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June 30, 1970

SED Central Committee Protocol No. 55/70, ' Support for the Communist Resistance Organization "Al-Ansar"'

This document was made possible with support from The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

[SED Central Committee]

Protocol No. 55/70[1]

Confirmed in circulation by Comrades Honecker, Axen, Grueneberg, Hager, Jarowinsky, Lamberz, Mittag, Verner, Dohlus[2]

On 30 June 1970

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1. Support for the communist resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’[3]

—————————————————————————————————-

The proposal is confirmed. (Appendix No. 1)

[CC:]

[Hermann] Axen

[Paul] Markowski

[Walter] Borning

[Erich] Wappler

[Karl] Raab

Hoffmann

Haase P 3 + 1, 5x

 

2. [Not translated; unrelated content]

[...]

 

[Appendix No. 1]

[SED Central Committee]
Department of International Relations

Berlin, 18 June 1970

Kr/De

18 copies of 3 pages each

12 copies of 3 pages each

With Appendixes

[List of 11 numbers]

 

Proposal for the Secretariat of the Central Committee

RE: Support for the communist resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’

Decision Draft:

1. The visit by a delegation of ‘Al-Ansar’ to the GDR is approved. The Department of International Relations is consulting with the comrades of ‘Al-Ansar’ about options for the support of their organization and ways of its implementation.

2. The Ministry for National Defense is reviewing the option for a support of ‘Al-Ansar’ based on the list attached as Appendix 1 (Points 1 and 2).

3. The Ministry for Materials Management is reviewing the options for a support of ‘Al-Ansar’ based on the list attached as Appendix 1 (Point 3).

4. The Zentrag [i.e., the SED party conglomerate for all party printing facilities, party publications, and distribution facilities] is reviewing the options for a support of ‘Al-Ansar’ based on the list attached as Appendix 1 (Point 4).

5. The Ministry for National Defense, the Ministry for Materials Management, and the Zentrag are informing the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee about the results of their reviews.

6. The Department of International Relations of the Central Committee will submit, based on these reviews, a proposal for the support of the resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’ to the Secretariat of the Central Committee.

 

[Signed Axen]

Axen

Secretary

[Signed ‘in the name of’ H.[enry] Ott]

Department International Relations

[Signed W. Borning]

Department Security

[Signed Raab]

Department Financial Administration and Party Businesses

[Signed Wappler]

Department Planning and Finances

 

CC:

Copy 1-13: Secretariat

Copy 14: Office Axen

Copy 15: Office International Relations

Copy 16: Office Security

Copy 17: Office Financial Administration

Copy 18: Office Planning

 

Reason:

The Palestinian resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’ was founded about five months ago by an initiative of the Jordan Communist Party, the Syrian Communist Party, the Iraqi Communist Party, and the Lebanese Communist Party. It is led and guided by a committee of the listed communist parties.

The ‘Al-Ansar’ is fighting for the expulsion of the aggressor behind Israel’s armistice lines as they did exist before 5 June 1967. It is in accordance with the position of the CPSU and the majority of the communist parties. (Political program in Appendix 2[4]).

The resistance organization ‘Al-Ansar’ is so far operating exclusively in Jordan. It is planned to bring it until the end of 1970 up to a strength of 1,000 fighters (currently it has about 200 fighters). They dispose of about 2,000 to 3,000 militia members in the cities, refugee camps, and villages.

In Amman, ‘Al-Ansar’ does have 15 militia posts of its own. The fighters of ‘Al-Ansar’ are equipped extremely inadequate. The ‘Al-Ansar’ is in urgent need of support regarding the material assurance of training, the equipment of its militia and for the launch of their military operations against the aggressors.

For that reason, the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Jordan Communist Party, Comrade Fu’ad Nassar, submitted to the Central Committee of our party the list attached in Appendix 1. In the name of the committee of the four communist parties, Comrade Nassar asked for a review of the list and for aid.

 

A p p e n d i x 1

Point 1 - Arms and Ammunition

 

Number

Kalashnikov with metal butt and bayonet

1,000

Light machine guns

200

Medium machine guns

100

Armor-piercing gun RPG-7[5] 

50

Grenade launcher 82 millimeter

25

Grenade launcher 60 millimeter

25

Pistols 9 millimeter

250

Flare guns

50

Katyusha with launchers

50

Daggers

1,000

Training device RPG-7

4

Hand grenades for attack

1,000

Hand grenades for defense

1,000

Hand grenades (armor-piercing)

1,000

Anti-tank mines (plastic or wood)     

500

Infantry mines

500

Electric explosives

20

Electric detonators

1,000

Various timed detonators

500

Magnetic mines

200

Explosives TNT

a lot

Ammunition for Kalashnikov

500,000

Ammunition for light machine guns

100,000

Ammunitions for medium machine guns

100,000

Grenades for RPG-7  

1,000

Grenades for 82 millimeter including loads etc.

2,500

Grenades for 60 millimeter including loads

2,500

Ammunition for pistols 9 millimeter

100,000

Ammunition for flare guns

500

Point 2 - Varia

 

Number

Minesweepers

10

Infrared radiators

5

Equipment to detect infrared radiation

5

Radio devices with short range

20

Radio devices with medium range

5

Summer battle dress uniforms

1,000

Winter battle dress uniforms  

1,000

Battle spade with cover

500

Point 3

 

Number

Wire cutters (with electric conductors)

250

Fireman’s hatchets with cover

 

Tents for 4 to 5 people

100

One-Man-Tents

50

Blankets

3,000

Pads (to be placed on the ground under the blankets)

1,000

Sports shoes with gaiters

1,000

Broad cloth waist belts

1,000

Pullovers

1,000

Backpacks

2,000

Wool Coats

1,000

Water-tight jackets

100

Date-tight ponchos

100

Carrying bags (bread bags?)  

1,000

Binoculars

40

Compasses

20

Transistor radios

20

Film cameras 8 millimeter     

2

Projectors 8 millimeter

2

Camera with telephoto lens   

10

Microphone with amplifier (battery) 

10

Microphone with sufficient earphones

10

Tape recorders

5

 

 

Typewriters Arabic

8

Typewriters English

3

 

 

Motorcycles

10

Point 4

 

Number

Paper folding device

3

Small printing shop

1

 

 

Transportable hospital

1

Stretchers

20

First Aid Kits

1,000

Various Medicines

 

- Vitamins

 

- Vaccines

 

- against cold
- against scorpion bites

- antibiotics

 

Various food cans (meat, sardines, jelly, et cetera)

10 tons

 


[1] Meeting of the Secretariat of the SED Central Committee.

[2] List of the various Secretaries of the Central Committee. Not relevant in this context except for Axen.

[3] Arabic for ‘The Partisans’. A militia of Palestinian communists in Jordan existing between 1970 and 1975.

[4] Not part of this document.

[5] The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher designed by the Soviet Union.

This memorandum contains a list of military supplies that were supposed to be delivered to the Al Ansar group, a Palestinian militant group founded by the initiative of the Jordanian Communist Party with the aim to drive the Israeli forces behind the border lines of 5 June 1966. The justification for the delivery is that the Al Ansar group is small and ill-equipped. The final word on whether these supplies were delivered is not contained in the document.


Document Information

Source

SAPMO-BA, J IV 2/3A/1898. Translated by Bernd Schaefer.

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Original Uploaded Date

2011-11-20

Type

Memorandum

Language

Record ID

110182

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The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars