Amal Movement
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Amal Movement (Arabic: abbreviation of أفواج المقاومة اللبنانية transliterated: Afwâj al-Muqâwmat al-Lubnâniyya, or just حركة أمل; transliterated:Harakat Amal, lit. Amal movement, also hope) is short for the Lebanese Resistance Detachments.[1] Amal became one of the most important Shi'a Muslim militias during the Lebanese Civil War. Amal grew strong through its close ties with the Islamic regime of Iran, and the 300,000 Shi'i internal refugees from southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombings in the early 1980s. At its largest the militia had 14,000 troops. Amal is also an Arabic noun, meaning "hope."
Amal's historical objectives are to achieve greater respect for Lebanon's Shi'ite population and to get a larger percentage of resources allocated to the Shi'ite-dominated southern part of the country than that of the present.
Amal fought a long campaign against Palestinian refugees in the Lebanese Civil War called the War of the Camps. After the War of the Camps, Amal fought a bloody battle against its fellow Shi'a group Hezbollah for Beirut. This battle ended with massive Syrian intervention.
History
Origin
The origins of the Amal movement lie with the Lebanese cleric of Iranian origin Imam Musa al-Sadr. In 1974 the Movement of the Disinherited was established by al-Sadr and member of parliament Hussein el-Husseini in order to attempt to reform the Lebonese system. While acknowledged as having its support base in the “traditionally under-represented politically and economically disadvantaged” Shiite community, [2] it aimed, according to Palmer-Harik, to seek social justice for all deprived Lebanese.[3] Although influenced by Islamic ideas, it was a secular movement trying to unite people along communal lines rather than religious or ideological lines.[4]
20 January 1975: The Lebanese Resistance Detachments are formed as a military wing of The Movement of the Disinherited, and came to be popularly known as Amal (from the acronym Afwaj al-Mouqawma Al-Lubnaniyya).
Amal During the Lebanese War
1979: Palestinian guerillas attempt to assassinate then-Secretary General Hussein el-Husseini by launching missiles into his home, outside Beirut.
1980: Hussein el-Husseini resigns from Amal leadership after refusing Syrian president Hafez al-Asad's request to fight alongside the PLO.
1980: Nabih Berri becomes one of the leaders of Amal, marking the entry of Amal in the Lebanese Civil War.
December 1985: Nabih Berri of Amal, Walid Jumblatt of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party, and Elie Hobeika of the Lebanese Forces sign the Tripartite Agreement in Damascus which is supposed to give strong influence to Damascus regarding Lebanese matters. The agreement will never come into effect due to Hobeika ousting.
1989: Amal accepts the Taif agreement (mainly architected by el-Husseini) in order to end the civil war.
The War of the Camps
The War of the Camps was a series of fights that happened in the mid-80's between Amal and Palestinian groups. During these events, PSP and Hizbullah supported Palestinians while Syria supported Amal.
First battle: May 1985
Although most of the Palestinian guerrillas were expelled during the 1982 Israeli invasion, Palestinian militias began to regain after the Israeli withdrawal from Beirut at first, then from Sidon and Tyre. Syria was looking at this revival with some anxiety: though in the same ideological camp, Damascus had little control on most Palestinians organizations and was afraid that the build-up of Palestinian forces could lead to a new Israeli invasion. Moreover Syria's minority alawite regime was never comfortable with Sunni militias in Lebanon. In Lebanon, Shia-Palestinians relations had been very tense since the late 60's. After the multinational force withdrew from Beirut in February 1984, Amal and PSP took control of west-Beirut and Amal built a number of outposts around the camps (in Beirut but also in the south). On April 15 1985, Amal and PSP attacked Al-Murabitun, the main Lebanese Sunni militia and the closest ally of PLO in Lebanon. Al-Murabitun were vanquished and their leader, Ibrahim Kulaylat was sent into exile. On May 19 1985, heavy fightings erupted between Amal and Palestinians for the control of the Sabra, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh camps (all in Beirut). Despite its effort, Amal could not take the control of the camps. The death toll remains unknown, with estimate ranging from a few hundreds to a few thousands. This and heavy Arab pressure led to a cease-fire June 17.
Second battle: May 1986
The situation remained tense and fights occurred again in September 1985 and March 1986. On May 19 1986, heavy fighting erupted again. Despite new armament provided by Syria, Amal could not take control of the camps. Many cease-fires were announced but most of them did not last more than a few days. The situation began to cool after Syria deployed some troops on June 24 1986.
Third battle September 1986
The tension due to this conflict was also present in the south, an area where Shias and Palestinians were both present. This unavoidably led to frequent clashes. On September 29 1986, fightings occurred at the Rashidiyye camp (Tyre). The conflict immediately spread to Sidon and Beirut. Palestinian forces managed to occupy the Amal controlled town of Maghduche on the eastern hills of Sidon to open the road to Rashidiyye. Syrian forces helped Amal and Israel launched air strikes against PLO position around Maghdouche. A cease-fire was negotiated between Amal and pro-Syrian Palestinian groups on December 15 1986, but it was rejected by Yasser Arafat's Fatah. Fatah tried to appease the situation by giving some of its position to Hezbollah and to the Murabitun. The situation became relatively calm for a while, but the bombing against the camps continued. In Beirut, a blockade of the camps led to a dramatic lack of food and medications inside the camps. In early 87, the fighting spread to Hezbollah and PSP who supported the Palestinians. The PSP quickly seized large portions of west-Beirut and the situation. Consequently, Syria occupied west-Beirut beginning of February 21, 1987. In April 7, 1987 Amal finally lifted the siege and handed its positions around the camps to the Syrian arm. According to the New York Times (March 10 1992, citing figures from the Lebanese police), 3,781 were killed in the fighting.
September 1991: With background in the Syrian controlled end of the Lebanese Civil War in October 1990, 2,800 Amal troops joined the Lebanese army.
Amal after the war
Amal was a strong supporter of Syria after 1990 and endorsed Syria's military presence in Lebanon. After Rafik Hariri's assassination in 2005, Amal opposed the Syrian withdrawal and did not take part in the cedar revolution. Since 1990, the party has been continuously represented in the parliament and the government. Amal is often criticized for corruption among its leadership. Nabih Berri was elected speaker of parliament in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2005. Currently Amal has 14 representatives in the 128-seat Lebanese parliament. The group has also reportedly participated to some extent in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict with 8 members reported to have been killed.
References
- ^ Augustus R. Norton, Amal and the Shi'a: Struggle for the Soul of Lebanon (Austin and London: University of Texas Press, 1987)
- ^ Byman, D., 2005, Deadly Connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism, Cambride, Cambridge University Press, p.82
- ^ Palmer-Harik, J., 2004, Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism, London, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd
- ^ Byman, D., 2005, Deadly Connections: States that Sponsor Terrorism, Cambride, Cambridge University Press
External links
- http://www.amal-movement.com/ (Arabic)