4 - Making Armenians Lebanese: The 1957 Election and the Ensuing 1958 Conflict

Summary

Introduction

From the mid-1950s, Lebanese President Camille Chamoun's (1952–1958) openly pro-Western orientation created considerable political tensions in Lebanon. As noted in Chapter 3, in 1955 this showed in his support of the Baghdad Pact. Two years later, in 1957, Chamoun positively answered the US Eisenhower Doctrine, which was directed against the USSR in the Middle East and against presumably pro-Soviet Arab nationalist regimes, firstly Egypt. His divisive stance, together with increased social disparities in the wake of the Gulf oil boom and the influx of Palestinian refugees, created a toxic social, political and economic environment in Lebanon. In this fraught situation, and in a desperate attempt to hold on to power, in 1957 he used the irregular and corrupt parliamentary elections, in which his party and its allies – including the Dashnak Party – triumphed, to push through an unpopular bid to extend his presidency by an additional term starting the following year. While the election's outcome did not trigger violence, political rivalries hardened. The assassination of Nassib Matni, the editor of the major opposition newspaper, al-Telegraph, on 8 May, 1958, led to a nation-wide general strike that escalated into a civil war that lasted until October. With the exception of parts of Beirut and the Mount Lebanon governorate, Lebanon was under ‘rebel’ control for five months.

While US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles initially refused to provide requested military assistance, the violent coup d’état in Iraq in July 1958 changed the American stance. By mid-July, 15,000 US troops were present in Lebanon, backed by another 40,000 on 70 warships of the US Navy's sixth fleet. Beirut and the airport were ‘secured’ within days, essentially ending the civil strife. Negotiations to end the fighting between government figures and the opposition were predicated upon the agreement to choose an acceptable successor to Chamoun. Fouad Chehab, the head of the Lebanese army, emerged as the best choice, garnering support from all sides of the conflict. A national pact was signed on 17 October, 1958, and American troops left the country by the end of October.