The Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) was founded in 1948/9 by Kamal Jumblatt (and is currently led by his son, Walid Jumblatt). According to one source knowledgeable on the situation in Lebanon, Mr. Badri Hamadi (contacted through the auspices of the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations), the Progressive Socialist Party has a predominantly Druze base, but also includes supporters of Jumblatt from among the Sunnis or Christians found in the Chouf region. [ Badri Hamadi, 22 February 1990.] The "ethno-religious heartland" of the Druze community is the Chouf Mountain region east of Beirut. [ Henry Degenhardt, Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, London: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1988, p. 219.] A Muslim coalition called the Lebanese National Movement (comprised of Druze and other Muslims) fought the (Christian) Phalangists during the civil war of 1975/76. [ Henry Degenhardt, Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, London: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1988, p. 219.] However, according to the Minority Rights Group (Lebanon: A Conflict of Minorities), between 1975 and 1982, both the local Christians and the Druze had "consciously prevented Civil War from entering their area [the Chouf Mountains]". [ David McDowall, Lebanon: A Conflict of Minorities, (London: Minority Rights Group, Report No. 61, 1986), p. 17.] Kamal Jumblatt, the Druze leader, was assassinated by unknown gunmen on 16 March 1977. [ The Middle East and North Africa 1983-84, (London: Europa Publications Limited, 1983), p. 449.] He had been heavily involved in leading the Progressive Socialist Party fight against Christians in the preceding months.

Reports indicate that Druze forces have been supplied with weapons by Syria for many years. In the Time article from September 1983 the author observes that, "There is no question that Syria is providing arms and ammunition to the Druze." [William Smith, "Peace Keeping Gets Tough", Time, 19 September 1983, p. 39.] Jumblatt, "with powerful help from Syrian President Hafez Assad," launched the offensive to drive Christian militias out of the Chouf mountain region in 1983 as the Israelis withdrew. [ Ibid., p. 40.]

Please refer to p. 17 of the Minority Rights Group attachment. In this report, it is estimated that at least 300 victims were massacred by each side in the battle between the Druze and the Phalangists. [ Lebanon: A Conflict of Minorities, p. 17.] Although the Druze were initially opposed to the Syrian presence in Lebanon, by 1989, the Druze were openly aligned with Syrian troops.

The Druze militia has been one of the main allies of the Syrian Army during Michel Aoun's so-called "war of liberation" initiated on 8 March 1989. The PSP continues to be closely linked to the Syrian Army, as evidenced by news reports covering the Lebanese conflict. For example, in an article in the Globe and Mail dated 24 October 1989, Walid Jumblatt is called "Syria's main Lebanese ally". [ "Army Units Put on Alert After Aoun Rejects Pact", The Globe and Mail, 24 October 1989.]

Specific information on PSP recruitment of Druze is not available to the IRBDC. Recruitment practices by militias are not legally sanctioned by the Constitution or the government, but in lieu of an identifiable National government with the authority to act or to provide protection to the civilian population, militias have become the effective law within their respective territories. In August 1988, Walid Jumblatt told followers that "the local administration his militia [had] set up in the Chouf mountains [would] continue to function regardless of whether a new president [was] chosen" to replace Amin Gemayel. [ Ihsan Hijazi, "New Flare-up in War Feared by Lebanese as Militias Get Arms", The New York Times, 5 September 1988.] His position regarding President Hrawi is not among the sources currently available to the IRBDC. However, it should be noted that President Hrawi has congenial relations with Syria, as does the Progressive Socialist Party.

Each of the militias recruits within its sector sometimes this is forceful recruitment of personnel when there is a shortage of men, [ For example, see the article by Ihsan Hijazi, ("Christian-Israeli Rift in Lebanon Security Zone", The New York Times, 28 May 1989) which does not mention the recruitment practices of Druze militias, but discusses forceful recruitment by the South Lebanon Army. ] at others, the financial inducement of employment in a militia and the peer pressure to join are enough. (A few years ago, Druze militiamen allegedly made the equivalent of about $150 per month, but now, with the economic problems in Lebanon, it is likely no more than $50. People who join the militia in active recruitment campaigns during times of conflict may not be eligible for the "wage".) [Mr. Badri Hamadi, contacted through the auspices of the National Council on Canada Arab Relations, 2 November 1989.] According to Mr. Badri Hamadi, there is extreme psychological and some direct pressure placed on young males to join local militias; in the current political climate of uncertainty and suspicion, this pressure is manifested by the attitude: "If you are not with us, you must be a traitor".

Although direct references to Druze recruitment practices were not found among the sources available to the IRBDC, an article referring to recruitment by the South Lebanon Army (SLA) is attached. [ Ihsan Hijazi, "Christian-Israeli Rift in Lebanon Security Zone", The New York Times, 28 May 1989.] The SLA rounds up Christian, Shi'ite and Druze males living in the Israeli `security zone' to recruit them for service in the SLA militia. It has also "deported inhabitants from mainly Sunni Muslim villages in the enclave for refusing to join the militia". [ Ibid.]
2.

Mr. Badri Hamadi was familiar with the family name of El-Sayed, and confirmed that they were from the village of Anout. Residents of the El-Chouf are allegedly divided in their support or non-support for Jumblatt, the leader of the PSP, the most powerful militia in the Chouf. [ Badri Hamadi, 22 February 1990.] According to Mr. Hamadi, the El-Sayed family is one of the main Sunni families in the region and, to his knowledge, was among the anti-Jumblatt faction. No written corroboration of his statements could be found among the sources available to the IRBDC because there are many possible spellings of the name Sayed (for example, Sa'ad), and it could not be determined if the references referred to the family in question from the Chouf because there was no concurrent reference to Anout.

On the subject of forced recruitment and the El-Sayed family, Mr. Hamadi confirmed that Sunnis and Christians are also in the PSP, and that the pressure to join, for those who are known to be non-supporters of Jumblatt, might be greater than for known supporters due to the "if you're not for us you're against us" mentality. This influence could take the form of social ostracism, social pressure, or sometimes verbal or possibly physical abuse. [ Badri Hamadi.] He was not cognizant of the specific relations between the El-Sayed family and the PSP regarding forced recruitment.

The statements by Mr. Hamadi concerning the El-Sayed family and recruitment in the Chouf could not be corroborated by other sources currently available to the IRBDC.

Please refer to the attached materials on the Druze and the political party of Walid Jumblatt, the Progressive Socialist Party.
Attachments:
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William Smith, "Peace Keeping Gets Tough" Time, 19 September 1983.
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Ihsan Hijazi, "Christian-Israeli Rift in Lebanon `Security Zone'", The New York Times, 28 May 1989.
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Ihsan Hijazi, "Lebanese Muslims Warn of Final Battle", The New York Times, 29 August 1989.
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Ihsan Hijazi, "New Flare-up in War Feared by Lebanese as Militias Get Arms", The New York Times, 5 September 1988.
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Henry Degenhardt, ed., Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, London: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1988.
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Itamar Rabinovich, The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985;
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David C. Gordon, Lebanon: The Fragmented Nation, London: Croom Helm, 1980;
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Samir Khalaf, Lebanon's Predicament, New York: Columbia University Press, 1987;
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David McDowall, Lebanon: A Conflict of Minorities, London: Minority Rights Group, Report No. 61, 1986.