arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Meeting with the youth movement of the communist party of syria

By: Jeannk, Sim Dereynaeker, Muriel Wellens

Today Che Leila youth brigade met the youth movement of the communist party of Syria. We discussed about the situation of the youth in Syria and the anti-imperialist struggle. This Party was founded by Khalid Bagdach and now it is the second party in Syria a member of the Syrian governement.

Syria has a long history of struggrle for National liberation. This struggle has its roots in the colonisation of Syria by the french imperialists. During this struggle a Nationalist anti-imperialist line developped in Syria. The Khalid Bagdach youth movement was founded 54 years ago in this tradition. The movement counts several hundreds of thousands members and is the second Syrian organisation for the youth after the youth organisation of the Baath-party, which is a progressive bourgeois-nationalist party. The Communist and the Baath Party are together in a National front against imperialism, which they link to the anti-zionist struggle. They think zionism isn't only a threat to tha Arab countries but to the whole world. They say Sionism is against all progressive and democratic movements, has an influence on US governement and also was attacking the Soviet Union.

The Communisr Party and it's youth movement consider National liberation as the key-issue today, because Israel tries to steel their land (more specific Golan heights) and the US has invaded their neighbour Iraq. The party fights and has fought hard for this case, so they have a lot of martyrs. Members of the party also have fought in the Palistinian Liberation war, because they think that the Palestinian issue is the most important one in the Arab World. This issue is not the only point they work on though, they also have a program of clas struggle, but for the time they emphasize on the National question.

The Khalid Bagdach youth movement organises a lot of activities for the Syrian youth. They met us in the house of Khalid Bagdach, in a part that is being used as a museum with pictures of their martyrs and of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht and as a room where they have activities for the youth like films, discussions,… They also organise a festival each year on the 25th of July with thousands of participants. In august they have a marxist summer university for young people from all over Syria. They organise youth camps in all of the 14 cities of Syria. They also organise camps for children, their childrenorganisation is 33 years old.

The Khalid Bagdach youth movement was one of the founders of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) in 1948. This organistion contains more than 170 anti-imperialist organisations from all over the world and is divided Geographicaly into 5 region: North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Afrika. WFDY organises large festivals nearly every four years, the last one was in 2001 in Algiers. The WFDY also has demonstrations for instance in Sudan against Hunger, in Yougoslavia and Thessaloniki against NATO, in Palestine against occupation and in Brasil during Porto Alegre. The last congres of WFDY was held in Syria this year.