Adonis Diaries

“The New Syria”, Syria National Social Party (SNSP): Who is Antun Saadeh?

I am reading the Lebanese/Arabic book “Committment in both dailies “Renaissance” (Al Nahda) and “The New Syria” (Surya al Jadidat) by Jihad Nasri Akl.  The two dailies were the media of the doctrines and opinions of the Syria National Social Party (SNSP) during the French mandate over Syria and Lebanon and after the independence of Syria and Lebanon.

After the recognition of Lebanon as a State by the UN in 1946, the party had hard time convincing the Lebanese that the party can be totally relied upon to defending and protecting the independence of Lebanon…Syria Nation is a social and cultural reality that should not be confounded with current political antagonism among States…

The founder of the party, Antun Saadeh, wrote: “What separate and distanced this party from the other ones in Syria and the Arab World is that we have defined and clarified the political and social terms for our cause and our problems. The party delivered the nation from the chaos of understanding to the realm of clarity of our current issues, from confusion to focused comprehension of what is our nation, our society, our identity, our culture, our civilization, and our purposes…”

What are the doctrines of Syria National Social Party (SNSP)?

1. Syria is a complete nation, and the Syrian people are a united society, born from a long history of coexistence, interaction and communication in trade and joint living…

2. Syria existence is a national cause, a one society independent and self-autonomous, and concerns solely the Syrian people…

3. The renaissance of Syria Nation is generated from the spirit, talent, civilization, and culture of its people…

4. Syria nation is geographically delimited by natural borders. North by the Torus Mountain Chains (current south Turkey), north-east by the Bakhtiari Mountain Chains (current West Iran), south by the Sinai peninsula to the Suez Canal, east by the Arabic peninsula, west by the Mediterranean Sea, and including the island of Cyprus.  (Consequently, Syria Nation and historical Syria includes the current  States of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan…)

5. Religion is separate from State politics and religious clerics are prohibited from meddling in the political policies, judicial and legal affairs…

6. Removing all barriers among the various religious affiliations and sects

7. Breaking down the feudal privileges and vast land owners and erecting the economy on the basis of production, fair work, and the sustaining national self-sufficiency and interests…

8. Instituting a strong army to protect and safeguard Syria borders and international interests…

Who is the founder Antun Saadeh?

Born in the town of Chuweir (Mount Lebanon), Antun studied in Bremana school (Lebanon) and in Egypt.  He immigrated to the US at the age of 15, and stayed two years. Antun moved to Brazil and contributed in his father’s daily “The Daily”.

In 1924, Antun created a secret association and learned the languages German and Russian. He returned to Lebanon in 1930 and published two novels “Love Tragedi” and “Holiday o Saidnaya Madonna”. He was against the mandated power of France over Syria and Lebanon, and the mandated power of England over Palestine and Iraq, and warned about the long-term purposes of the Zionist organization to establishing a Jewish State in part of Palestine

Antun moved to Damascus in 1931 and contributed to the daily “The Days”.  He returned to Lebanon in 1932 and taught German at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and published “The Magazine”.

In 1932, Antun founded the secret political party Syria National Social Party (SNSP) which was uncovered by the French mandated power in 1935.  Saadeh was jailed 6 months and he wrote “The Origin of Nations”.

Saadeh lambasted the deal between France and the Syrian National Block that was totally biased to France interests.  He dispatched a letter to the League of Nations claiming that France has no right of disposing of any parcel of land of Syria in favor of Turkey Attatuk (France had ceased the Adana region and the port of Alexandretta to Turkey in 1936).

Antun was again jailed for 3 months in 1936 and the French mandate confiscated his draft book “The origin of the Syria Nation”, never to be released. Antun completely supported the first Palestinian civil disobediance that lasted 3 years. England had to send 100,000 soldiers to tame the revolt in Palestine.

Saadeh is out of prison in 1937 and founded the daily “Renaissance”, the mouthpiece of the party. The mandated power pressured Saadeh to exile and he immigrated to Brazil in 1938.  He was jailed 2 months in Brazil and Antun published the daily “New Syria”.

By 1939, Saadeh moved to Argentina and remained there for the duration of WWII. He founded the daily “Tornado” (Al Zawba3a) and published the book “Struggle of ideas in Syria literature”. From exile, Saadeh discouraged the members to side with any forces in the WWII, on the ground that both alliances are intent on dividing Syria…

Antun returned to Lebanon in March 1947 after heavy political negotiations with Lebanon government.  Saadeh delivered a firy speech at the airport, which gathered the most crowded numbers of followers ever witnessed in the region to welcome a leader (about 150,000 people). The government had to issue an arrest warrant against Antun.  The warrant was dropped 7 months later because the Lebanese government was unable to execute the arrest.

In 1947, Antun founded the daily “New Generation”.  The Lebanese government, backed by France and England, consistently harassed Saadeh and his party and tampered with the election process and votes.  Saadeh resisted the construction of the oil pipeline linking Iraq to Tripoli (Lebanon) because it was not in the current interest of Syria since England and France voted for the creation of the State of Israel. Antun demanded from the Lebanese government arms and ammunition so that the party could contribute to armed struggle against the State of Israel, but was denied any support. Saadeh waged media attack on the Syrian and Lebanese Communist parties for siding with Stalin’s support for the partition of Palestine and the creation of the State of Israel.

Antun fled to Syria and declared the first armed revolution in July 1949.  The Syrian President Hosni Zaim, who grabbed power after a military coup, handed Saadeh to the Lebanese security forces.

On July 8, 1949, Saadeh was executed by a firing squad after being convicted by a mock tribunal within 24 hours of arrest.  The members of the Syria National Social Party (SNSP) celebrate every year July 8 and the founding date of the party.

Antun Saadeh had three girls.  His wife Julia Mir and the daughters suffered greatly from frequent persecutions by the Lebanese and Syrian governments.

What is this weekly “The New Syria”?

The term New Syria was pretty common in the beginning of the 20th century as the Syrian people were trying emancipation from the Ottoman Empire.  In New York, a political party was named The New Syria and managed to open 50 offices throughout the USA. A daily by the same name was established in Brazil in 1918.

This Arabic weekly paper was published in Brazil on March 1939 and was supposedly the mouthpiece of the SNSP overseas.  It had to close down on August 1941 as the Brazilian government prohibited the publication of dailies not written in Portuguese.  The weekly was of 8 pages and the two Bunduki brothers owned 40% and were the effective managing directors for the first 100 issues out of a total of 125.

The weekly received news from the Associated Press, United Press, Transawosian (Germany), Havas (France), and Reuters (England).  In that period, Germany was on the offensive and mastered superior propaganda media.  The Arab Centre in Berlin sent quality images of Germany offensive wars and dispatched up-to-date news to dailies.  Consequently, the weekly projected a bias to the Axes, against the guideline of the founder Antun Saadeh, who was blocked in Argentina and could not control the weekly efficiently.

This apparent bias hurt the members of the party in Lebanon, under French mandated power, and they were harassed by the government and put in prison for longer terms than normal.  There was a natural animosity against the two mandated powers of France and England that demonstrated in actions and policies not to work for the interest of the Syrian people: Supporting Zionism, ceding part of Syria to Turkey…