Wikipedia

Draft:Zouheir Chalak

Zouheir Chalak (1921–1994) (Arabic: زهير الشلق; also transliterated as Zuhair al-Shalaq, El Cholak, Shalak) was a political theorist, historian, writer, and advocate for democracy and free press in the Middle East.[1][2][3] He supported the democratic parliamentary Syrian Republic, and scrutinized the socialism that emerged throughout the region.[1] He served as a diplomat and advisor for prime minister Jamil Mardam Bey and president Shukri al-Quwatli,[2] and was a proponent of the 1950 constitution that adhered to democratic ideals. His work likewise provided a first-hand account of politics during the French Mandate and parliamentary eras,[2] the various coups that occurred, and the descent into socialism.[1] His extrajudicial abduction became a subject of international concern, and was publicized by human rights organizations Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists.[4][5]

Biography

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Zouheir Chalak was born into a prominent family in Damascus,[3] and eventually pursued a legal education and joined the primary coalition championing independence from the French Mandate (National Bloc). In 1963, Chalak relocated to Lebanon following the collapse of Syria’s parliamentary system and the rise of military-socialist regimes. In Lebanon, he continued as a legal and political columnist, contributing to regional newspapers including Al-Hayat. He articulated that the turn toward socialism in the Middle East curtailed civil liberties, destroyed burgeoning democracies, and led to dictatorships and security states.[1]

Zouheir Chalak was detained and imprisoned for his views and articles, including several months in 1962–1963, and later for a decade from 1970–1980.[3][4][5] He settled in France after his release and exile, where he continued writing as a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat, until his death in 1994.[3] He is buried next to his wife in the Neuilly-sur-Seine cemetery.

Political views

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Chalak supported the civilian-led parliamentary governance that was interrupted by coups and dictatorships. He argued that despite the parliamentary system’s flaws, it promoted political pluralism and a free press.[1][2] In his work In the Dock (Fi Qafas al-Ittiham), Chalak critiqued the various strands of socialist ideology that swept the region, and argued they were foreign imports that replaced the rule of law.[1] They fostered the subsequent nationalization of private property, the abolition of political parties, eroded rights, and ran counter to certain Arab social norms.[1] He opposed the union between Egypt and Syria (i.e., United Arab Republic), which dissolved in 1961.[4]

Selected works

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  • Fi Qafas al-Ittiham: Al-Shuyu’iyyah, Al-Nasiriyyah, Al-Ba’th (In the Dock: Communism, Nasserism, Ba’ath). Beirut: Dar al-Jumhuriya, 1966.[1]
  • Min Awraq al-Intidab: Tarikh Ma Aghfalahu al-Tarikh (From the Papers of the Mandate: History That History Overlooked). Beirut: Dar al-Nafais, 1989.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Chalak, Zouheir (1966). Al-Ishtirākīyah wa-al-ishtirākīyūn fī qafaṣ al-ittihām: al-Shuyūʻīyah, al-Nāṣirīyah, al-Baʻth [Revolutionary Socialism and Socialists in the Dock: Communism, Nasserism, Ba'ath]. Beirut: Dar Jaridat al-Jumhuriyah. OCLC 42911106.
  2. ^ a b c d e Shalaq, Zuhair (1989). Min Awraq al-Intidab: Tarikh Ma Aghfalahu al-Tarikh [From the Papers of the Mandate: History That History Overlooked]. Beirut: Dar al-Nafais. LCCN 90962841.
  3. ^ a b c d Yusuf, Muhammad Khayr Ramadan (1998). Tatimmat al-A'lam [Supplement to Al-A'lam] (in Arabic). Vol. 1. Beirut: Dar Ibn Hazm. pp. 194–195. LCCN 98963314.
  4. ^ a b c International Commission of Jurists (September 1978). "Case Reports: Syria" (PDF). Bulletin of the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. 1 (2). Geneva: 34.
  5. ^ a b Amnesty International (1980). Amnesty International Report 1980 (PDF). London: Amnesty International Publications. p. 354. ISBN 0-86210-020-8.