Democratic Movement for National Liberation

The Democratic Movement for National Liberation (Arabic: الحركة الديمقراطية للتحرر الوطنى, abbreviated حدتو, HADITU, French: Mouvement démocratique de libération nationale, abbreviated M.D.L.N.) was a communist organization in Egypt from 1947 to 1955. HADITU was led by Henri Curiel. The movement followed the line of the National Democratic Revolution.

HADITU was founded in July 1947 through the merger of two communist factions, the Egyptian Movement for National Liberation and Iskra. Soon after the foundation of HADITU, the organization had a membership of around 1,400, being the largest communist organization in Egypt at the time.

HADITU published a legal weekly newspaper, al-Jamahir (الجماهير, 'The Masses'). Al-Jamahir had a regular circulation of 7-8,000, but the circulation occasionally peaked to around 15,000. Al-Jamahir played an important role in the growth of HADITU. Free copies of the newspaper were handed out to workers at factories, and the newspaper became an important rallying point to spread the influence of the movement among industrial workers. The newspaper had a relatively high journalistic standard, with photographic essays and exposés about industrial conditions. The paper was closed in 1948 under martial law provisions that the Egyptian government enforced at the start of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

In early 1948 Curiel presented the paper "The Line of National and Democratic Forces" to the HADITU Central Committee, a document that became an important point of reference in the organization. The document contained criticisms against the earlier leadership and political line of the Egyptian communist movement.

HADITU had a student front, the Communist Student League. HADITU also led the Preparatory Committee for an Egyptian Students Federation.

HADITU went through a series of splits. One of the first groups to break away was the Revolutionary Bloc, led by Shudi Atiya ash-Shafi (He had left after not being included in the HADITU Central Committee as the movement was reorganized. Ash-Shafi argued that HADITU had a bourgeois outlook). In April 1948 two HADITU splinter groups, Toward a Bolshevik Organization and Voice of the Opposition, merged to form the Egyptian Communist Organisation. Other HADITU splinter groups included Toward an Egyptian Communist Party (NAHSHAM) and the Progressive Liberation Front. Leaders of Gat included Issamuddin Jilal, Ahmed Taha, Ismail Jibr, Salah Salma and Ehia al-Mazsi.

In the wake of the January 1950 election in Egypt, the political climate was normalized somewhat. The more open political environment enabled HADITU to work more effectively and expand its influence. HADITU was the most effective political force in the workers movement at the time, playing a leading role in various trade unions.

In the summer of 1950, Curiel was expelled from Egypt. Curiel was classified as a "foreigner", although he had held Egyptian citizenship for 15 years. In exile, Curiel settled down in Paris where he formed a HADITU branch of Egyptian-Jewish émigrés. The group became known as the 'Rome Group'. The Rome Group was able to secure some financial supplies to HADITU and translated HADITU documents into French and circulated them in Europe. While Curiel formally remained a HADITU Central Committee member, he no longer played any role in the decision-making of the organization. He was not consulted on any major matters.