The first Arab putschists.. Hosni al-Zaim and the dark days of Syria

On March 30, 1949, a citizen was seen approaching a soldier who was standing near his tank at the entrance to the parliament building on Salhiya Street, and asking him: “Brother, what’s up? What happened?” The soldier replied curtly: A coup! The citizen asked in an innocent tone The same: a coup? What does a coup mean? This was the reality at the time, no one knew what a military coup was."

("Natheer Fanasa" in his book "The Days of Hosni Al-Zaeem")

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Arab countries were living in a state of upheaval and shock due to the wrong policies they were exposed to by the Ottomans during the period of the Union and Progress government at times, and by the Arabs themselves at other times, and some of them united with the British policy in the region that aimed to control Because of the change of the old world and its empires in the midst of World War I (1914-1918), and the rise of the English and French powers, the two dominant powers decided to divide the Arab countries according to the famous “Sykes-Picot” agreement in 1916.

When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in World War I (1914-1918) and its forces were forced to leave Syria in 1918, and the Arab forces of Sharif Hussein were allied with the English in the Arab region under the leadership of his sons Faisal and Abdullah, Faisal bin Al Hussein was declared the constitutional king of Syria in October / October 1918, but France and Britain quickly turned against this agreement, and implemented their famous “Sykes-Picot” agreement, and then Syria and Lebanon signed under the French mandate in July 1920, which lasted for 26 years during which Syria tasted the scourge of occupation and its malicious games] 1].

Syria from the presidency of Abed to Shukri al-Quwatli

Under the French occupation, the national movement was active under different leaders, and tried to establish the National Council “Parliament”, and sought in every possible way to end the French mandate in the country, among them was “Shukri Al-Quwatli”, whose lineage goes back to an ancient Arab family who came from the Arabian Peninsula and settled in Syria It has enjoyed a high economic and commercial position, until it became one of the largest families in Damascus.

In the period between 1908 and 1913, Al-Quwatli stayed in Istanbul, and studied political and administrative sciences from the Shahani Royal Ottoman Institute, and he returned to be influenced by the ideas of the Union and Progress Society that turned against Sultan Abdul Hamid, and for this reason he was a supporter of Arab independence from the Ottoman Empire, and he was close to the Sharif Hussein and his son, King Faisal.

Al-Quwatli (middle) became involved in the national movement against the French presence, and in 1932 founded the "National Bloc" to call for the independence of Syria.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, al-Quwatli became involved in the national movement against the French presence, and in 1932 he founded the "National Bloc" to call for the independence of Syria with a group of his comrades, including "Hashem al-Atassi", "Jamil Mardam Bey" and "Fakhri al-Baroudi".

The bloc participated in a "constituent assembly" approved by the Syrian people to communicate with the French mandate authority and formulate a constitution for the country, the most prominent of which were "the establishment of a representative government and a liberal constitution." With another agreement in 1936, similar to the Iraqi-British treaty[2].

According to the agreement that took place between France and the National Movement, "Muhammad Ali al-Abed" was elected the first president of the Syrian Republic (1932-1939), and he was from the Damascene aristocracy, as he stood on the sidelines between supporters of the French mandate and the national movement, and when the Second World War broke out in September / September 1939 France quickly fell under German occupation in 1940, and was divided between the two governments of "Vichy" loyal to the Germans, and the government of "Free France" led by General de Gaulle.

These events affected the situation of the French occupation in the Arab region, especially in Syria and Lebanon. With de Gaulle’s promise of the independence of Syria and Lebanon on the condition of cooperation with the government of Free France, Syria obtained its independence legally during World War II, and then de facto with the French withdrawal in 1946.

Secrets of the coup Hosni al-Zaim

Hosni Al-Zaim

In 1943, Shukri al-Quwatli, the candidate of the National Bloc, was elected president of Syria, succeeding Taj al-Din al-Hassani, who passed away during his presidency, and thus al-Quwatli became the first president of Syria after its independence.

Only three years after receiving the Syrian army units from the French authorities, this army fought - among the other Arab armies - the Palestine War in 1948, which led to the catastrophe of the Nakba.

The general feeling among the leadership of the Syrian army and its officers was that the political leadership was not at the level of the aspirations and hopes placed upon it, and that it was possible to produce better results if adequate preparation had been made by the ruling political institutions. This was the same feeling that afflicted the Egyptians at the time.

In turn, the political institutions took on the military leadership the results of the war and the less than expected performance it witnessed. Therefore, it worked to dismiss the army commander, "Abdullah Atfa", and the commander of the Syrian column in charge of the attack, Colonel "Abdul-Wahhab al-Hakim."

The crisis of mistrust and the exchange of accusations between the two parties in early 1949 exacerbated as a result of some parliamentarians and political leaders criticizing the army leadership under the parliament and on the pages of newspapers.

Hashem Othman wrote in his book “Modern History of Syria” that a careful examination of the incidents that motivated the coup reveals it clearly, because it would not have occurred without the misbehavior of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and the President of the Republic himself. Corrupt contracts, especially the issue of supplying “false ghee” to soldiers. At the time, President al-Quwatli inspected an army warehouse in March 1949, and found spoiled margarine supplied to the army. Therefore, the Army Chief of Staff accused “Hosni al-Zaim” of corruption, treason, and conspiracy with the King of Jordan Abdullah I [4].

As a result of this fierce parliamentary and press campaign against corruption in the army, senior officers under the leadership of Chief of Staff "Hosni al-Zaim" met and decided to send a protest note and a list of demands to the President of the Republic. On March 25, 1949, the leader submitted to Quwatli a written memorandum signed by about fifteen officers. Among its senior commanding officers, there are demands to reform the situation, most notably the prosecution of those responsible for the failure to prepare, prepare, arm and equip the army from 1945 until the Palestine war, and not to discuss in the future the affairs of the army in public sessions, to stop discussing military issues by civilians, and to appoint committees for them from Military personnel on active duty.

However, President al-Quwatli did not read the memorandum and did not consider the demands of the military leaders who presented it. Rather, he blamed Hosni al-Zaim for receiving it from them and presenting it in their name, saying that it is better to take care of training and organizing the army rather than submitting summons.

This memorandum, or rather the refusal to receive this memorandum and consider its content, was the direct reason that motivated Husni al-Zaim to gather the officers’ commanders in Quneitra and approach them in the matter of the coup [5].

But discussing the first Arab coup without regard to the global situation after World War II and the emergence of the American and Russian powers deprives us of an important angle. Turkey and Greece to the orbit of their influence, and therefore Washington contacted Shukri al-Quwatli, and its spies and analysts closely approached the internal situation in the country, and concluded that the internal situation “ranging from a bloody revolution armed by the Soviets, or a military coup by officers of sectarian and ethnic minorities in the Syrian army.” against al-Quwatli,” as described by historian Kamal Deeb [6].

Hosni Al-Zaeem.. the quick start and end

Radio Damascus interrupted its usual programs and broadcast military music. At seven in the morning, the military “March” announcer cut short and announced in a loud, trembling voice the following: “Communication number one, motivated by our national jealousy, and pained by the state of the country as a result of the slander and abuse of those who claim to be our loyal rulers. We resorted to being forced to take over the reins of government temporarily in the country... and we will do everything that is required of us towards our dear homeland, not aspiring to take over the rule, but rather the purpose of our work is to create a true democratic government, which replaces the current false one.”[7]

This was part of the statement number one in the history of military coups, not only in Syria, which witnessed twenty coups between 1949 and 1970, but in all countries of the Middle East in which military coups will follow and change the pattern and ideas of the ruling regimes to this day.

After the arrest of the President of the Republic and members of his government and then a decision to exile him, the revolutionary military leader "Hosni al-Zaim" became the elected president of the Republic. He is of Kurdish origins coming from the city of Aleppo, and the fifty-two-year-old at that time.

He worked on two parallel lines: the first was to send messages to the people via the radio, informing them of the reality of his movement, the reasons for his implementation and his desired reform program, in terms of reducing the number of parliamentarians, giving women the right to vote, purifying the government apparatus, combating high prices, limiting agricultural property, and eliminating unemployment. Then combating destructive sects, especially communism, and consolidating and strengthening the army [8].

As for the other line, it is the issuance of military orders and decrees that strengthened his position and confined power to his hand, as he became the military and civil ruler of all of Syria, and also restricted the right to issue decrees to the general command of the army, and thus became at the head of the legislative and executive authority until parliamentary life resumed [9].

The United States immediately supported and blessed Hosni al-Zaim’s coup, and the previous Syrian government had refused to sign the armistice agreement with Israel and was reluctant to sign the Tapline agreement in favor of the American-Saudi Aramco (at that time), so Husni al-Zaim came and signed the two agreements. The book of the American intelligence officer related to this movement of military coups in Syria and Egypt, "Miles Copeland", said: "The leader promised the Americans that he would make a positive move towards Israel if the coup succeeded"[10].

Hosni al-Zaim's steps and rapprochement with the United States until then had been secret;

That is why he was supported by many people and nationalist and patriotic parties, led by the nationalist politician Akram al-Hourani, Adib al-Shishakli, Adnan al-Maliki and other officers who supported the nationalist and leftist movement, but the honeymoon that accompanied the coup was about to end quickly because of the appearance of the face The true leader of Hosni al-Zaim and his closeness to America, France, and even Israel, as the leader announced his support for an American military project that includes a number of Middle Eastern countries to stand against communism, so he took the initiative to dissolve the Syrian “Communist Party” and then other parties, and placed restrictions on opposition political activity and the suppression of newspapers, and in June In June 1949, he was appointed President of Syria through a mock referendum, which caused a rupture between him and the forces supporting him and calling for real reform [11].

Akram Al-Hourani

Al-Hourani laid his hand on the real reasons that led to the alienation of the popular and military classes and their rapid distancing from Hosni Al-Zaim after his true face and affiliation with the United States and France were revealed in his memoirs, in which he said: “The new government administration took over many retirees from the Ottoman and French eras, and some young technicians who graduated from French and American universities… The people in Syria were very sensitive to the return of French influence and the men of the mandate, and if the return of French influence did not find resentment among the senior army officers, it created resentment among the junior officers until rumors leaked about Hosni Al-Zaim’s intention to form a foreign division in order to consolidate his authority and return to influence France” [12].

Colonel Adeeb Al-Shishakli

Faced with these facts, the national branch within the Syrian army, with the support of Colonel "Adeeb al-Shishakli" and led by Colonel "Sami al-Hanawi", decided to orchestrate a military coup in August 1949 against Hosni al-Zaim;

As Sidon fell easy in front of them without much resistance, but his guards colluded to deliver him to his enemies.

On the morning of August 14, they decided to execute Hosni al-Zaim and his prime minister, “Mohsen al-Barazi.” Colonel al-Shishakli sent the Americans telling them: “We are offering you a service by treating Hosni al-Zaim as a French agent, not an American agent.”

Because Hosni al-Zaim was buried in the French cemetery, then the Syrian parliament elected "Hashem al-Atassi" as the nominal president of the country and the military took power.

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