opposed to continued negotiations with Nasser and the Nasserites, and by the time of the purge, Aflaq and Bitar had given up on them. After the negotiations with Nasser ended, the Syrian government tried to maintain the illusion that they were continuing. On 2 May, Bitar's government issued a decree calling for the nationalization of all Syrian banks. According to historian Itamar Rabinovich, this was probably not the first step to establish a state-owned economy. Rabinovich said that this move was intended to deceive the Egyptians and the Nasserites; Nasser had previously told Bitar that the first step to revolutionary change was the nationalization of the banking sector. Bitar's policy statements at the time were moderate and did not explain the 2 May decree, but planning minister Zuhur stated that the reason for the decree was that the banks were too powerful, were exploiting people, and had too strong an influence within the political system. The purge of pro-Egyptian officers led the Nasserite cabinet members who had resigned on 25 March, to publicly tender their resignations for a second time on 6 May. The Nasserites said that they would withdraw their resignations if all of their demands were met. Not long after, a violent demonstration occurred in Damascus. It was violently put down by Amin al-Hafiz, the interior minister. The short-lived Ba'athist–Nasserite coalition government was dissolved on 11 May, and on 13 May, Bitar presented his second cabinet. Second cabinet: 13 May – 4 August 1963 Bitar's second cabinet was composed largely of Ba'athists and independents, however, six ministerial portfolios were left vacant for a possible reconciliation with the Nasserites. Hafiz was appointed deputy prime minister and also continued as interior minister. Unionist Ba'ath officialssuch as Zuhur, Jamal al-Atassi and Sami Droubiwere not included in Bitar's second cabinet. General Ghassan Haddad, an independent, took over Zuhur's post as planning minister and Ziad al-Hariri, the independent chief of staff, was appointed defense minister. The formation of Bitar's second cabinet began a new phase in Egyptian–Syrian relations; the Egyptian government stated that Bitar's cabinet was an "unjustified blow to the Union's state". The Syrian media and press reported in kind, but their communiques made clear distinctions between Nasser and the "incompetent" people within the Egyptian government. A power struggle between Hariri and the Military Committee occurred between 23 June and 8 July 1963. The Military Committee viewed Hariri's independent power base with