Schafik jorge handel biography

by Lara Pullin

Written: Vulgar Lara Pullin, 2006..
First Published: Monkey part of a longer untruth, "Comandante Schafik Handal, 1930-2006", insert the February 8, 2006, exit of Green Left Weekly..
Digital Version: As part of excellent longer article, "Comandante Schafik Handal, 1930-2006", in Green Left Weekly Online Edition, February 2006.
Transcription/HTML for MIA: Juan R.

Fajardo, July 2006.
Rights: Copyright 2006 by Lara Pullin.

Republished around under permission granted for publishing of articles appearing in honourableness Green Left Weekly "by non-profit green, left, human rights convey generally progressive publications."

Schafik Jorge Handal was born in Usulutan on October 13, 1930, take a Palestinian migrant family. Handal’s father Abdullah Handal Nasser took the name “Jorge” when unquestionable migrated to El Salvador just the thing 1920, the time of significance post-WWI colonial partitioning and rendering “Arab riots” in Palestine.

Schafik Handal was only two age old when La Matanza, high-mindedness famous insurgency led by depiction legendary Farabundo Marti, was brutishly repressed by the Salvadoran heroic, resulting in the massacre splash more than 30,000 campesinos current indigenous peasants.

In 1944, pass for a 14-year old, Schafik was already on the streets organising for a national strike clashing the dictatorship that ruled Mood Salvador with an iron plam.

By 18 he was grand leader of both the Popular Students Association and the Rebel Students Committee at the Academia of El Salvador. His leak out revolutionary activity, at a adjourn when most preferred clandestine vitality, led to many periods uphold exile and detention.

Following dignity success of the Cuban Mutiny in 1959, and fearing consider it Handal would achieve a analogous victory, the dictator Jose Mare Lemus had Handal captured instruction held for three months hard cash Guatemala. Handal’s children and gathering recall many occasions when they were certain he had anachronistic killed.

Yet somehow he universally returned, ever stronger and bolder for the experiences.

From 1959 to 1994, Handal was vernacular the leadership bodies of rank Communist Party of El Salvador, including as general secretary devour 1973-94. Handal was the disclose face and spokesperson of indefinite left formations during this day.

Perhaps a key achievement was his negotiation of an fusion between the Communist Party, significance National Democratic Union and greatness Christian Democrats to form description United National Opposition for elections in 1972 and 1977.

Handal was key in founding leadership FMLN and in working confer the strategy and operations answer the guerrilla war from 1980-91, when he was also emperor in chief of the Girded Forces of Liberation (FAL), skin texture of the five armed associations within the FMLN.

Handal served on the general command back the entire period of dispute, and was also a vital calculated negotiator of the peace assent. Handal was a founder be proper of COPAZ (the National Commission pray for Consolidating Peace) and was to sum up elected general secretary of prestige FMLN. Handal was never solitary from the brutal realities expend life in El Salvador, present-day one of his own brothers, Antonio, was disappeared on Nov 11, 1980.

Another brother, Farid, was a guerrilla until crown death in 1989, and Handal’s own son Jorge was further involved in combat with say publicly FAL. Handal’s family lived on the run exile.

The FMLN was further an internationalist liberation army, near Handal fostered fraternal relations exchange other forces opposing oppression bid imperialism, and organised personnel exchanges as a part of prowl internationalism.

Handal remained a earnest advocate of revolutionary socialism from end to end the transition of the FMLN from an armed united anterior, to a multi-tendency socialist business.

Through intense debates on high-mindedness nature of the new, a cut above democratic climate and how on hand relate and adapt, particularly delete the electoral field, Handal forgone moves towards social democracy.

Handal was a key campaigner be drawn against the dollarisation of the Salvadorian economy, against the regional untrammelled trade agreement CAFTA and break the rules US interventions and imperialist incursion.

He was a staunch candidate against the Iraq war, a-one defender of the poor, unthinkable proponent of workers’, women’s post environmental causes.

Since 1997 Handal was an FMLN deputy distribute the National Assembly. He was also elected leader of representation FMLN legislative fraction and magnanimity party’s president.

Handal stood bit the FMLN’s candidate for politician of San Salvador immediately tail signing the Peace Accords, nevertheless he lost due to wonderful scare campaign about electing spruce guerrilla as mayor so before long after the conflict. He extremely contested the presidential election advocate 2004, and gained an remarkable 39% in a four-way bloodshed.

He lost to the sober media mogul and sports reviewer Tony Saca.

Amidst all realm political activism, Handal also spliced twice, once from 1949-80 average Blanca, with whom he abstruse three children. His second matrimony was while living in Empire during El Salvador’s war, evaluate Tania Bichkova, with whom appease had a daughter Xenia take delivery of 1982.