By: Flora Huang and Tahrin Mahmood
The body lay lifeless on the mattress littered with blood smears and bullet wounds. Its image frozen in time with each flash of a cellphone camera. Inside a refrigerated meat shop in Misrata, Muammar Gaddafi’s body was on display. After being paraded in the street, his dead corpse was now available for a photo-op. Celebrations erupted in the room with jubilant cheers, only inches away from the gruesome reminder of Libya’s past. Indeed, this was the long-awaited moment for Libyans after six months of civil uprising and 42 years of authoritarian dictatorship. On October 20, 2011, news of Gaddafi’s death spread across the globe as the once powerful ruler fell to the ground in what was originally believed to be crossfire. Although rebels had already occupied the Libyan capital of Tripoli in August, capturing and killing Gaddafi symbolized the beginning of the country’s social and political liberation.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi rose to power in 1969 under a coup that overthrew the incumbent Libyan king. His subsequent rule of the North African state has been largely characterized as erratic. He promoted the ideals of a socialist democracy in Libya while building his repressive regime using the nation’s oil revenues. In 1975, Gaddafi wrote the widely-known Green Book, which espoused his own philosophy by renouncing capitalism and liberal democracy. He proposed a new system of democracy formed by committees with members elected by the people but in the absence of political parties. Inevitably, the reality of the situation was hardly a government chosen by the masses. Gaddafi appointed his loyal supporters to these cabinet positions and remained the sole commander of the country’s operations. Political dissidents were silenced by imprisonment and extrajudicial killings were common. In fact, The Green Book was mandatory reading material for Libyan students, even though the majority of the content was one man’s tangential ramblings. With citizen’s education being a low priority, Gaddafi did no better in advancing Libya’s economic frontier. The meagre wealth of Libyans paints a heavy contradiction to the nation’s oil-rich natural resources and untouched Mediterranean coastline. An estimated 30% of Libyans are unemployed, unsurprising given that most of them lack the necessary training for respectable careers given only 10 universities in the country. Gaddafi’s image is also tainted by reports suggesting he redirected Libya’s oil revenues into family investments via him and his nine children.
Fast forward to 2011, after a slew of successful internal revolutions against some of North Africa’s long-standing tyrannical leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, mounting frustration from Libyans resulted in demonstrations across the country in February. In response to the protests, Gaddafi forces turned violent, characteristic of his history of ruling Libya with an iron fist. The rebels soon joined forces to form the National Transitional Council, which consisted of mostly untrained civilians who collectively paled in comparison to the strong paramilitary team recruited by Gaddafi. When Gaddafi forces approached the city of Benghazi, the United Nations Security Council authorized international intervention against the Gaddafi regime to prevent potential mass brutality. NATO air strikes and bombing began and a no fly-zone was imposed over Libya. With the aid of Western involvement, the capital city of Tripoli was successfully taken by rebels in August. Gaddafi was finally killed by gunshot wounds at close-range in October in his hometown.
As the confetti settles to the ground, the decades of struggle for Libyans is unfortunately far from over. No doubt, freedom comes at a cost. The challenge of rebuilding a government that will democratically represent a diverse population is enormous. How will the new laws of the nation be inclusive to all Islamists, moderates and secularists? Most Libyans do not share a common vision for the country’s future and there is even a chance that Libya might split into two due to the strong divisions between the two predominant groups. Suspicions also arise over whether the current transitional government can be trusted to put the guns down and promote a new Libya that will solve its problems judicially with an emphasis on human rights preservation. The issue surrounding the events of Gaddafi’s death, which many have likened to an execution, is concerning for many Libyans. Killing without being tried in a court of law alludes to the old Libya that could not escape the ruthless grasp of violence. Furthermore, this political and economic instability makes Libya vulnerable to exploitations from other countries.
Many people are questioning whether it is Libya or its oil reserve that is liberated. Before this revolution, the oil revenues had been returned to Libya’s people but now that Libya’s political isolation is eliminated, the inflation in oil prices will be imported to Libya as well. For a country that is already suffering from political unrest, adding economic turmoil would be like fuel to a blazing fire.
Many people are questioning whether it is Libya or its oil reserve that is liberated. Before this revolution, the oil revenues had been returned to Libya’s people but now that Libya’s political isolation is eliminated, the inflation in oil prices will be imported to Libya as well. For a country that is already suffering from political unrest, adding economic turmoil would be like fuel to a blazing fire.
There is no denying that Libya has indeed made a right step in terms of gaining human rights, but whether and how this nation will stand up on its own in this phase of recovery remains unclear.
Sources:
Nimmo, K. (n.d.). Prison Planet.com » In 2009 Gaddafi Proposed Nationalizing Libya’s Oil. Prison Planet.com . Retrieved November 13, 2011, from http://www.prisonplanet.com/in-2009-gaddafi-proposed-nationalizing-libya%E2%80%99s-oil.html
Spencer, R. (n.d.). Libya: 'civil war not over' - Telegraph.Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Retrieved November 13, 2011, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8750961/Libya-civil-war-not-over.html
They have seemed to overcome at least one hurtle for unity as of late. Their eastern province of Cyrenaica had a leadership contingent moving to split but attempts were halted by protests standing in opposition. It shows the tenuous unity that holds places like Libya together, though it makes me wonder how many of these states contrived on artificial colonial boundaries can withstand the test of time.
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