Khalid Bakdash - The Arab World's First Communist Deputy

The Arab World's First Communist Deputy

Bakdash won a seat in Parliament in 1954, and during Syria's turbulent democratic period from 1954 to 1958 steered a cautious course. The main difficulty confronting him in this period was the question of Arab unity and in particular of unification with Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt. Bakdash was extremely critical of Nasser, especially after the latter started a campaign of repression against his political opponents, notably the Communists and Muslim Brothers. Nasser did not approve of political pluralism and parties were banned under his rule.

However, popular support for unity with Egypt forced Bakdash to accommodate to circumstances. Hanna Batatu, a notable historian of modern Arab politics, speculates that he must have been aware, and perhaps approved of, the participation of a Communist general in the Syrian delegation which persuaded Gamal Abdel Nasser to proceed to the creation of the United Arab Republic which combined Syria and Egypt in 1958. However, Bakdash himself provoked a harsh reaction from the Egyptian leader with his attack on the latter's policies published in December 1958, in which he called for legalization of political parties and transformation of the UAR into a loose federation. This resulted in a fierce campaign of repression against the party. Bakdash himself left Syria for Moscow, where he would stay until 1966.

Syria seceded from the UAR in 1961, a decision supported by important elements in the army and the bourgeoisie as well as by the Communists, but the separation was intensely controversial and the parties that had supported it found their popular backing greatly reduced: the Syrian party was reduced to some hundreds of members.