Exclusive Interview with Adib Al Shishakli’s Daughter

Zaman Alwasl Exclusive Interview with the daughter of former Syrian President Adib al-Shishakli (1949-1954).

Interview by Abdullah Raja; Translation by Yusra Ahmed

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Adib al-Shishakli, (born 1909, Ḥamah, Syria—died Sept. 27, 1964, Brazil), was a Syrian army officer who overthrew the Syrian government in December 1949 and dominated Syrian politics until his own overthrow in 1954.

Shishakli was a Syrian nationalist who after World War II opposed movements toward the political union of Syria and Iraq. When unification seemed likely in December 1949, Shishakli executed his coup.

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Mrs. Wafaa al-Shishakli said that news of assassination her father was unbelievable and caused huge shock to her and her family. “I cannot forget that day, It was 27th of September 1964, when we received the news of assassination my father in Brazil, we kept unbelieving the news till the body arrived to Syria, the tragedy that he left the residency to avoid assassination, but death followed him to Brazil” detailed.

Shishakli’s daughter gave two stories to the assassination, in both the killer was Nawwaf Abo Ghazaleh, but one of them was targeting him in his way back home, and the other was that Abo Ghazaleh broke in Shishakli’ farm while he was gardening and shot him 4 bullets in his back. “The Brazilian media showed sites of the bullets which were in my father’s back, which confirmed that he was treacherously killed

Mrs. Wafa could not comment on the query about staying in Syrian with her family while Shishakli left to Brazil, as the subject was not discussed at home, but all she knew about the subject was that he did not want to come back to Syria and he was waiting till his agricultural project succeed to bring the all to Brazil. She confirmed that her mother always saw in Shishakli the respectful serious man and never disagreed with him.

Shishakli daily routine was not that versatile according to his daughter, almost all his days were meetings in his house. Mrs Wafa feels that politics had stolen her father from enjoying life with them.

She shaid that he used to be calm and kind with them and never got outraged. He did used to laugh and not talkative, and never interfered in their lives, apart from some instructions and advices to her mother about some issues. “In Eids, we used to take chance to spend god time with our uncle, Salah, who was good in making us happy. However, my father used to gather us to perform national and serious songs.

She did not feel her life had changed when she became a daughter of the President; the interest increased a bit, but not as much as Presidents’ children that day.

“All advantages we had that we moved to live in the presidency Palace, and there was a driver to get them to and from school.” she detailed.

Wafaa said that she learn performing speech from her father, as he used to give lot of speeches and used to rehearse them many times and she used to listen to him.

She thinks that Qadri al-Qala’aji used to help her father in writing his speeches as the president usually consulted him in many media issues.

She confessed that her father had brought them on military rules, as he was fond in military principles, and he thought it would secure them glory and fame. My mother followed exactly my father’s orders and requests, and she loved and trusted him. She saw him a symbol for Syria. Even when he lef to Brazil, she did not say even one negative word about him for leaving her alone with her children.

Wafaa went on saying that they did not used to speak in politics at home, and may be any home Syria talk in politics more than them, and he used to tell her mother to treat people well and sensibly.

Wafa did not feel that her father lived under security obsession, but after he escaped an assassination attempt, his attention slightly increased regarding security measurement, like not letting anything to inside house without making sure of the contents.

Shishakli’s daughter regrets that she did not see her father smile or laugh during his residency period, but he started to become happier when he left the residency. She described his as serious but calm and rarely lost his temper or got angry. “Only once I saw my father angry, when complaints reached him about my eldest brother misbehavior and annoyance to people, he hit my brother very hard, it was that the only time a saw my father angry”.

He rarely smiled during his ruling period, but after leaving the presidency and when they met him in Greece, she was surprise for the change in his mode, he became happier and more relaxed, he drove them in the car singing loudly the national songs.

Shishakli’s mother had a big influence and effects on him, he loved her a lot and used to spend long time with her in the palace, she was very clever and had a sense of humor, he used consult her in many issues. She always advised him to communicate with his opponents to see what they wanted, but he replied that they did not give him a chance.

Mrs. Wafa confirmed that they left the Presidency Palace unexpectedly, in very difficult circumstances, her father warned her mother not to take anything from the Palace if they left, as they do not own it, and that what happened, they left the Palace empty-handed.

Politically, he hate French Army, despite joining it, and always considered the French as occupiers. He did not like Britain as well. He had many enemies as he disagreed with Iraqi Government, Al-Sha’ab Party and Emil al-Bostani. He was against the Fertile Crescent project. In Summary his principles were he could not ally with an occupied country.

In regard to Shishakli’s reading preferance, his daughter said that he used to like Egyptian media especially newspapers like “Al-Musawar Magazine” and Akher Sa’a. He was interested in Egypt as it was to centre of interest in the Middle East, especially at Jamal Abdulnaser, Mohammed najeeb and latest time of King Farouq eras.

“In general, his philosophy was that no one can satisfy all people, and he always told me Joha’s story with his donkey” Mrs Wafa revealed.

Financially, Shishakli’s daughter said that his salary was low, and they lived in a rented house in Damascus when he was in the army. Moreover, when they left the presidency Palace, they had nothing with them. “He refused to buy houses or properties when my mother requested that, he always told her that his aims were to leave her respectful names and glory, not properties”

Mrs. Wafa mentioned an incidence happened in the presidency palace, when her father cut the telephone pill from the household expenses because it was too high, to give her mother a lesson to economize in spending, as a president, he thought that he must be a symbol to other Syrians.

In regard to people used to frequently come to the presidency Palace, Mrs. Wafa revealed that only few people came to the Palace, like Asif Qabbani, who was his best accompany, and some other close sergeants like Kassem and Abdulhamid al-Khalil, Abdulhaq Shihadeh, and the writer Qadri al-Qala’aji.

Mrs. Wafa does not consider her father a dictator, she justifies his military ruling of the country, as the country was already ruled militarily, and therefore he was forced to carry on the same track to bring the country to stability. Moreover, she thought that he was pushed to do the military coup as al-Sha’ab party forced him to do so, because they wanted to control the country and join Syria to Iraq while it was still under the British occupation. “He declared in an interview that he was not a dictator, he was just a farmer”

Shishakli’s daughter saw that main reason for the military coup her father did was the attempt of al-Sha’ab party to unite with Iraq while it was under the British occupation, which was a red line for her father, who had seen in that as a threat to Syria’s liberation which was not discussable or negotiable. “There was an attempt to form a government with majority from al-Sha’ab party, my father warned the party many time, but they did not listen, and Ma’aroof Dawalibi appointed as the prime minister and the Defense Ministry as well, subsequently , my father had to coup, which put the army in the political games” she detailed.

In regard to disagreement and conflict between her father and Akram al-Horani, Mrs. Wafa said that roots of the conflict was al-Horani’s ambition to become a president, but when it was clear that he father would go for presidency, al-Horani started conspiring against Shishakli. He started spreading rumors that he father attempt to reduce freedom and expressing opinions, and he cooperated with the West. “But the conflict became clearer when al-Horani and his Arabic Socialist Party united with al-Ba’ath Arabic Party to form the Arabic Socialist Ba’ath Party, He used the communists in the party to target her father. At the time, my father got angry when he felt that al-Horani gathered all Parties against him” she explained.

On the other hand, Adib Shishaki according to his daughter, saw the disagreement between him and al-Horani, as a part of the historical conflict between the Socialism and the Feudalism in Hama, however things became more obvious when mutual fighting broke out between al-Horan and Shishaki families, where Ghalib Shishakli killed Wasil al-Horani, then his family replied in killing Ghalib. “At that time, my father realized that al-Horani started using the disagreement between families to fight him” she explained.

Mrs. Wafa revealed that her father used to say that al-Horani was a narcissistic and considered Hama the centre of the world, and he was the centre of Hama, subsequently he the centre of the world.

In regard to the famous captions claimed to be Shishakli’s like “My enemies are like a snake, its head in Druze mountain, stomach in Homs and tail in Aleppo, if the dead smashed, the snake will die” and the other caption “be careful of the two mountains, Druze and Alawite”, Shishakli’s daughter said that she never heard her father saying those expressions, even her mother and Grandmother, never mentioned such thoughts. She gave proof that her father was surrounded with Druze sergeants like Shawkat Shukair, who was the head of High Military Council and the closest sergeant to her father, besides, Amin Abo Assaf, and Fadlullah Abo Mansoor were Druze as well. “I do not think my father would have said that about Druze while he was surrounded with sergeant from that sect” confirmed.

She mentioned that her father was not sectarian in his believes, as at the time sectarianism was not that obvious and he had many friend from Alawite sect.

In regard to Nawwaf Abo Ghazaleh, she expressed her deep believe that he was sent by al-Ba’ath party to assassinate her father, as the party controlled the country in 1963 and her father was killed on 1964, especially there was always rumors about his return to Syria to rule.

About her father’s intention to come back to Syria, either as ordinary citizen or a president, Mrs. Wafa explained that her father rarely contacted them while he was in Brazil, therefore she did not know his plans, as he did not use to tell anyone about them. However, she mentioned that her uncle Salah was keen to bring her father back to Syria, even it reached to threaten him, but he refused, as he always said that Syria’s best interest and independence is the priority. “Even Iraqis who worked to gather others against my father, they requested him to come back to Syria and he was promised to receive support to rule the country, but he refused” she said.

In regard to Druze mountain troubles, where many protestors were killed, she explained that her father did not commit massacre, it was some reckless soldiers and sergeant, but Shishakli had to hold responsibility as he was the president. “My father could have stayed as a president if he wanted, but he left to save Syrians’ bloods and prevent killing”

Mrs. Wafa does not consider her father’s resignation and leaving Syria as an escape or giving up, she justifies it as he wanted to save Syria from civil war and protect the Syrian Army from divisions and defections, despite many sergeants around him tried to confess him that it would have been easy to defeat other movements against him, but he preferred leaving rather than put the army in a position where a soldier could’ve killed another soldier.

“Shishakli fought the French occupation and went to Palestine war as part of the Salvation forces. my mother did not believe that he would have come back again from Palestine war, even when he was 16 years old, he tried to participate in the Great Revolution against French Occupation in 1925, but he was returned twice to his parents. He always was in the front line, do you think such a person would be scared of facing opponents?” she wondered.

About the incomplete leaving speech that Shishakli gave, she explained that her father had written a speech and gave to Mamoon al-Kozbari, the Parliament President to read it in the parliament, indeed it happened, but unfortunately, the National radio missed the first lines of the speech, in which he explained that some sergeants powered from other parties fighting with each other on the expense of the main Arab case. “In his he added that the other parties started a rebellion movement to throw the constitutional rule. He was sure that it would not be difficult to suppress them, but in his opinion that would have meant that the National army’s sections would fight each other, while the real enemy waiting on borders. Therefore and to save Syrians’ blood, and to protect the Army he loved and respect, he preferred to leave rather than staying” the daughter explained.

When Shishakli’s daughter was asked about the roots for describing her father as “a Dictator”, while she tried to show him as democratic, she explained that he was force to act in a dictating way, as he saw the country torn apart because of fighting parties, where everyone aiming for power, some wanted to combine liberated Syria to occupied Iraq, and all forgot “Israel” the main and number one enemy. Therefore, he had to resolve all parties and act in that hard way to protect the country, not for any personal advantages or interest.

In the end, Mrs. Wafaa revealed that her father best symbol was Salahuddin al-Ayobi, and he always worked hard for uniting countries around Syria to for the great Syrian unity.