Lebanese national movement
The Lebanese National Movement ( French : Mouvement national libanais , MNL; Arabic الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية, DMG al-Ḥaraka al-Waṭaniyya al-Lubnāniyya ) was an association of parties and organizations that was active in Lebanon during the first years of the civil war .
It was led by Kamal Jumblat , the head of the Druze Jumblat family.
Political orientation
The MNL was one of the two major parties to the conflict during the first round of fighting, where it fought the conservative and predominantly Christian Lebanese front . The MNL was formed in 1969 from the “Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces” as a self-declared “democratic, progressive and non-denominational” front. Most of its members belonged to the left, secularized wing and also represented Arab nationalism . Its principles were overcoming denominational differences, political and social reforms and a clear commitment to an Arab Lebanon, greater support for the struggle of the Palestinians and the resignation of President Suleiman Frangieh . Immediately after the outbreak of war, the LNM declared the creation of an executive structure, the "central political council".
Participants and militias
Among the participants in the movement were the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), the Communist Action Organization (CAO), the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), the two Lebanese Ba'th parties (one pro- Syrian and one pro- Iraqi ) as well as the Murabitun militia of the Independent Nasserist Organization, the predominantly Shiite Amal movement and various smaller groups of Nasserists . Some Palestinian organizations joined the MNL, including many on the opposition front . Both the PFLP and the PDFLP / DFLP were active participants.
At the beginning of the war in 1975 the various MNL militias numbered around 25,000 militants and faced 18,000 members of the right-wing Lebanese front. They are made up as follows: PSP militia (5,000 men), LCP militia (5,000 men), SSNP militia (4,000 men), pro-Iraqi Ba'ath militia (3,000 men), pro-Syrian Ba'ath militia (3,000 men) Man), Murabitun militia (3,000 men). The rest were made up of the other militias.
development
As the fighting escalated, the movement allied itself with the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) to form the "common forces" ( Arabic القوات المشتركة, DMG al-quwwāt al-muštaraka ). They received financial aid from several countries including Libya , Iraq and Yemen . In early 1976, the LNM controlled 80% of Lebanese territory. On January 20, 1976, the movement was involved in the Damura massacre. As relations with Damascus deteriorated, the pro-Syrian Ba'ath group, the Amal movement and much of the SSNP left the movement or at least reduced their engagement. In June 1976 the Syrian army , fearing that a Syrian victory would weaken its own strategic position , intervened in the fighting on the Lebanese front. After initially strong resistance, the troops of the MNL / PLO lost ground and when the Arab states approved the Syrian intervention after the Cairo and Riyadh conferences, they accepted a ceasefire, which the Syrian troops called Arab Deterrent Forces (ADF) between the fighting brought. In 1977, Walid Jumblat became leader of the MNL after the murder of his father Kamal, largely attributed to Syrian intelligence and pro-Syrian militiamen of the SSNP. Despite this, Walid agreed with the Syrian position and maintained good relations with President Hafiz al-Assad , who had shared a notorious mutual distrust with Kamal Jumblat. The 1978 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon , known as Operation Litani , was in part directed against the MNL militias who fought alongside the PLO after improving relations with Syria. When the 1982 Lebanon War began in June 1982 , the movement was disbanded and replaced by the Lebanese National Resistance Front (جبهة المقاومة الوطنية اللبنانية / Ǧabhat al-muqāwama al-waṭaniyya al-lubnāniyya ), which began guerrilla operations against the Israeli army in September of that year .