The Dispute between Chamoun [Shamūn] and Jumblat [Junblāṭ]

74/13

The dispute between Chamoun and Jumblatt

The dispute between Chamoun and Jumblatt has escalated and each is playing his cards openly against the other, and surrounding himself with the other's enemies.

Jumblatt started contacting Beirut's Islamic youth centres and agreed with the al-Najjadah to meet with a large group of Muslim youths, at their headquarters located at the Nuweiry Station in Basta, on Friday, 17 April 1953. Jumblatt intends · passionate speech there and develop a plan to foment a mass movement against Camille Chamoun. If the intermediaries fail to reconcile the two men, troubles are expected to start soon. However, reconciliation is hard, if not impossible, to achieve because the leaders of the Progressive Socialist Party are attacking Chamoun all over the place and Jumblatt is accusing him of working to bring foreign domination back and implement the colonialists' plans. His intention is to affect a rapprochement with leftist and communist parties in the country, and bolster his side against Chamoun.

Jumblatt's main aim is to remove Chamoun from the presidency and appoint himself dictator over the country; he is counting first and foremost on the Muslim masses in Beirut, on leftist elements, and on the hundreds of employees who were dismissed from their jobs. A group of Beirut employees and their supporters, who were expelled from their posts by Chamoun, will attend the meeting to be held at al-Najjadah's headquarters. The objective behind contacting al-Najjadah is Jamil al-Makkaoui's desire to win a parliamentary seat and become prime minister with Jumblatt's support; he also does not trust Chamoun's promises and prefers to deal with Jumblatt.

Onset of the serious rift between Jumblatt and Chamoun

The rift between Jumblatt and Chamoun is becoming more obvious and intense and each blames the other for causing it.

Jumblatt, the leaders of his party, and members of the Socialist Front now openly say that the coup in Lebanon was contingent upon a number of conditions, and that the socialists' support for Chamoun's presidency was based on a pact between the two. This pact comprises many elements such as the right of assembly, right to engage in economic political activities, and that these conditions are fulfilled by a socialist government or one comprising a socialist majority.

The socialists are refraining from attacking the government because of the President's promise to them that during the transitional period most of the agreed-upon reforms will be implemented. These include putting the previous president and his aides on trial, soon after which power would be handed over to the socialist.

Jumblatt, however, sees that the Government is working contrary to what was agreed upon in the pact, formulated before the coup, and that the President is trying to do away with the promise he gave them regarding the current cabinet and the handing over of power to the socialists. The latter organised a large campaign against Chamoun, but before launching it they warned him about the need to dismiss the cabinet and form a new one from among their and their supporters’ ranks. But when they felt a certain hesitation on the part of the President in this regard, the campaign starred appearing in the newspapers and very soon, the battle is expected to become more vicious.

President Chamoun's official excuse for not fulfilling Jumblatt and his colleagues' demands is the need to maintain security; the real reason, however, is his fear for his person position rather than the cabinet's. Chamoun believes that Jumblatt plans to attract to his party, without any condition whatsoever, the largest possible number of Lebanese citizens from various parts and different sects of the country, in order to form a mass movement that would help him mount a coup and establish a dictatorship in Lebanon similar to the ones in Syria and Egypt. Chamoun also believes that foreign powers are helping Jumblatt fulfil this aim and is very fearful of the direct and indirect contacts between Jumblatt and al-Shishakli in Syria. The dispute between the two will only increase after the President's visit and return from Egypt, during which each will play his open cards against the other.