kifah ash-shu'b ash-sharq al-awsat'') and a French bulletin (''Nouvelles d'Egypte'').
[ Beinin, Joel. ]
The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry: Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora
'. Cairo .a. American Univ. in Cairo Press, 2005. p. 155
References
{{Historical parties in Egypt
1955 establishments in Egypt
Defunct communist parties in Egypt
Political parties established in 1955
1957 disestablishments in Egypt
Political parties disestablished in 1957