Ливан Коммунистік Партиясының Тарихы

Political party in Lebanon

The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP; الحزب الشيوعي اللبناني, transliterated: ) is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1943 as a division of the Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party into the Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party; but the division was only implemented in 1964.

The Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party was a communist party operating in Syria and Lebanon, founded in 1924 by the Lebanese Egyptian Fu'ad al Shamali, the Lebanese Yusuf Yazbek and the Armenian Artin Madoyan. It was the second communist party to be formed in the Levant, after the Communist Party of Palestine. In Lebanon, the party initially used the name Lebanese People's Party, in an attempt to evade the ban on "Bolshevik" activities. The party was declared illegal by the Mandatory authority at first, but the ban was relaxed under the French Front Populaire government, and again in 1941. The party took a new option of collaboration with the nationalist movement and playing down its socialist themes in 1936, in accordance with the 7th World Congress of the Comintern in 1935. The joint Syrian Lebanese party was divided into the Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party, but the decision, taken at the end of 1943, was only implemented in 1964. In between, common central committee and political bureau were maintained. The party was active against the government during the 1958 uprising. In 1965, the LCP decided to end its isolation and became a member of the Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces, which later evolved into the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) under Druze leftist leader Kamal Jumblatt. In the mid 1960s, the U. S. State Department estimated the party membership to be approximately 3,000. The 1970s witnessed something of a resurgence of the LCP. In 1970, Kamal Jumblatt, as Minister of the Interior, legalized the party. This allowed many LCP leaders, including Secretary General Nicolas Shawi, to run for election in 1972. Although they polled several thousand votes, none of them succeeded in gaining a seat.

During the early 1970s, the LCP established a well trained militia, the Popular Guard, of some 5,000 armed men which participated actively in the fighting at the start of the Lebanese Civil War. The LCP was a member of the predominantly Leftist and Muslim Lebanese National Movement which was allied with the PLO, even though its leaders and a significant part of its members were Christian (particularly Greek Orthodox and Armenian). In 1975, the party had around 40,000 members (excluding supporters). Their confessional identity was roughly divided into: 50% Shia Muslims, 30% Christians and the remaining 20% Sunnis and Druze. Throughout the 1980s, the LCP generally declined in influence. In 1983, the Tripoli based Sunni Islamic movement, Islamic Unification Movement (Tawhid), reportedly executed fifty Communists. In 1987, together with the Druze Progressive Socialist Party, the LCP fought a week long battle against the Shi'a militants of the Amal in West Beirut, a conflict that was stopped by Syrian troops. Also in 1987, the LCP held its Fifth Party Congress and was about to oust George Hawi, its Greek Orthodox leader, in favor of Karim Mroue, a Shi'a, as secretary general. However, Hawi remained in his post. Hawi, who had been a rising opponent of the party's complete dependence on the Soviet Union, was reportedly unpopular for his idealism and unwillingness to compromise his ideology. Khaled Hadadi was elected in the 9th Congress in December 2003 as the head of the party. Saadallah Mazraani, who was vice general secretary under Dahrouj, remained in the same position under Hadadi. On 21 June 2005, George Hawi, a former secretary general of the LCP, was killed by the explosion of a car in Beirut. Hawi, a critic of Syria, Allies of Hawi accused pro Syrian forces in the Lebanese security apparatus for the assassination. Émile Lahoud, then president of Lebanon, and the Syrian government denied this allegation. The assassination occurred two days after Lebanon's 2005 elections. and less than one month after Samir Kassir, a left wing Lebanese journalist and political figure, was assassinated in another car blast.

The party participated in the 2005 parliamentary elections in several regions but did not win any seats. Former general secretary Farouq Dahrouj obtained 10,688 votes in the Bekaa third district. but failed to win any seats. In a formal statement, the LCP commented that "the 2009 elections widened the gap already existing because of the sectarian system,"

House of RepresentativesElection year# ofoverall votes% ofoverall vote# ofoverall seats won+/–Leader20188,604 (#24)0.47 Hanna Gharib202219,316 (#24)1.07%

The Lebanese Communist Party is one of the few Lebanese parties that have affiliations throughout different sects and regions. It is present in most Lebanese districts, but its strength is greatest in South Lebanon. This structure gives the party a national presence, but at the same time weakens its representation in the local and central governmental bodies including municipalities and parliament. The party, as other traditional communist parties, operates through several popular organizations to recruit and spread its political message. These organizations include the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth (youth organization), the Committee of Woman's Rights (Women's organization), the Popular Aid (Health organization) and the General Union of Workers and Employees in Lebanon (labor union). The smallest organizational structure is a branch, usually found in a town or village. Several branches belong to a Regional Committee (usually made up of 5 10 branches), then every few regional committees belong to a Governorate (Mohafaza). The party has now an estimated membership of around 5000 members.