Nasser 56

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Nasser 56

• Background on the Suez Canal Crisis

The real Nasser
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Colonialism and Independence

• 1922- Formal Independence from Britain
• But British advisers, officers, companies remain.
  Foreign British troops remain to protect the
  Canal
• Constitutional Monarchy (king plus parliament)
• 23 July 1952 -monarchy overthrown by a coup
  carried out by a close circle of military
  officersthe 13-man Free Officers
• Monarchy forced into exile. Military officers
  took over the government, comprised the
  Revolutionary Command Council. After 1952 led by
  Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970).
• Overarching and unifying goal to fully liberate
  Egypt from British occupation.

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Reasons for the Crisis

• 1- Egyptian Nationalism legitimation of the
  regime
• British-Egyptian negotiations British troops
  left Canal Zone in June 1956.
• New negotiations for ownership of the Canal due
  in 1968

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2- Cold War Tensions Global Balance of Power

• Baghdad Pact (1954, 1955)
• Baghdad Pact (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan) to
  counter Soviet power Egypt had been invited to
  join and Nasser refuses.
• Egyptian arms purchases
• Nasser purchases arms from the Russians via the
  Czechs (western Arms moratorium on Egypt after
  failure to sign the Baghdad pact).
• 1955 Bandung Conference
• beginning of nonaligned movement to keep a number
  of so-called developing countries (later termed
  Third World) independent in their foreign policy.
  

Nasser at the Bandung Conference. Photo Al-Ahram.
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3-Regional tensions

• Arab-Israeli Conflict
• Israel-Egyptian tensions over Palestinian
  fighters in Gaza
• Pan-Arabism and Iraqi-Egyptian tensions
• Nasser seeking to become leader of the Arab world

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4-Economic tensions

• Aswan High Dam Project
• Cost at least 1 billion
• Potential benefit
• Could double the amount of agricultural land
  available in Egypt
• provide hydroelectric power for industry
• symbol of new resurgent Egypt
• pact with the masses economic security in place
  of political democracy.
• Main (original) backers World Bank and US
• US pulls out of the project

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The Crisis

• Nasser Nationalizes the Canal
• But manages to keep it running!
• Tripartate attack by Britain, France, Israel,
  Oct. 1956
• Failure of negotiations (Eden likens Nasser to
  Hitler so he refuses to attend conference)
• Israel occupies the Sinai, Port Said bombed and
  occupied. Casualties.
• Goal to bring down Nassers regime.
• US and USSR intervene to stop fighting
• Ceasefire negotiated by UN after a week of
  fighting Israel forced to withdraw.

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Consequences aftermath

• Huge political victory for Nasser (even though
  Egypt was losing militarily).
• Canal company compensated and ran relatively
  smoothly until 1967 war.
• Expulsion or departure of many British, French
  and Jews. Many had spent their lives there.
• Nasser dies 1970 (of massive heart attack).
• High Dam completed in 1970
• Benefits and environmental damage

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Authoritarianism under Nasser, in brief

• Former politicians arrested, imprisoned,
  forbidden to participate in public activity.
• Muslim Brotherhood, which had helped the
  Nasserists to power, hunted down. Many of its
  leaders executed. Brotherhood outlawed.
• The left Striking workers crushed by the new
  regime, army ordered to put it down and then used
  it as a pretext for hunting down the left.
• Political parties banned

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The Film

• Directed by Mohamed Fadel, Arab Film
  Distribution, 1996
• Nasser played by Ahmed Zaki