Union of Arab Republics (1972)
In March 1972 Ba'athist Iraq proposed Egypt and Syria to re-establish the United Arab Republic which dissolved in 1971. The Iraqi proposal was an immediate reaction to Jordan's proposal for a United Arab Kingdom but collided with the already established Federation of Arab Republics and failed because of Iraqi–Syrian differences.
Union of Arab Republics
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The United Arab Kingdom plan was angrily rejected by the Palestinians, the Arab League and the Islamic States as well as by Israel. The Iraqi counter-proposal urged to include the PLO[1] (to fight united for the liberation of Palestine) in an Union of Arab Republics instead and invited all other "progressive" Arab states to join, too.[2][3]
Libya, however, should be excluded - at least for the beginning. The Iraqi regime blamed Libya's Revolutionary leader Gaddafi to sponsor Iraqi-Syrian conflicts while Gaddafi condemned the Iraqi regime for its approach to the Soviet Union and the Iraqi communists.[2][4]
End of March 1972 Iraqi vice president Saddam Hussein led a high-ranking delegation to Damascus and Cairo in order to promote the proposal. In Syria Saddam Hussein met president Hafez al-Assad and foreign minister Abdul Halim Khaddam but Egypt's president Anwar Sadat had already consulted Gaddafi in Libya. On 26 March Saddam Hussein met Egypt's vice president Mahmoud Fawzi in Cairo and on 28th he finally met Sadat in Alexandria. Referring to the already established Egyptian-Libyan-Syrian Federation of Arab Republics the proposal was rejected.[2][4][5]
However, Syria and Egypt invited Iraq to join the federation instead. According to Khaddam as a first step to unite an Iraqi-Syrian summit should settle the quarrels between the Syrian Baath-Party and the Iraqi Baath-Party. In October 1972 Iraq's president Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr agreed the Syrian conditions[2] and proposed to create an Iraqi-Syrian union within the federation[6] - as well as Egypt and Libya had already announced to merge bilaterally in a closer union (also called United Arab Republic) within the federation. Although further discussions were not held, in January 1973 the Iraqi regime assured Egypt and Syria its full military and economical support in case of a new war against Israel. Iraq's offer to create a Joint Military Command was rejected however.[2]
Sources
- ^ Hassan Tawalba: The Ba'th and Palestine, p. 55f. Dar al-Ma'mun, Bagdad 1982
- ^ a b c d e Shibli al-Aysami: Einheit, Freiheit, Sozialismus, p. 99–102. Valle Olona, Varese 1978
- ^ Robin Leonard Bidwell: Dictionary of Modern Arab History, p. 429f. Routledge, New York 1998
- ^ a b Reuters 27th March 1972: Iraqi Delegation Arrives In Cairo For Talks On A Tripartite Federation (with VIDEO clip)
- ^ Record of the Arab World: Yearbook of Arab and Israeli Politics, vol. 1, p. 222. Research and Publishing House, 1972
- ^ Polska Akademia Nauk - Komitet Badań Krajów Azji, Afryki i Ameryki Łacińskiej: Studies on the Developing Countries, No. 1-4 (9-12), p. 180f. Zakład Narodowy im Ossolińskich, Breslau 1989
- Federation of Arab Republics
- 1970s in Egypt
- 1970s in Syria
- 1972 in Syria
- Arab League
- Arab nationalism in Egypt
- Arab nationalism in Iraq
- Arab nationalism in Syria
- Arab republics
- Former Arab states
- Former confederations
- Former polities of the Cold War
- Pan-Arabism
- Proposed countries
- States and territories established in 1972