Jordanian People's Democratic Party (HASHD)
JORDANIAN PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY (HASHD)
Palestinian-Jordanian left-wing political party (Hizb al-Shaʾb al-Dimuqrati al-Urduni, known by the acronym HASHD) created in October 1989 by the leadership of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). Jordanian authorities opposed the constitution of Jordanian parties with foreign ties. Nayif Hawatma, head of the DFLP, hoped to integrate his movement into the Jordanian political scene. In 1990, a split in HASHD led to the creation of the Jordanian Progressive Party (al-Hizb al-Taqaddumi al-Urduni), headed by Ali Amr.
At the beginning of the 1994, following the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords and Declaration of Principles of 13 September 1993, a new rift surfaced in HASHD, resulting in divergent tendencies. The first tendency was called the "democratic current," under the leadership of Bassam Haddadin and Nurad Abu Ghoush; the second, called the "historical current," headed by Taysir al-Zeiri and Salim al-Nahas; and a third tendency, under the impetus of Azmi al-Khawaja. All three of these tendencies were opposed to the policies of the DFLP. In 1994, Azmi al-Khawaja became secretary general of his own movement, the Jordanian United Democratic Popular Party. The principal figures in HASHD are Taysir al-Zeiri, Bassam Haddadin, Hussein Abu Rahman, and Jamal Toumari. The secretary general is Salim al-Nahhas.
SEE ALSO Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine;Hawatma, Nayif;Jordanian Progressive Party.