Union of Working People's Forces-Corrective Movement
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Union of Working People's Forces – Corrective Movement | |
|---|---|
| General Secretary | Issam Al-Arab (1974–1978) Hasan Qubaysi (1978–?) |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Ideology | Nasserism |
The Union of Working People's Forces – Corrective Movement or UWPF-CM (Arabic: اتحاد قوى الشعب العامل - الحركة التصحيحية | Ittihâd qiwâ al-'amal al-cha'b al-'âmil – al-harakat al-tashihia), also designated variously as the Nasserite Correctionist Movement – NCM (Arabic: الحركة التصحيحية الناصرية | Harakat al-Islahiat al-Nassery) and the Nasserite Socialists (Arabic: الاشتراكيون الناصريون | Al-Aishtirakioun al-Nassery), was a Nasserist political party in Lebanon,[1] which was active during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).
Led by Issam Al-Arab,[1][2] the party was formed through a split from the Union of Working People's Forces in October 1974.[1][3] Apart from Al-Arab, co-founders of the group included Fouad Itani and Samih Hamada.[4]
In founding the new party, Al-Arab condemned the support of the Union of Working People's Forces leadership to the new Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.[5] Al-Arab argued that the Egyptian government under Sadat had abandoned Nasserism.[6] The party joined the Lebanese National Movement (LNM), whilst its mother party Union of Working People's Forces parted ways with the LNM as it sided with the Syrian government.[2][7]
Military structure and organization
| Nasser's Forces قوات الناصر | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Issam Al-Arab Hasan Qubaysi |
| Dates of operation | 1975–Unknown |
| Active regions | Beirut, Mount Lebanon (Aley, Qmatiyeh and Bdadoun) |
| Part of | Lebanese National Movement |
| Allies |  Progressive Socialist Party (PSP)/.jpg){kind=small} People's Liberation Army (PLA) Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)  Libya Syria |
| Opponents |  Lebanese Front Lebanese Armed Forces Al-Mourabitoun Army of Free Lebanon  Israel Defense Forces (IDF) |
| Battles and wars | Lebanese Civil War |
Like other Lebanese Nasserist parties, the UWPF-CM had its own militia, the Nasser's Forces (Arabic: قوات ناصر | Quwwat an-Nasir) or Forces de Nasser in French,[1][5] whose formation was announced on April 15, 1975.[4] The party and its military wing were supported financially and militarly by the Libyan government.[5]
The UWPF-CM in the Lebanese Civil War
Although small in size, the Nasser's Forces took part in the street battles that engulfed Beirut, notably on the Battle of the Hotels,[8][9][10] Chyah, on the Ras Nabi-Sodeco axis, at Khandak El Ghamik, as well as clashes at Mount Lebanon (Aley, Qmatiyeh and Bdadoun).[7][4]
However, relations with its LNM coalition partners were strained to the point of the Nasser's Forces battling rival Nasserite parties such as the Al-Mourabitoun in November 1975 over control of the Karantina district in East Beirut.[11]
The party underwent a split in 1978. In an extraordinary congress there was a dispute between Al-Arab, who argued in favour of alliance with the governments of Iraq and Libya, and his opponents led by Hassan Qubaysi. On July 23, 1978 Al-Arab was declared expelled from the party and Qubaysi was named the new General Secretary of the party.[4]
The Nasser's Forces continued confronting the Christian Lebanese Front right-wing militias between 1978 and 1982.[4] After the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the departure of the PLO, the Nasser Forces went underground and supposedly converted itself into a clandestine resistance group.[4]