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Syria The Syrian Communist Party
The Syrian Communist Party (SCP), the bitter adversary of the
Baath Party in the late 1950s, was in 1987 the second largest
legal political party in Syria and an important constituent
element of the NPF. The venerable Khalid Bakdash, a Kurd from
Damascus who has been called the "dean of Arab communism,"
remained the SCP's secretary general. Politburo member Daniel
Nimah represented the party on the Central Command of the NPF and
accompanied Assad on his state visits to Moscow. In the early
1980s, the SCP was temporarily banned by Assad; however, in 1986
it was restored to favor, partially as a concession to the Soviet
Union. Nine SCP members were elected to the People's Council in
early 1986 elections, and the SCP held its sixth party congress
in Damascus in July. During the congress, SCP Central Committee
members who had precipitated the rift with Assad through strident
criticism of the regime were purged from the party.
The SCP was organized like other communist parties and had a
Politburo, Secretariat, Central Committee, and official
publication, a magazine entitled Nidal ash Shaab(The
People's Struggle). In the mid-1980s, the SCP stressed its
political and ideological independence from the Syrian regime and
operated to a limited extent as a genuine opposition party. It
criticized Baath Party economic policies, refereed regime
relations with the Soviet Union, and, through its Committee for
Solidarity with African and Asian Nations, acted as a conduit for
Syrian relations with some Third World nations.
SCP criticism of the Syrian government has been surprisingly
candid. Politburo member Khalid Hammami wrote in 1984 that "Syria
has abandoned its progressive socioeconomic policy" and stated
that the "ruling quarters are suspicious and fearful of the
masses" and curtail democratic freedoms. SCP deputy secretary
general Yusuf Faysal has excoriated the "parasitic and
bureaucratic bourgeoisie" in the Syrian government. However, the
SCP is careful to limit its criticism to lower level Syrian
politicians and more often acts as a silent partner to the Baath
Party in Syrian politics.
Data as of April 1987
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