Anti-French activity in Syria

When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in 1918, Britain was the predominant military force in the Levant. Backed by the British, Prince Faisal entered Damascus on October 3 and was made head of an Arab military administration which comprised the interior of Syria from Aqaba to Aleppo. In February 1919 Prince Faisal went to the Paris Peace Conference in order to push for the independence of Syria. By this time the British had made it clear that he was on his own negotiating with the French. Mardam Bey was one of the delegates who was invited to speak at the Paris Peace Conference.^[3] His speech made an impression on Prince Faisal, who asked him join his delegation.

Mardam Bey was one of the participants of the Syrian National Congress held in Damascus in May 1919. The purpose of the congress was to consider the future of Syria, which at the time included Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. The concluding report that was communicated to the King–Crane Commission in June 1919, pleaded “there be no separation of the southern part of Syria, known as Palestine, nor of the littoral western zone, which includes Lebanon, from the Syrian country." The King-Crane Commission recommended "the unity of Syria be preserved." however the commission was an exercise in futility given the agreements already reached by Britain and France to carve up the lands of the Levant between them.

In Syria, nationalist fever was running high and there was resistance to the agreement Prince Faisal made with Clemenceau in January 1920, that recognised France's exclusive position in Syria.^[4] In March 1920 the Syrian Congress declared Syria to be an independent constitutional monarchy with Faisal as king. . Mardam Bey was appointed deputy foreign minister by royal decree. The San Remo conference in April of that year publicly spelled out the future of the region, and the decimation of lands that for centuries were referred to as Bilad al Sham. The French wasted no time in enforcing their mandate and brought an abrupt end to the monarchy and government when their troops entered Syria on July 24^th.. Faisal had already submitted his resignation as French troops marched into the country but a small group of fighters led by General Youssef al Azma fought against the French in a four-hour battle at Maysalun. Al Azma was killed in combat and became a legendary hero who is still commemorated in Syria for his heroic stance in the face of overwhelming force.

The French entry into Syria led to Jamil Mardam Bey and other nationalist leaders fleeing the country to avoid the death sentences issued by the French. Mardam Bey returned to Syria after an amnesty was issued in December 1921. Martial law denied Syrians the right of organized political association^[5] so along with other nationalists, Mardam Bey became a member of the Iron Hand Society, an underground movement initiated by Abdelrahman Shahbandar. Their activities were focused on discrediting the puppet regime set up by the French, as well as re-establishing contacts with merchants, neighbourhood bosses and students.

On April 5, 1922, Charles Crane (of the King–Crane Commission) came to Damascus and stayed as a guest of Shahbandar for two days, during which time he had meetings with a number of notables, intellectuals, religious leaders, merchants etc. all of whom voiced their dissatisfaction with the French presence in Syria. Although this time he was not in Syria in any official capacity, when Crane left Damascus two days later, the French arrested Shahbandar and four other members of the society. Their arrest led to widespread demonstrations and protests and the city almost came to a standstill for three weeks. The French persisted in their clampdown and in May had tracked down the secret offices of the Iron Hand Movement where, among others, they arrested Jamil Mardam Bey ^[6] Mandated authorities handed out long prison sentences to some and exiled others. Shahbandear served 17 months of a 20-year prison sentence before being exiled and Mardam Bey spent his time in exile in Europe. They returned to Syria after the French issued amnesties in the summer of 1924 ^[7]

The new French High Commissioner, Maurice Sarail took up his post in January 1925. He allowed some opening of political space that led to the formation of political parties set to run for election in October of that year. Jamil Mardam Bey joined other nationalists to form the People's Party, the first modern party in French Mandate Syria.^[8] The People's Party did not charge membership dues so it relied on contributions from its wealthier members such as the landowners and the merchants as well as professional associations such as the Lawyers's Union. Funds also came from the Syrian- Palestine Congress in Cairo and Syrian emigrants in the Americas.^[9] The party leadership was composed of 12 men: Shahbandar (President), Fares el Khouri, Lutfi al-Haffar, Abd el Majid Tabbakh, Abul Khayr al Mawqi, Fawzi al Ghazzi, Ihhsan al- Sharif, Said Haydar, Jamil Mardam Bey, Tawfik Shamiyya and Adib a- Safadi and Hassan al-Hakim.. They were well regarded by the public as being dedicated nationalists ready to pay a price for their political beliefs and membership rapidly grew to over a thousand by the time of the official launch in June 1925.^[10]

National Bloc politician

Mardam Bey then returned to Damascus and helped co-found the National Bloc in October 1927, the leading anti-French movement in Syria. The National Bloc was a loose coalition of nationalists whose goal was to reach independence through diplomacy and ‘honorable cooperation’. Syrians had paid a high price for the revolt which had resulted in much destruction and in France strengthening its stranglehold on the country. There was broad support across the country for the approach adopted by the National Bloc leaders and they dominated political life until the country attained independence . Hashim Al-Atassi, a former prime minister under Faisal, became its president and Mardam Bey was a permanent member of its executive council. Mardam Bey nominated himself on a Bloc ticket for parliament in 1928, 1932, 1936, and 1943, winning in every round.

France's reputation had suffered on the international stage following its brutal suppression of the revolt in Syria, Her role as a mandatory power was well defined by the League of Nations and she had demonstrably failed to uphold the terms of the mandate^[13] or the spirit of article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations that defined the role of the mandatory as more of an adviser than an overlord. The French government recognised the need to shift the approach in Syria to a more reasoned and balanced position. For the time being the French were willing to adopt a more conciliatory approach and granted Syria a constitutional regime. In 1928 Mardan Bey along with other nationalists was elected a member of a constituent assembly charged with drafting the constitution. The French disapproved of the provisions and reacted by suspending the constitution and dismissing the assembly.^[12]

In 1932 the French made another move towards elections and indicated they were prepared to negotiate a treaty to end the mandate. Mardam Bey was one of few National Bloc candidates to win a seat in parliament, where it fell to him to lead the opposition. He was appointed minister of finance but a year later submitted his resignation when it became clear the French had no intention of ending the mandate. The French attempt to impose an unsatisfactory treaty on the Syrian parliament in November 1933 ended in failure when the 17 National Bloc deputies, led by Mardam Bey managed to swing a majority against signing the treaty. The French delegate in Damascus, M Veber was in the chamber and he refused to accept the legality of the vote, opting instead to prorogue parliament for four months.^[14]

In 1934 Mardam Bey devoted his time to building up alliances and promoting Syria's cause abroad. He travelled to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and Iraq . He joined an all Arab delegation that worked to broker a peace deal to end the Saudi Yemen war. The Ta’if treaty was signed in June of that year.

On the domestic front, National Bloc leaders were repeatedly frustrated in their attempts to broker a treaty with France and on January 27, 1936, Jamil Mardam Bey, on behalf of the National Bloc, called for a General Strike to be maintained till constitutional life was restored to Syria. The strike turned violent, claimed lives on both sides, and led to the exile of Mardam Bey and other nationalist leaders^[15] The French arrested thousands of people over the course of a month and by February 26 more than 3000 people had been imprisoned, among them many nationalists. The French once again were shown in a negative light on the domestic and international stage and they made an about turn at the beginning of March by agreeing to negotiate a treaty.

A Syrian delegation was invited to Paris for independence talks that lasted from March–September 1936. The six man team was composed of four National Bloc representatives : Hashem el Atassi (President), Jamil Mardam Bey, Saadalla al-Jabri and Fares el Khouri. The remaining two were Amir Mustafa al Shihabi and Edmond Homsi. In exchange for independence and recognition as a member of the League of Nations (to be granted within 3 years of treaty ratification) France was given economic, and military privileges in Syria . The delegation returned to Syria in triumph and following a general election in November of that year, the National Bloc won a landslide victory. Atassi was elected president of the republic and he asked Jamil Mardam Bey to form a government. On December 27, the Syrian parliament ratified the treaty and it remained for the French to do the same.

The National Bloc signing the Franco-Syrian Treaty with Blum in Paris in 1936. From left to right, a French statesman, Mustapha al-Shihabi, Saadallah al-Jabiri, Jamil Mardam Bey, Hashim al-Atassi signing, and Léon Blum.

The Atassi-Mardam Bey alliance was fraught with problems from the outset. While there was an agreed promise of independence, the French were in no hurry to ratify the treaty and they placed all kinds of obstacles in the path of the National Bloc government. Among other things, they faced French backed separatist movements in Jabal Druze, the Latakia governorate and the Gezira. The Palestinian Revolt that had started in 1936 was another challenge for the government at a time when their own situation was still precarious. The Syrian economy was riddled with problems that included high unemployment, poor harvests and soaring inflation.

Turkish claims on Alexandretta led Mardam Bey and al- Jabri (Minister of Foreign Affairs) to go to Paris on February 1, 1937. The objective of the mission was to discuss Alexandretta, speed up ratification of the treaty and to obtain full amnesty for Syrians condemned in the past by French court martial.^[14] 17. Of the three goals, only the last was achieved with full amnesty granted in May 1937. Alexandretta was ceded to Turkey in 1938 and by 1939 there was no ratification of the treaty. Mardam Bey and the National Bloc went from triumph to defeat in less than two years.

The final straw for Mardam Bey came when the French High Commission modified the decree regulating religious communities. Public opinion was outraged by the French action and Mardam Bey instructed the courts to ignore the decree. In a stand off with the French High Commission, Mardam Bey tendered his resignation on February 23, 1939. Following his resignation, the National Bloc failed to retain control of government and resigned a month later.

Dr Shahbandar had returned to Syria once he and other revolt leaders were amnestied in May 1937. Rather than rally around his former allies of the National Bloc, he became a fierce opponent, leading the charge against them and in particular against Mardam Bey. His ten years in exile had increased his bitterness and he came back determined to reclaim the political limelight. His opposition group fell apart with the resignation of Mardam Bey and other National Bloc politicians. because he had failed to formulate a uniting policy other than the ouster of the National Bloc. His attempts to court the French to negotiate a new treaty were rebuffed because his activities had long been viewed by the French as a front for the British.^[16][17]

Nationalists during the Second World War

A banquet held by King Farouk of Egypt at Abdeen Palace in Cairo in 1945.

Following the German and Italian defeat of France and the signing of an armistice on June 22, 1940, the Syrians now found themselves in the ironic position of being ruled by defeated rulers. De Gaulle's call to defy the armistice and use the resources of the empire to ‘avenge the honour ‘of France added an additional layer of complexity. In spite of French neutrality towards Britain, the latter was fearful that the Germans would use French naval capabilities and on July 3, 1940, Churchill gave the order for these to be disabled. The destruction of French war ships in Mers el Kebir off the coast of Algeria led to the death of thousands of French men and the end of diplomatic relations between Britain and Vichy France on July 5. The British were now firmly in De Gaulle's camp and Syria was still under Vichy rule.

Abdulrahman Shahbandar, long identified by the French as Britain's man in Syria, was assassinated in Damascus on July 6, 1940. Shahbandar had gone to great lengths to secure British support for a plan of a loose confederation of Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Palestine under the Kingship of Amir Abdullah ^[18] He was at odds with many Syrian politicians, even those who had been his allies in earlier days. In August the French High Commissioner, Puaux informed his government that the assassins had been arrested and yet speculation was rife as to the motivation of the killing.

In October of that year, Shahbandar's family brought a civil case against Jamil Mardam Bey, Saadallah al-Jabri and Lutfi al-Haffar. All three men were alerted of their imminent arrest and they left Damascus for Baghdad. The trial of the accused persons began in December, 1940. In the course of it the leader of the assassins, Assassa, made a complete confession : their motive in deciding to kill Dr. Shahbandar had been religious, since they regarded him as one of those responsible for the decay of Islam. The trial ended at the beginning of January, with the condemnation of six persons to death and several others to imprisonment, and the complete exoneration of Jamil Mardam Bey, Lutfi al-Haffar and Saadullah al-Jabiri. The sentences were carried out immediately.^[19]

On 8 June 1941 the British and Free French invaded Syria and Lebanon because they feared the Germans would soon be using their airfields. In order to gain the good will of the Syrians and Lebanese, General Catroux's proclamation announced the end of the Mandate and recognition of Syria's independence.^[20] The British proclamation echoed that of the French. These were viewed with cynicism by Syrians, given there was no return to constitutional life, in addition to a heavy troop presence in Syria that would not be withdrawn until the end of the war.

Post independence

In October 1945, at the special request of King Farouk and King Abdel Aziz, Mardam Bey was delegated to Cairo and then to Riyadh as representative of Syria. His mission lasted till October 1946, during which time he presided over the Arab League Council and was delegated as the Arab representative to Palestine 27 . In December 1946 he was recalled to the premiership. In July of the following year Syria held its first free elections as an independent nation. President al-Quwatly asked Mardam Bey to form a government.

Resignation

General Husni al-Za'im, the Chief of Staff, at the warfront in Palestine with Defense Minister Jamil Mardam Bey in 1948.

On May 28, 1948 defence minister, Ahmed al Sharabati, resigned three weeks into the Arab Israeli conflict that started following Ben Gurion's 15 May declaration of the foundation of the State of Israel. Mardam Bey became defence minister and held this position until he resigned from office in December of that year, following the defeat of the Arab armies in Palestine.^[25]