Ultranationalist Party Comes Out of Shadows
An outlawed ultranationalist party advocating a greater Syria held its first public meeting in nearly five decades, urging members to confront a “Zionist scheme.”
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party was banned in 1955 after authorities linked it with the assassination of Adnan Malki, Syria’s assistant army chief of staff at the time. Hundreds of party activists were jailed and many others fled to Lebanon.
Though not officially recognized, members were not prevented from gathering Sunday, perhaps because the party’s strong nationalist policy and its stand on Israel mirrors that of President Bashar Assad’s government.
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